RamBoze

Good day, I have a new 05 GT and am looking for some help with my tire selection. I need to know if anyone has gone from a 17in. wheel to a 15in. wheel? I plan on putting 15 X 8 wheels on and would like to know if anyone has done this and if so what are some of the down sides to it? I know in this new age nobody ever goes down in size, heck, all you see now are 18 to 22's on most things, but, I lead, not follow. and if you know something about quick, you will know why I want to be quick, not fast. So, being new to this site I still have lots to learn and if anybody can help me I would surely appreciate it. I plan on many changes to my new Stang and will most likely need help along the way and am not afraid to ask, I love my cars but do not have much time to work on them. And not only will I need help with my cars, I think I may need help figuring out this site.

jtscuba02

welcome and congrats. it will be hard to keep the smile off your face. watch out for the calipers when you change the wheels out. i think you might have to get them custom made because of the backspacing. i checked this out a couple of months ago, and it was close to 400.00 a wheel. might be different now. i still cant get pics to post on here, so i cant help you with the site, but i have had some work done to my car.

nickbrace

Just out of interest - why 15's? Is it for the appearance of a type of racing?

Orion_240

What king of profile tire would a 15" wheel need? I do suppose it would give a softer ride...

BrookShadow_RC

...Not to mention, 15s will be a detriment to lateral handling...
Why 15s?????

bahbahblacksheep

I was thinking exactly the same thing...why 15's? Your handling will not be as good...but the smaller tire will give you a slight advantage in a straight line race cause there's less inertia required to turn the rear wheels

RamBoze

From RamBoze: Why 15's you ask? Good question and I have several answers. First, have you noticed when you drop the car with Eibach or other springs that the wheel clearance is reduced. 15's with a lower profile tire will give me a little more clearanace. Second, Yes the look, or profile, I like the looks of the smaller wider wheels, reminds me of my 70 351 Clvnd. Mach 1, now there was a car, thank you Lynn. Thirdly, what I might loose in handling I will get back by shimming out the wheels, my body shop guy ( Who learned his trade with Porshe America and builds race cars) says that each wheel can be shimmed about 3/8in. Combine this with the cars lower profile (comp. springs) and it should handle just fine. And finaly, yes the other guy got it right, smaller wheels need less energy to turn, and this is my goal. I want a car that goes strait very quickly and does well in the turns. The list of what I have allready done and what I am about to do is long, when finished I should have a ride the runs in the 10's and can be used as a daily driver. Thank you all for your input, I can use all I can get!

jtscuba02

ramboze let me know about the rims, if you can find them. i have already changed the gears, but i would still like to know the prices. good luck

BrookShadow_RC

IMHO, I do not think you have all of this correctly mapped out. If you lower you car, and go with the 15s, the only way to get more clearance is to run smaller tires. This will lower the body even more and will mre than likely change the geometry of the suspension. Again, IMHO, it sounds like a recipe for bottoming out, or worse, a horrible crash.

Be safe...