18" wheels/tires

[smithhead]

I was originally planning on tracking my car, but then I moved far away from any track, and my wife now drives the Mustang most of the time. But at least she now agrees that it needs more than the stock GT tire. We also moved to a warm climate so summer tires are more of an option.

I would like to stick with 18" wheels for ride reasons. Although it's possible there are 19s that might ride better than some of the 18s I guess. Reviews have characterized the Mustang as oversprung; it seems like it needs better shocks, but not sure that would help the ride.

I want a square setup, I don't need to push the limits in width. In wheels there seem to be the most options in 18x9.5. That would pretty much dictate a 265/45 tire, but there are very few options in that size. There is a great deal on some Bridgestone Potenza Sports, but reviews say they are stiff and noisy, so not sure they are the best option. 275/45 is a little too tall and 275/40 a little too short to be ideal, but there are a lot more tire options in the latter.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

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[MAGS1]

Check out Apex Wheels. They have good options at 18”. Personally, I’d go 18x10 square with 285 wide tires. Find the aspect ratio that keeps the diameter similar to stock (probably 285/45?). They also have 19x10, so you could do either 285/35 or 275/40 tires. They are running their Labor Day sale through the end of the week I believe.

Continental Extreme Contact Sport02 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are the best summer tires out there right now if you want to go the summer only route. Both are readily available in 285/35/19 and 275/40/19. Would assume the same for 18” as well

 

[smithhead]

Check out Apex Wheels. They have good options at 18”. Personally, I’d go 18x10 square with 285 wide tires. Find the aspect ratio that keeps the diameter similar to stock (probably 285/45?). They also have 19x10, so you could do either 285/35 or 275/40 tires. They are running their Labor Day sale through the end of the week I believe.

Continental Extreme Contact Sport02 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are the best summer tires out there right now if you want to go the summer only route. Both are readily available in 285/35/19 and 275/40/19. Would assume the same for 18” as well

Thanks, good to know about the Apex sale. The one I would probably get is out of stock but I can wait, or there is another good option as well.

285/40-18 is pretty close to the stock diameter. Very few tires in that size though, although they do have the Michelin, but it's quite expensive.

I compiled an extensive spreadsheet way back when about sizes and offsets, using all the factory wheel options plus my own measurements to calculate max clearances. I'm still trying to make sense of it. Ignoring the Shelbys as I think they had some mods, the max is 9.5" for the front. I'll have to try to reread everything again though.

 

[MAGS1]

Without modification, you can go as wide as 10.5” up front. Unless you're planning on tracking the car, 10” wide is plenty good up front.

 

[tosha]

Steeda has a great sale on their trident wheels now, and at that price point it's a no brainer in my opinion:
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-trident-1910-1910-gt-mustang-trident-19-10-square-wheel-package

https://www.steeda.com/steeda-trident-1910-1910-sb-mustang-trident-19-10-square-wheel-package

Just get a set and you'll have huge selection of either 275/40 or 285/35 tires. Lmr has lots of other designs if this one doesn't work well for you. 275/40 will have a good ride quality.

 

[smithhead]

Steeda has a great sale on their trident wheels now, and at that price point it's a no brainer in my opinion:
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-trident-1910-1910-gt-mustang-trident-19-10-square-wheel-package

https://www.steeda.com/steeda-trident-1910-1910-sb-mustang-trident-19-10-square-wheel-package

Just get a set and you'll have huge selection of either 275/40 or 285/35 tires. Lmr has lots of other designs if this one doesn't work well for you. 275/40 will have a good ride quality.

Those are fantastic prices!

 

[tosha]

Those are fantastic prices!

Yep, I'm seriously considering getting a second set for myself.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Smart, you’ve checked tire selection before committing to a wheel.

19x10ET35 with a good 285/35R19 tire is a very very popular square setup. IMHO the 285/35R19 MP4S or Conti ECS are probably the best street tire options for a daily sporty drive if you dont ever intend to drive in snow. They’re both great in the wet. Hard pass on the cheap Nitto 555G2 which you see bundled with wheels so often.

No real need to go down to 18” for comfort IF you go ahead and get a lighter wheel (something <28 lbs). Stock Ford wheels are usually cast construction and like 33 lbs or so. Saving some weight there with a flowformed or forged wheel makes a big difference.

combine with good shocks (you can deal with those later), and call it done.

 

[GJarrett]

This photo shows the fit of 275/40r18 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires on my Apex EC-7 18"x9" rims (Apex now makes 18"x9.5" rim I don't think they make 9" wide anymore). Good fit, not much if any bulge; and my speedometer reads only 1 mph low at 60 mph: pretty dang close to stock diameter. Firehawks are a great summer tire, 340tw but stick like under 300tw with good wet traction too and wear like a 400tw tire; all while being less expensive than other summer tires. If you consider going this route you'll have a great 18" tire/wheel combo and be very satisfied.

