Gary_44

New to this forum. New owner of a 2000 Mustang GT.
I bought the car to run autcross in SCCA stock class, as well as some track days. I've done quite a bit of both, but not in a Mustang.
I think I can run 16" or 17" wheels since both diameters were available from factory. It seems like there are more full race tire options for 16", and might be cheaper, and it seems like a shorter tire might help with low speed torque needed in autox. But I like the look of 17" more. I'm not sure if theres any performance advantage though.

So, can anyone help me out with any preferences 16" or 17",and why?

Gary_44

Crap, just realized I posted this in Tech forum instead of Wheel and Tire. Whoops. Not sure how to move it.

school boy

Its fine. Go with a factory set of wheels, they tend to be lighter and cheaper over all. All 94-04, 17" wheels were 8" wide except 03-04 cobra's which were 9". You could go with a set of after market light weight wheels but the gains would justify the cost difference. if I can find wheel weights ill post them.

school boy

American Racing

Phantom
Machined w/Black Accent
17x8 24.2 lbs
18x8 27.6 lbs

Razor
Chrome Plated
18x9 27.6 lbs

Silver Machined
17x9 25.0 lbs
18x9 26.1 lbs

Rogue
Black w/chrome lip
18x8.5 28.8 lbs

Authentic Hot Rod Torq-Thrust M
Anthracite w/Mach Lip
17x8 21.2 lbs
17x10.5 25.4 lbs
18x9 29.4 lbs
18x10 27.6 lbs
20x8.5 29.9 lbs
20x10 33.0 lbs

Black w/Mach Lip
17x8 20.8 lbs
17x10.5 24.8 lbs
18x9 29.4 lbs
20x10 32.0 lbs

Chrome Plated
17x8 22.4 lbs
17x10.5 26.6 lbs
18x5 29.4 lbs
18x10 30.6 lbs
20x10 32.8 lbs


Avarus

AV5
BMF w/Polished Stainless Lip
20x8.5 33.0 lbs


BBS

RGR
Silver w/Machined Lip
18x8.5 20.0 lbs
18.5x9.5 20.3 lbs

RK
Plasma
18x8.5 19 lbs
18x10 20 lbs

Silver
18.5 19 lbs
18x10 20 lbs

RS-GT
Diamond Black w/mach lip
18x8.5 20.5lbs

RX
Bright Silver
18x8 23.6lbs

RX233
17x9 21.5 lbs


Enkei Racing

RPF1
Bright Silver Paint
17x9 15.9 lbs
17x10 17.0 lbs
19x8.5 20.7 lbs
19x10 20.8 lbs


Moda

EB1
Bright Silver Paint
17x8 22.4 lbs


Motegi Racing

MR118
Black Painted
17x8 22.2 lbs


O.Z. Racing

Tuner System Superleggera III
Bright Sil w/Polished Lip
18x9 24.8 lbs
19x9 26.9 lbs
19x10.5 26.9 lbs


