New Mustang Wheels for Winter Duty?

[04MEMA]

Hope I'm not too late to make this happen, my winter ride's ('92 GMC Jimmy)looking like it's in serious need of a rebuilt motor so I'm thinking of what I can put on the 04 MM to get me through.

I'm seeing 17" new Mustang wheels on ebay for reasonable prices, they will fit without issues? I particularly like the bullet wheels, and that's what I'd get if they'd work.

Can I use the MM lug nuts?

What's the recomended tire combo -size/brand? Not looking for top of the line just good in snow. Repeat - cheapest acceptable tires. I read some are putting 245's out back, not sure if I'd want that wide.

Anyone got pics of this setup with 17" Mustang wheels on an MM? Please share 'em.

Thanks for the help,
Jeff

[Marauder2005]

I do not know how cheap of a tire you can get for a 17in rim. You

are better off getting some 03-06 CVPI steel wheels. I'm not sure

about the Mustang wheels. Another member will chime in.

[RoyLPita]

They will bolt up. It is just up to you how much you would pay for them.

[Bowman9]

From what I have read here on MM.net 2005/6+ Mustang wheels will fit just fine on 2003+ CV/GM/Marauders, but the mustang 2004 and lower year wheels will stick out of the wheel wells to much.

[TripleTransAm]

I'm seeing 17" new Mustang wheels on ebay for reasonable prices, they will fit without issues?

Are they stolen?

[04MEMA]

Marauder2005 - Thanks, I'm sure you're right but what I was thinking was to go the least expensive route but with something that meets my preference appearance wise. Not a big fan of the steel wheels, and the prices for those with caps and rings is over $100 each. So if I can find aluminum wheels for $100 or so each, and then try to find a deal on the tires, I'd probably be satisfied both in terms of appearance and budget.

RoyLPita - thanks for the reply/info.

Bowman9 - thanks for the reply/info.

TripleTransAm - Are they stolen? Well do you think I would by them otherwise? Seriously, I read the ebay ad twice and it didn't say anything about them being stolen, so nope!
BTW - I'm a big fan of TA's, love those turbo TA's!

Jeff

[jimlam56]

Are they stolen?

Don't Even Start...

[04MEMA]

Okay, so maybe I have been absent from the site for too long, is there some inside info behind the stolen thing????

Jeff

[04MEMA]

Okay, on ebay there's a set of 05 17" Mustang Bullit wheels and tires brand new take offs for $500 "buy it now". The diameter of these tires is real close to that of our stock fronts. I can turn off traction control and run them on the back too according to what I've read here. Just adjust the setting for the air ride to bring the rear down a little and maybe it'll look alright. According to the tire rack ratings on the pzero nero tires (1000 + raters) they can handle snow alright. And max load per tire is 1653 lbs, so that should work. Feedback please!

Thanks,
Jeff

[fast Ed]

If you're bothering to change tires for the winter, put winter tires on ... not 3-season rubber!! The OE Mustang Pirellis would be fine in a more termperate climate, but for Michigan, get yourself some dedicated winter tires.

cheers
Ed N.

[04MEMA]

If you're bothering to change tires for the winter, put winter tires on ... not 3-season rubber!! The OE Mustang Pirellis would be fine in a more termperate climate, but for Michigan, get yourself some dedicated winter tires.

cheers
Ed N.

OOps - I forgot to mention these are M+S tires, the reviews I'm reading on the tire rack are very positive for snow performance.

Jeff

[SergntMac]

When considering tires for driving through snow, tire width is an important consideration.

When they are too wide, front tires become snow plows building their own dam, or speed bump infront of the tire, to the point where the rear tire cannot hold traction that will overcome the dam.

I picked up a set of 225/60-17 Michelin Pilots on Lincoln Town Car rims. Perfect fit on the Marauder, but I had to change lug nuts to standard acorn nuts to restore the center caps.

Same size as cop cars, no ABS problem, Traction Control alarm only over 50 MPH and in hard turns. They look like this...

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showc...c=3&userid=392

Look at e-bay again for this combo. I got mine for 300 bucks, but not from e-bay.

And, they are not stolen.

[fast Ed]

OOps - I forgot to mention these are M+S tires, the reviews I'm reading on the tire rack are very positive for snow performance.

Jeff

They are all-season tires, which usually do have the M+S rating. But they do not have the snowflake rating meaning that they are specifically winter approved. Back-to-back, you would notice a huge difference in traction between all-season tires, and winter tires.

My point is that if you're going to change the tires for winter anyway, why not put winter tires on? The weather you experience in Detroit is similar to where I am in Toronto. I personally would not drive a RWD performance car in this climate, without 4 winter boots installed. When my T-Bird Super Coupe was my daily driver, I always put 4 H-speed rated winter performance tires on the stock wheels from mid-November until the end of April.

But hey, it's your call.


cheers
Ed N.

[Sully008]

What ^ said. I had an '04 CVLX w/all season tires on it last winter. Boy did that suck. It wasn't very sure footed in the white stuff and on ice? Forget about it. It wasn't fun last year to say the least.

The MM with the winter tires (specifically, Pirelli Scorpions) is a night and day improvement in winter driving.

[04MEMA]

Mac - thanks for sharing the info and pics. That looks like a cost effective option indeed. I'll definetly give that further consideration.

Ed and Sully, I can't argue with you guys, you're right that the best setup is dedicated snow tires. At least that's the case if you're only goal is to go through snow in the best possible way. Considering all of this feed back I'm getting a better understanding of what I want to do and what I don't want to do.

I want the car to still look good to me, so if I'm putting different wheels on it they better look sweet. I want to spend a not too large amount of $ (that's a subjective comment, and I haven't assigned a dollar amount but $500 seems reasonable). I want acceptable performance in the snow (again subjective, but my impression at this point is that the Zero Nero's will do, and even if I need to add some weight to the trunk that's alright with me).

I like that the Mustang wheels will probably still bring $200 if I sell them off later. But I'm very interested in seeing how good they will look on the car. Who knows, maybe I'll like them more than my stockers.

Other options include just getting 18" snow tires for the stock wheels, but I hate paying for the swap labor twice a year.

I don't want to spend a grand (or so) on a steel wheel and tire package. I know that. I don't want wheels that make the MM look just like a Grand Marquis either.

Thanks for all the feedback fellas, I truly appreciate ya'll taking the time to try and help. At this point I'm weighing things out, and also trying to see if I can get my winter ride to make it through the winter without a rebuild. We shall see. If I get some wheels I'll post some pics.

Jeff