 

[smithhead]

Check out Apex Wheels. They have good options at 18”. Personally, I’d go 18x10 square with 285 wide tires. Find the aspect ratio that keeps the diameter similar to stock (probably 285/45?). They also have 19x10, so you could do either 285/35 or 275/40 tires. They are running their Labor Day sale through the end of the week I believe.

Continental Extreme Contact Sport02 and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are the best summer tires out there right now if you want to go the summer only route. Both are readily available in 285/35/19 and 275/40/19. Would assume the same for 18” as well

Steeda has a great sale on their trident wheels now, and at that price point it's a no brainer in my opinion:
Just get a set and you'll have huge selection of either 275/40 or 285/35 tires. Lmr has lots of other designs if this one doesn't work well for you. 275/40 will have a good ride quality.

19x10ET35 with a good 285/35R19 tire is a very very popular square setup. IMHO the 285/35R19 MP4S or Conti ECS are probably the best street tire options for a daily sporty drive if you dont ever intend to drive in snow. They’re both great in the wet. Hard pass on the cheap Nitto 555G2 which you see bundled with wheels so often.

No real need to go down to 18” for comfort IF you go ahead and get a lighter wheel (something <28 lbs). Stock Ford wheels are usually cast construction and like 33 lbs or so. Saving some weight there with a flowformed or forged wheel makes a big difference.
combine with good shocks (you can deal with those later), and call it done.

This photo shows the fit of 275/40r18 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires on my Apex EC-7 18"x9" rims (Apex now makes 18"x9.5" rim I don't think they make 9" wide anymore). Good fit, not much if any bulge; and my speedometer reads only 1 mph low at 60 mph: pretty dang close to stock diameter. Firehawks are a great summer tire, 340tw but stick like under 300tw with good wet traction too and wear like a 400tw tire; all while being less expensive than other summer tires. If you consider going this route you'll have a great 18" tire/wheel combo and be very satisfied.

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I've been busy and got bogged down in my analysis and missed my window of opportunity by one day and the sales have ended, but there are still some options or maybe the sales will come again. But there is where I ended up:

I've been a little paranoid about getting 19s, as before we bought our car we originally drove one with the basic 255/40r19 package and it was horrible. I don't know if I'm just getting old or it was the particular road or what, but I've had several German sports cars with sidewalls shorter than the Mustang and they were not a problem (although they would make me cringe on big bumps). But I think part of the problem may be how bouncy the car is. And the tire itself and the particular size can make a big difference.

Lighter wheels are something to consider as well; I hadn't heard of flow-formed wheels before and it's exciting to see something light weight that doesn't cost a fortune. I didn't realize the stock wheels were so heavy.

Although the Michelin has long been the gold standard for sportiness, the Conti ECS rates as the more comfortable tire, and it's a little cheaper as well. And due to the higher cost of the Apex wheels, the 18" options were all more than the 19" options with the Steeda wheels.

So the best all around option for me I felt was the 275/40r19 Conti ECS2 on the Steeda wheel, which I could have gotten for a great price. I prefer that over the 285/35 due to its taller size, which would be more comfortable and fill up my stock height wheelwells better. The 265/40r19 is closer to my stock size though and there is a killer clearance deal on the old ECS, which actually rates better in the things that matter most to me, so that was another option.

If I really wanted to go cheap I could technically fit a 255/45r18 on my current 8" wheel, although it's the minimum recommended size and I don't like to do that. But there is a really killer deal on the Firestones in that size; they rate lower in comfort but with the taller sidewall they might be fine. The PS 4S is availabe in that size for a good price as well.

LMR has some flow-formed wheels for 300, not my favorite style though. They have a really cheap cast wheel that's only about 3 pounds more which could be an option though. I'll see what my wife says.

Question - Steeda's site shows the sets of 4 wheels originally costing 2k, but each wheel individually is regularly only 400, so what's up with that?

 

[tosha]

my window of opportunity by one day and the sales have ended

Steeda usually puts them on sale either for black friday or boxing day. Keep an eye, they go for 1k per set more than once a year.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Well looks to me like the steeda individual wheels 19x11” or 19x10” are 375 but a set of 4 is 1400, so thats a discount of $100

i know you like the idea of the 275/40 and that would work (they’re a little tall for me on the front), but just want to say the 285/35 ECS would be very comfortable on the lightweight trident wheel, and they suit the car really well.

the ECS is a good choice.

If you really want 18” wheels just pay for the post-discount Apex price. Or call em and maybe they can get you a 10% “i missed the sale” code or something. Your wheels will last many sets of tires, its not an investment exactly but idk it seems worth the squeeze.

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