Shelby Wheels

Torq-Thrust M
Chrome
17x8 21.5 lbs
17x9 23.5 lbs

Black
17x8 21 lbs
17x9 22.6 lbs

Anthracite
17x8 21 lbs
17x9 22.6 lbs

Razor 5
Light Grey w/ Mach. Lip
18x9 25.8 lbs


Sport Edition

KV5
Silver Painted
17x8 22.5 lbs


SSR

GT-3
Bright Satin
18x9 24.7 lbs
18x9.5 25.6 lbs
18x10.5 26.5 lbs

Integral
18x8 19.5lbs
18x9 20lbs


STEEDA

Ultralights
Satin
17x9 21.5lbs
18x9 22 lbs

Chrome
17x9 24lbs
18x9 24.5lbs


SVT/FRPP

Bullitt
Anthracite
17x8 22.0 lbs

Chrome
17x8 24 lbs

Silver
17x8 23 lbs

97 Cobra
Chrome 17x8 22.5 lbs

98 Cobra
Silver 17x8 21.5 lbs

99 GT
Satin
17x8 22 lbs

99 Cobra
Silver
17x8 22.5lbs

Polished 17x8 22.5 lbs

03 Cobra
Satin
17x9 25.5lbs

03 Mach 1
17x8 25.3 lbs

04 Cobra 10th Anniversary
Light Grey
17x9 23.8 lbs


Ultra Wheel

Hustler
Chrome Plated
18x8 27.5 lbs
18x9.5 30.0 lbs

Machined w/Anthracite Accent
18x8 27.0 lbs
18.9.5 29.9 lbs

Machined w/Black Accent
18x9.5 30.0 lbs


Verde

Kaos
Chrome Plated
18x8 27.6 lbs

Hyper Silver w/Machined Lip
18x8 27.0 lbs


- Common Replica's -
(The weight on these wheels may very depending on the manufacturer)

BULLITT
Chrome
18x9 29 lbs
18x10 30 lbs
20x8.5 30 lbs

Anthracite
18x9 28 lbs

Black
18x9 28 lbs
18x10 29 lbs

Satin
17x8 28 lbs

FR500
Chrome
17x9 27 lbs
18x9 31 lbs
18x10 32 lbs

Black
18x9 31 lbs
18x10 32 lbs

Anthracite
18x9 31 lbs
18x10 32 lbs

Satin
18x9 26 lbs

SALEEN
White
18x9 31 lbs

Chrome
18x9 32 lbs

Black
18x9 31 lbs
18x10 34 lbs

Hypercoated
18x9 31 lbs
18x10 34 lbs

95 Cobra R
Black
17x9 28 lbs


Y2K COBRA R Replica
Silver
18x9 28 lbs

Chrome 18x9.5 29 lbs

Powder Coated 18x9.5 27 lbs


AFS

95 Cobra R
Chrome
17x9 24 lbs
17x10.5 26 lbs

03 Cobras
Chrome
17x9 29lbs
17x10 27lbs

Mach 1
Grey/mach finish
17x9 27.6 lbs

Gary_44

Ya, I definitly will go with OEM wheels, mostly because I can find them cheaper. I have factory 16s on it now, but I think they are off a v6 model. So, are factory 17s wider than the 16s?
Thanks.

Gary_44

Cool. Thanks. I found that 16s are 8" wide also.
So, I'm still wondering. If I use the same size sidewall, is there an advantage to using 16s over 17s?
Basically, is lowering the rotation ratio any benefit in slow speed cornering of autox? I come from a lower HP car that benefitted from the added exit acceleration. Probably not an issue with the GT, I'm thinking.

school boy

will there be a advantage, definitely. But it would be barely noticeable at most. Rear end gears would help the most there. I believe the 16" wheels are 7 or 7.5 wide, at least the two mustang 16" wheels I looked at were.

DillonInCO

Hey Gary! It's Dillon from the NASA forums / Forza 4. Small world, I also just bought a 2000 GT and have also been doing research on wheels. Personally I would go with a 17" wheel, if only because once you start getting into Mustang tire widths (245+), 17s tend to be cheaper than 16s, with more tires available. It seems that the factory 17x8s are actually one of the lightest OEM wheels, at ~20-25 lbs. depending on what source you're looking at. I have not actually weighed mine yet. Also, I think all of the OEM 16" options are HEAVIER than the 17s.

I really want something wider though---most CMC guys run 275s, and that's what I'm planning on doing, too. That means at least a 9" wheel. But I will also have CMC power levels (260 HP / 300 TQ) and 3.73 gears. I'm keeping an eye out for a used set of Enkei RPF1s or 5Zigen FN01RCs. For the price, those are the lightest wheels you can get, and they're quality built, too. Of course, if you're running in a stock class, you'd probably want to just use the GT wheels.

Gary_44

Hey Dillon! Small internet. Hopefully, my car will grow up to be a CMC car for 2015. I plan to take it easy this year and just do some AX and time trials. Then if I find a dr to sign off on my license, I'll be a knuckle dragger too.
Thanks for the help. I already see lots of 275/40/17 tires available, so I'll ditch the 16" idea and look for 17x9 cobra wheels.

crash

I'd entertain the idea of xxr's. Pretty lightweight and stylish wheels.
Here are some examples on my Bullitt!