20" Wheels? What's the Point?

[emcmtony]

20" wheels are a way for the manufacturer to keep up with the aftermarket. But, you are right, it is style all the way. I don't like 20" wheels. Less sidewall to soak up the bumps. Harder ride. More expensive tires.
I would even do the 18" tires. But, in the never ending desire to squeeze that last .001 G out of the curves, they are here.
Interesting to note that the top Ford Mustangs have had 19" wheels for a long time.

I guess I don't understand why a 19 inch tire would have a shorter side wall than a 20. If your aspect ratio is the same and the width is the same then the height of the sidewall is going to be the same so your ride will be unchanged. Now, if you go with a 19 inch tire and a higher aspect ration then you would get higher sidewalls but lose the look and given your love for performance, you would lose handling with the higher sidewall, no?

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[truckinguy92]

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.

I think he’s talking about tire height like 255/(40)/19.

 

[hws52]

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.

As long as you don't have any PP option, Brembo Brakes, the spare tire kit will work. I ordered that kit as soon as I ordered my '18 and am glad I did. The first winter I hit a chuckhole I couldn't see and tore the sidewall.

 

[Pnygrl61]

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?

The bling factor.

 

[331GT]

didnt read all 5 pages so sorry if someone already posted this but one thing id take into consideration personally is the potential for greater damage if you hit something, e.g. pothole, curb, cinder block, etc. lol. i hope no ones careless enough to be running over curbs and cinder blocks but my friend had bigger wheels and low profile tires on a lexus is350 he used to have and hit a pothole on lake shore dr for you chicago people and ended up needing a new tire and rim. this can obviously happen with lower profile tires on any size rim. obvious solution is to pay attention and be careful not to hit stuff, but sometimes it's unavoidable to even the most alert drivers. food for thought is all. ive always thought the only real reason for 20 or bigger is looks, which is subjective as already mentioned.

 

[beetle6986]

Actually, to a layman, there is very little difference in look. I have 20" AR 924s (black) on my car. I hit a pot hole last week and busted the tire and damaged the wheel. Discount Tire had to get the tire from another location. I used one of my stock 19" wheels (black) as a spare until it came in. Just glancing at the car, my wife could not tell the difference until I pointed it out to her.

Also, my car is lowered. With the 19" wheel, the wheel well was filled with very little space. Before the coilovers, the 19" looked small to me.

Is that AR 924s? Just how big was the pothole??

 

[Daryl333]

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?

Tires getting skinnier?
I would say better compounds being the reason for not needing fatter tires. But having said that I thought tires were getting fatter. I mean being able to fit 345s on a Mustang without tubbing is insane.

 

[Norm Peterson]

GreenS550 said:
Interesting to note that the top Ford Mustangs have had 19" wheels for a long time.

I guess I don't understand why a 19 inch tire would have a shorter side wall than a 20.

You wouldn't.

Green's point was that 19" has been Ford's choice for its top-handling Mustang models/trims/option packages.

Up until the new GT500, whose front brakes apparently require wheels whose barrel was larger on the ID than Ford could get with 19's..

A good guideline for wheel diameter referenced to brake size is nominal brake rotor diameter plus 4". Sometimes that can be shaved down a little, depending on the ID contour of the barrel of the wheel in question.

Now, if you go with a 19 inch tire and a higher aspect ration then you would get higher sidewalls but lose the look and given your love for performance, you would lose handling with the higher sidewall, no?

When you're serious enough to shoot for cornering performance to go with 19" wheels and 35 profile tires, you're not going to be considering appearance for that particular combination.


When you're really, really serious about cornering and handling, even the appearance of your wheel and tire choice may not start to look right to you until you've pretty much maximized the combination specifically for that duty. Like shorter OD than OE - regardless of how much fender gap results - and at least mildly stretched out past "measuring width".

Not saying your DD setup has to be like that, though.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

Tires getting skinnier?
I would say better compounds being the reason for not needing fatter tires. But having said that I thought tires were getting fatter. I mean being able to fit 345s on a Mustang without tubbing is insane.

In the beginning, LD was using "skinnier" to describe sidewall height rather than tire width.

Back in the day when most car tire widths only varied from about 6"/155 mm up to 8"/205 mm it may have made more sense. Everything was skinny in terms of section width.


Norm

 

[PoCoBob]

Check out the line below the Chassis/Suspension heading. Based on that I am assuming Ford considers 20" wheels to be an addition to performance. Base models with smaller rims do not get the K Brace, whatever that is.

This screen grab is from the 2019 Mustang spec chart.

 

[Norm Peterson]

That's not exactly what the note says.

Being included with 20" and larger wheels is not the same thing as being included with them because the 20-inchers were chosen for performance. Claiming to have better performance than base (235/50-18?) isn't saying much at all.

Chances are it was more for NVH and cowl shake reasons, since 20" packages do tend to generate more NVH.


Norm

 

[LDHunter]

Chances are it was more for NVH and cowl shake reasons, since 20" packages do tend to generate more NVH.

I had to look up the "NVH" thing and found this with a quick google.

" NVH is a measure of how much unpleasant aural and tactile feedback the car delivers as you drive. It stands for Noise, Vibration and Harshness, and is basically a measure of how much unpleasant aural and tactile feedback the car delivers as you drive. ... "

 

[Twizzty]

Great information on the wheel/tire size change coming to racing.

 

[Bikeman315]

Great information on the wheel/tire size change coming to racing.

Excellent video Bones. Thank you for posting. As a big F1 fan I’m not sure about all these changes. I guess we will wait and see.

As far as using 20” wheels on a Mustang, they may not lessen performance but they certainly will do nothing to improve it.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Great information on the wheel/tire size change coming to racing.

Well done.


Norm

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