Seeking Guidance: Tires, Rims and Lowering
 

Hello all,

Let me begin by saying: I'm a noob. The extent of my knowledge about cars and mods comes from what I've read here in this forum over the past week. So needless to say, I'm looking for some guidance.

I will want to replace the stock 18" aluminum wheels on my 2012 GT. Appearance of the rims aside, what size is ideal? Do I want larger tires in the rear? Do the rim sizes matter? I want it to look good, but I don't want to detract from the quality of the ride. Smoothness is something that is important to me. I really don't like feeling the bumps in the road. I would also want the car lowered, but don't know the first thing about it.

With all that said, I'd love to hear from all of you as to what you would suggest for tire and rim size, and what to consider when lowering the car, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Keep the same diameter rim and tire sidewall height
and the ride will stay mostly the same.
I dont think that you want staggard fitment.
You really want to keep the revs per mile the same.

Man and I would kill for those 18" rims and you want to get rid of them...
Go figure...

Can't speak to wheels and tires - still running stock as VEssen. But I just did add the Eibach Pro's and I love them. 1" in the front and 1.5" in the rear. It now looks like it should have from the factory. Ride quality is much better than I expected, very close to stock. The car sits level now and the gap between the wheel and tire is much smaller.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Alan, could you confirm which kit to get?

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/pro...pring-Kit.html

-or-

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/pro...ering-Kit.html

Also, what's the story with the Roush and Steeda kits? They are triple the price. Are they really worth it?

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/pro...nsion-Kit.html

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/pro...on-System.html

VEssen,
I have just the springs, I didn't change sway bars. Don't know about the other springs, the Eibach came highly recommended by two others I met so that is what I went with. Check out CJ Pony Parts, they have them on sale now for $197.16 with free shipping.

http://www.cjponyparts.com/eibach-lo...-2011/p/EBS18/

Good luck with whatever you choose.

alan did you change your struts or panhard bar with the eibachs?

I did not change the struts, several posts said you didn't need to, but warned that the strut life would be diminished. This is not a daily driver for me, I may change the struts & shocks to ones designed for lowering springs.

I may or may not order an adjustable panhard bar, my rearend is about a 1/4 inch to the right. It is not noticeable and doesn't affect the way the car drives. But, I like things to be square, so we will see.

I do love the look of the lowered car, it really should have come from the factory that way.

Steeda, Eibach, BMR or FRPP are all great springs and give you a decent drop. As for wheels, I suggest getting at least 19s if not 20s. 18s are just too small for the new stangs. Unless of course you're going to track it. For me, I went with FRPP K springs and Forgestar F14 wheesls 20x9 20x11 and it fits perfectly.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...g/IMG_0976.jpg

Swervo, when you say 18s are too small are you just referring to the appearance?

Alan, this is going to be my everyday car, and I plan to drive the he'll out of it. Would you recommend I get the sway bars? And here is the noob question of the day: what are struts?

I agree with Swervo, I am going with 19's on my car, I think stock CS wheels, my car is white and I think they will look good on it. there is just too much rubber on the 18 inch wheels.

Others may (will) disagree, but lowering the car makes it handle really nice with no other additions. Unless you are going to autocross or something like that I don't see spending the money. But if you want ultimate performance, upgrades to bigger sway bars will tighten it up for sure. But if you are going that far, you might as well make it a complete handling package. Swervo or some of the others can guide you far better than I can.

You can think of the strut assembly as basically the "shock absorbers" on the front of the car. It actually has more components but that is a very simplified description.