Looking for 17" or 18" wheel/rim ideas

[rubydist]

I like the Adrenaline 20's myself. If you still have them and want to gift them to me, I would not object.

I had those 20s on for about a month and I hated the ride. There just needs to be more tire sidewall for the Ranger to ride decent, so I bought these 17s and put them on and sold the 20s at a nice gain.

 

[stmitch]

Not the greatest pic for a variety of reasons (size, lift vs tire size, etc), but here's some Cobra Rs (I think) with big tires.

View attachment 88199

The wheels in this post <quote included> look good, but with the bigger tires they don't quite look meety enough to me. I think I'll probably end up with a set of the Bullitt wheels even if it's not the long term answer.

Please keep the ideas coming.

Those look like Saleen wheels to me rather than Cobra Rs. If you like a clean 5 spoke with a bit more visual mass, the 99-01 Cobra wheels might be worth considering. They've got a bit of dish that some of the other options lack, so they don't look "flat" on the face.

I'd also browse Jeep wheels. Anything older than 2007 will be the same bolt pattern as Rangers. They'll tend to have more bulk to their appearance because the designers weren't trying to make them look fast or sporty.

I really like these, but they're for a "JK" wrangler so not the right bolt pattern. Still, there might be aftermarket options with the proper bolt pattern?:

 

[stmitch]

The offsets seem a bit too "flat" to me, but Jeep Patriots had the proper 5 x114.3 bolt circle too:

 

[JoshT]

The offsets seem a bit too "flat" to me, but Jeep Patriots had the proper 5 x114.3 bolt circle too:

I agree with your opinion there.

 

[stmitch]

03-04 Cobra rims had some thicker spokes as well:

The 03-04 Cobra wheels could be found in the aftermarket with different finishes and more dish/lip too:

 

[stmitch]

I've always wanted to see some Saleen SC wheels on a Ranger too:

 

[jerkyboyxiii]

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I am considering putting these on my ranger if the 16s dont clear the lift knuckles.

 

[pjtoledo]

I'm giving my age away big time,these have always been my favorite wheels. not my car, unfortunately.

 

[JoshT]

Those look like Saleen wheels to me rather than Cobra Rs. If you like a clean 5 spoke with a bit more visual mass, the 99-01 Cobra wheels might be worth considering. They've got a bit of dish that some of the other options lack, so they don't look "flat" on the face.

I really like these, but they're for a "JK" wrangler so not the right bolt pattern. Still, there might be aftermarket options with the proper bolt pattern?:

Looks like you're right about them being Saleens instead of Cobra Rs. The picture is small and I was going off memory of what the post I stole the picture from said.

For transparency, another of the inspriration vehicles formy build is the Saleen XP8. Those were lowered slightly (1-2" from stock) and wearing 18" Saleen wheels with 255/55R18 tires (about 29" diameter). Of course, those originally came with aftermarket 4 pot calipers and larger rotors to fill that wheel opening, where my truck will eventually get the "sport trac" upgrade when it needs brakes again. And a photo for reference:

I do want a thicker spoke profile than that. I'd probably be all over those JK wheels if they were the right lug pattern. I'm probably going to end up with spacers, which I'm fine with, but I'd rather stick to the stock pattern.

I like the Saleens, but honestly I'm not a fan of the Saleen SC. The dish is a plus, but they are just too flat in the center. Like an aluminum version of the old 5 spoke steel wheels.

03-04 Cobra rims had some thicker spokes as well:

The 03-04 Cobra wheels could be found in the aftermarket with different finishes and more dish/lip too:

I'm liking that, but will probably be on less tire.

I've got no problem going aftermarket, primarily looking at stock because there are a lot of designs that I like combined with used availability and price. Even picking a stock design I'm likely to end up aftermarket version. As I've mentioned I've got a set of 03-04 Mach 1 wheels intended for my first gen Ranger. They'll be used to get it rolling before swapping to wider aftermarket version at some point.

You're absoultely correct that the aftermarkets offer different finishes and the dish/lip does make a difference. I almost pulled the trigger on aftermarket Bullitts from one of the Mustang sites the other day. Charcoal/Anthricite gray,17x9, deep lip, less than $150 per wheel. Stoppped and reminded myself I'm not going to use them until I wear out my current tires and/or have all the other work finished.

Given some of the photos posted thus far, I should also mention that I'll be going with a square setup, meaning front and rear wheel/tire combo are the same size. This is both for rotatability and because I'll be keeping the 4wd system intact, possibly converting it to AWD with an engine swap down the road.

 

[JoshT]

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I am considering putting these on my ranger if the 16s dont clear the lift knuckles.

I don;t dislike that style, but I don't want that style. If I were going for something more solid like that I'd got for Outlaw IIs on a muscle car or truck. In fact I used to have 15x8 Outlaw IIs on this truck. Like them, but don't want to go back there. Also FWIW I've already got the 8 hole aluminum wheels on one of my vehciles, they were factory on the F-250.

I'm giving my age away big time,these have always been my favorite wheels. not my car, unfortunately.
View attachment 88273

Love the style of Torq Thrusts, but I think they belong on older metal like that. I love the looks of classic muscle car wheels in general, but also feel like they belong on a certain time period of vehicle. The lines of newer vehicles need updated designs to match, even if it's an updated design of the old wheel.

My 84 Ranger had 14" Magnum 500s on it when I got it. Loved the look. At the time (2000-2010) stepping up to a larger diameter threw the proportions of the wheel all out of whack (I think that's changed since). Going to a 17" wheel I like the Mach 1 wheels as a modern take on the Magnum 500. These days I may end up with a 17" Magnum 500 if the proportions look right, because the styling matches the truck better IMO.

Similar deal for the TQs going larger in diameter doesn't necessarily do them justice. I like the Bullitts as a modern variant of them. AR has also made a larger modern variant that looks very similar to the Bullitts. I think the modern variants match the styling of the '99 truck better than the original version does.

 

[rubydist]

iirc, the Jeep wheels have a smaller center bore diameter, so they need to be bored out to fit on the Ranger.

 

[snoranger]

‘99 Cobra wheels are my favorites. I had them on my ‘90 supercab. I had ‘03-04 Cobra wheels on my ‘01 supercab:

 

[JoshT]

iirc, the Jeep wheels have a smaller center bore diameter, so they need to be bored out to fit on the Ranger.

That probably isn't going to be an issue for my truck. When I get to the point of replacing wheels there won't really be anything that sticks out past the rotor. My understanding is that hub bore is mostly an issue for 2wd trucks and 4x4s with locking hubs. When I convert to live axle it'll be like a 2001+ 4x4 Ranger, which I don't think have that problem.

I'll probably be running spacers anyway which might fix the problem if there is one.

 

[Milkman5687]

I think I posted a pic of my wheels when I got them not long ago but here they are if another option helps...
1st pic is right off the trailer from tire shop for alignment.
2nd pic is when I picked her up from alignment, 1in up in front. (Prolly can't tell from being chained down)

 

[JoshT]

I think I posted a pic of my wheels when I got them not long ago but here they are if another option helps...
1st pic is right off the trailer from tire shop for alignment.
2nd pic is when I picked her up from alignment, 1in up in front. (Prolly can't tell from being chained down)

Truck isn't overall the style I'm going for, but the wheels look good on there. I'm not particularly after chrome, but got details? If nothing else, I'd like to check out the wheel specs.