B2

I ordered my 07 the other day and was wondering if I should have gone with the 18" OEM wheels. I know that I will add some 18s later, but read somewhere that Ford did something different on the suspension with the 18s. For those of you that purchased the aftermarkets, what size did you go with? I was thinking something like 18x9s. Also, would I need to do anything to my car that came with 17" wheels? I am not a car guy but had to buy the GT, I just don't have much car knowlege. Any suggestions of brand etc?

B2

grasshopper

The suspension with 18s has softer valved shocks, but that's the only difference that I have seen.

I wanted the 18s 'cos they look awesome for factory wheels and I assumed I could live with them for some time. However, I have been shopping for aftermarket wheels for a few weeks now and the car is only 4 months old. I would say stick with the 17s and if you want the factory 18s later, you can get them on eBay or Craig's List for a bargain, or get aftermarkets that you'll truly enjoy.

Tirerack.com has one of the best selections of wheels from sporty to pretty and the best configurator to see what it will look like on your car. Of course, most of the sponsors on here have lots of Mustang specific wheels to choose from as well. With that said, I am currently interviewing wheels from Work, Volk, DPE and iForged 'cos they are all examples of strength, beauty, color options and lightweight coming together in perfect harmony.

Driver72

Softer Valved Shocks?

What exactly is that and what does it do for handling/ride?

rotorr22

Be VERY carefull. Few aftermarket wheels have the correct 45MM offset for the '05/'06 Mustang however, several vendors advertise wheels as "perfect fits" for the '05/'06 when in fact, they are 30-35MM offset wheels.

grasshopper

Softer shocks means the car will slosh through the corners, respond slower to steering input, dive when braking, squat when accelerating, and pogo over large bumps. Hopefully you can decipher my adjective there.

rotorr is right... you have to be very aware of the offset you're getting. +45mm seems to be the sweet spot all the way up to 10" wide rims. In theory you can take 6mm off for every half inch narrower rim than that, ie, 9.5"=39, 9"=33 (or even start subtracting from 50mm just to be safe). That would put the outer lip in the same spot as the 10inchers, but the downside is that this has the potential to damage the wheelbearing. One could argue that they designed the huge wheel arches to handle all sorts of rollers, so the rest of the system should have got the same treatment.

Driver72

That's strange, so Ford is putting softer shock valves on the car when you pay
for the upgraded 18" wheels?
Wonder if that's to make the ride a bit smoother for the tires that have less sidewall?

In anycase, the 45 offset you guys listed, is that the offset for the 17" wheels or the 18 inchers?
I thought I read somewhere that the 18's were a 42 offset.

classj

All I can say is that I think the factory 18" polished bulitts look great and are nice wheels. Also, I drove a 17" car and then a factory 18" car. Big difference in handling. The 18" car rode stiffer. As far as I am concerned, the handling of the factory 18" car is very well ballanced and feels great.

Sonic Boom NH

I agree that the GT’S that come with the 18” wheels do NOT have softer shocks but rather stiffer shocks for a better handling car. I too drove a GT with 17” vs. 18” and it was night and day, the 17” GT had softer shocks, or a softer tuned suspension then did the GT with the 18” wheels…

classj

Definatly. I think that they are stiffer. And I wouldent be shocked in the least if someone told me the springs were slightly stiffer as well. It was a major difference. Much more than just a wheel/tire size upgrade.

In fact in the ford accesory book, they state that only 17" wheels should be used on cars that originally came with the 17" wheels. And only 18" wheels should be used on cars that came with the 18"s.

While I think ford is being drastic and most dealers would probably go against the rule. To me it shows that the wheels are not the only change when you order 18"s

B2

So I guess the question is if I buy the car without the 18s, do I need to add stiffer shocks for aftermarket 18s to improve the ride. I can't imagine Ford changed much more than the stiffness of shocks between the two cars. I have no idea but am hoping someone here does. The factory bullits look nice (18s) but I am looking for something in black etc.


B2