Need help: '23 GT w/ PP + Magneride. I want to seamlessly swap the OEM PP wheels out but don't understand Brembos + Magneride limitations for wheels

[anonHF92]

I'm a layman and I'm at the point where I need to ask for help. I was ready to pull the trigger on some 19x8.5 and 19x10 staggered wheels I found online on AmericanMuscle.com but was told from the dealer's custom shop rep that the ones I wanted would need a 35mm spacer on both front wheels, and that was before the Magneride factor entered the conversation (I read about longer studs?). I originally and erroneously thought that "GT-compatible wheels" were good enough and now somewhat understand the offset spacing issue.

From the Ford Performance website, it looks like the ones currently on the vehicle are 19x9 in the front and 19x9.5 in the back.

The 19x9's have an offset of 45mm and backspacing of 172mm; the 19x9.5's have 52.5mm offset and 186mm backspacing. Should I just be searching for aftermarket wheels that have these exact dimensions then?

I keep reading about how spacers aren't a good idea with Magneride especially. Even if I found a wheel in the exact same dimensions as the OEM wheels, I also can't figure out if there's any additional or different hardware Ford includes due to the PP + Magneride combo and the dealer rep isn't familiar with Mustangs with Magneride.

I'm just lost in all of this as a regular dude who wants to get new wheels for his Mustang. Any guidance is appreciated!

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[NightmareMoon]

Don't worry about magnaride or not.. its not a major variable in wheel fitment, so one less thing to think about.

Best to send us a link to the exact wheels in question so we can take a look and see what's going on there.

Personally I'd not downgrade to a smaller front wheel. Handling will get worse... There are lots of great options which are actually upgrades to the stock wheels.... but lets see what you picked out first before making any additional recommendations

 

[anonHF92]

Thanks for your reply. Understood about the magneride, that's good to hear. Are the longer bolts only an issue if not keeping the same wheel widths in the front?

So these were the ones I originally wanted:
19x8.5, 30mm offset: Mustang Magnetic Style Gloss Black Machined Wheel; 19x8.5 (15-23 Mustang GT, EcoBoost, V6) - Free Shipping (americanmuscle.com)
19x10, 48mm offset: Mustang Magnetic Style Gloss Black Machined Wheel; Rear Only; 19x10 (15-23 Mustang GT, EcoBoost, V6) - Free Shipping (americanmuscle.com)

On the same website, I think these could be a viable replacement for the above, style wise.
19x9, 42mm offset: Mustang Laguna Seca Style Gloss Black Machined Wheel; 19x9 (15-23 Mustang GT, EcoBoost, V6) - Free Shipping (americanmuscle.com)
19x10, 47.5mm offset: Mustang Laguna Seca Style Gloss Black Machined Wheel; Rear Only; 19x10 (15-23 Mustang GT, EcoBoost, V6) - Free Shipping (americanmuscle.com)

If I wanted to go with the second batch, does that just mean I need 3mm spacers for the front and 5mm spacers for the back to have them match the offset of the OEMs (45mm front, 52.5mm back) and we can call it a day? Or is there more I'm not understanding?

 

[kz]

Longer (sllightly) longer studs on Magride cars are only issue if you try to use 25mm bolt on spacer (which generally is a bad idea) as they will stick through it and not allow the wheel to be bolted flat to spacer.

But you only need a spacer if your front wheel offset is different than stock or you get some really wide wheel (or both).

 

[NightmareMoon]

You don't have to perfectly match the offsets, but you do need to pay attention to them. If American Muscle says they fit your year mustang, they probably do.

Spacers will subtract from offset. So a 35mm ET wheel with a 5mm spacer is equal to a 30mmET wheel. Smaller ET offset numbers mean the wheel sits farther out away from the center of the car and towards the fenders. Hopefully that makes sense. The Offset number determines where the center of the wheel sits, relative to the car, so when comparing wheels of different widths, sometimes you need to pick a different offset to make sure everything clears the suspension and fenders properly. If you want a wheel to sit "flush" to the fenders (which looks great), then there are specific go-to offsets for certain width wheels.

By all means, get any wheel that you like the looks of.. but a smart buyer will be asking questions about the construction type, and the weight of the wheel. Your stock wheels and most of these cheep wheels are cast aluminum, which is soft and bends easily... so to keep them strong they make them thick and heavy construction. Heavy wheels can ride roughly.

Some of the better wheels are flow-formed (aka spin forged) which is a bit stronger, so they can make them lighter.. They ride better under the car. Best would be wheels which are entirely forged, but those cost too much $$$ for most people.

For sizes, 19" diameters are a great choice, but I'd recommend going with wheels at least as wide as your stock wheels... just mind the weight. If they weigh more than your stock wheels, probably wouldn't consider them any sort of upgrade.

 

[anonHF92]

You don't have to perfectly match the offsets, but you do need to pay attention to them. If American Muscle says they fit your year mustang, they probably do.

Spacers will subtract from offset. So a 35mm ET wheel with a 5mm spacer is equal to a 30mmET wheel. Smaller ET offset numbers mean the wheel sits farther out away from the center of the car and towards the fenders. Hopefully that makes sense. The Offset number determines where the center of the wheel sits, relative to the car, so when comparing wheels of different widths, sometimes you need to pick a different offset to make sure everything clears the suspension and fenders properly. If you want a wheel to sit "flush" to the fenders (which looks great), then there are specific go-to offsets for certain width wheels.

By all means, get any wheel that you like the looks of.. but a smart buyer will be asking questions about the construction type, and the weight of the wheel. Your stock wheels and most of these cheep wheels are cast aluminum, which is soft and bends easily... so to keep them strong they make them thick and heavy construction. Heavy wheels can ride roughly.

Some of the better wheels are flow-formed (aka spin forged) which is a bit stronger, so they can make them lighter.. They ride better under the car. Best would be wheels which are entirely forged, but those cost too much $$$ for most people.

For sizes, 19" diameters are a great choice, but I'd recommend going with wheels at least as wide as your stock wheels... just mind the weight. If they weigh more than your stock wheels, probably wouldn't consider them any sort of upgrade.

Thanks. So it sounds like sticking to something around 9" wide and 45mm offset like the stock front sets is all I need to worry about then for the front? I'm assuming that since those are the specs for the OEM front set, any other wheels with that width and offset will clear the Brembos fine? And understood about the wheel construction.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Thanks. So it sounds like sticking to something around 9" wide and 45mm offset like the stock front sets is all I need to worry about then for the front? I'm assuming that since those are the specs for the OEM front set, any other wheels with that width and offset will clear the Brembos fine? And understood about the wheel construction.

a lot of us will go a bit more aggressive with the offset. If you look at your stock wheels, you can see how moving them out up to 2cm towards the fender might look good. So anything from 45-25 with a 9” front wheel would probably be fine.

most 19” wheels in those offset ranges will clear the brakes, but if you buy from a non-mustang site, you might check first.

 

[Farkel]

IMHO, staggered or squared, you can't go wrong with SVE wheels from LMR. The site says '15-'22, but your '23 is just the same. I have had their 19x10 wheels on my '20 PP1 w/ Magneride for more than two years and have had no issues.
https://lmr.com/products/2015-Mustang-Wheels

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