20" Wheels? What's the Point?

[LDHunter]

OK... So I'm a 60's generation kind of guy and admittedly have old school ideas and attitudes on a lot of things yet I DO embrace a lot of the new technology these days BUT!!!

What's the point of the 20" wheels on a Mustang other than the bling factor? Don't get me wrong... My new Mustang I'm picking up today (hopefully) has them and from the pics I've seen of it they look pretty nice but at some point doesn't there end up being some diminishing returns factor when wheels keep getting taller and tires getting skinnier?

I've read a little bit about the ride being rougher with the skinny tires. I've also read the complaints about the wheels and tires being more susceptible to damage from curbs, potholes etc.

There's probably a lot I'm missing but once again I bring my stupid questions to the 6g community for enlightenment.

Educate me please? The good, the bad and the ugly.... Wait! Wasn't that a movie?

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[Chappers]

For myself i went with 20" for the style but they're still a lot lighter than the stock 19" double Y spoke, it fills the wheel arch better too with the right set up.

I'm on steeda lowering springs which is 1" drop all round, wheels are American Racing AR924's 20x9 front and 20x10.5 rear, on michellin pilot sport 4S tyres allnround, 265/35/20s front and 305/30/20s rear to get better grip. i've managed to shave 2 seconds off my track time with this combo so for me definitely worth it.

you need to calculate what works for yourself, smaller wheel don't necessarily mean less unsprung mass if its a solid steel wheel, that's what it comes down to is this unsprung mass which means the engine has to work less to turn the wheels

 

[kz]

Educate me please? The good, the bad and the ugly.... Wait! Wasn't that a movie?

You are missing nothing. It is a bling factor and looks. Significantly less tire choice and higher weight for same or similar wheel design (yes, you can always find smaller diameter heavier wheel but other than make yourself feel good you have 20" wheels, that reasoning makes little sense).

 

[GTX]

I believe the 2020 GT500 has 20” wheels to clear the massive brakes. That is really the only performance reason for going with that large of a wheel.

 

[jayman33]

20” wheels give you way more options for design and clearance of brakes. Brakes of yesterday are greatly smaller than brakes of today. 19’s and in some case 18’s work but then you’re limiting options, spoke design and placement. The fact you can buy 20’s that weigh mid 20#’s now or less is amazing albeit the tire weight is high.

 

[Roadway 5.0]

This is why I went with 20s:

No track attack for me, nor park and stare car shows. I just love the larger wheel look on the S550 body and absolutely adore the array of MPS4S tires available in this diameter.

 

[emcmtony]

My car is just a daily driver but after seeing cars with smaller tires and all that room between the tire and the wheel wells, I just like the look of a lowered car with 20inch wheels. After having the larger wheels when I look at cars with a large space in the wheel wells it just looks weird to me. The trend has been bigger wheels and lower stance for the past 10 years or more. At some point the customizers will start raising cars and all will change I imagine.

 

[LDHunter]

Thanks to everyone that has responded... Great input and I do now feel much better about the wheels that come with this car. I just hope it has the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires because the reviews of them are stellar.

Now to my only question that didn't get answered (I think). How about the skinny tires on these 20" rims? Will the ride be rougher than if they were on smaller rims with fatter tires?

Then there's one more question I forgot to ask. If I wanted to buy a spare rim and tire to exactly match the OEM ones where would I get them other than the Ford dealer? I think mine comes with one of those crappy little spare kits.

 

[gadgtfreek]

20's are such a good size for wheel and tire selection. 19" sucks lol.

 

[Ewheels]

20 inch Pros:
- looks (completely subjective)

20 inch Cons:
- heavier (all other factors held constant)
- larger polar moment of inertia (slower in every aspect)
- more expensive
- smaller tire selection
- tires are more expensive

The ONLY reason to get 20s over 18" or 19" is if you think they look good (they don't)

 

[PoCoBob]

I just bought one of these. FR3Z-1K007-C spare tire kits of ebay. I have the 20" wheels without Brembo brakes and it says it will fit but I have yet to confirm that. If it doesn't fit the on the front that would mean if I get a flat on the front I'd have to put the spare on the rear and use that rear tire to replace the flat tire on the front. More work but still better than that stupid can of flat repair.

 

[kz]

My car is just a daily driver but after seeing cars with smaller tires and all that room between the tire and the wheel wells, I just like the look of a lowered car with 20inch wheels. After having the larger wheels when I look at cars with a large space in the wheel wells it just looks weird to me. The trend has been bigger wheels and lower stance for the past 10 years or more. At some point the customizers will start raising cars and all will change I imagine.

Unless you've raised tire diameter and got something larger than stock 27" / 27.3" - which impacts speed that car see and impacts final drive ration, this makes zero sense - gap is the same if tire diameter is the same, regardless if you have 17" or 22" wheels.

 

[kz]

Thanks to everyone that has responded... Great input and I do now feel much better about the wheels that come with this car. I just hope it has the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires because the reviews of them are stellar.

Now to my only question that didn't get answered (I think). How about the skinny tires on these 20" rims? Will the ride be rougher than if they were on smaller rims with fatter tires?

Then there's one more question I forgot to ask. If I wanted to buy a spare rim and tire to exactly match the OEM ones where would I get them other than the Ford dealer? I think mine comes with one of those crappy little spare kits.

Did you order Performance Pack ? If not, then you certainly will not get PS4S, but some kind of all season - not sure exact model, if yes - it historically came with PS4S but recently seemed like Ford went back to Pirelli P Zero. Note PP has staggered wheels which complicated the spare wheel issue a bit.

 

[Twizzty]

It's a big car and 20's look so much better. With that comes a little rougher ride compared to the base 18's and less tire protection from the smaller tire sidewall. The 20's are worth it IMH.

 

[Paul@PKAUTODESIGN]

Allow me to jump in here if I may.

Certain brands and manufacturers only make certain styles and or widths that are better suited for the S550 platform in 20". The question is why do they do that and its simple. More people now would be interested in 20" wheels then smaller diameter wheels. For instance 10+ years ago having a 20" wheel was having a large wheel, but now it has become normal as the demand of clients based on the vehicle applications have changed.

Also having a larger selection of tires is a large driving factor as well.

Now in regards to skinnies for a 20" what do you mean by that? Do you mean more of a drag style skinny or a 7" width? If so then there are some brands that still do that, but the average width is typically a 9" in 20" and going upwards of a 12" for the S550 platform.

Paul A.

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