Not to beat a dead Mustang/Ranger wheel swap, but...

[OldBlue61]

I picked up a set of 2006-09 Mustang GT wheels with Pirelli tires for $175 today. Look brand new, as the guy took them off his car w/ 2k miles on them and they are mint! Steal of the day! Rims look like the picture below.

I've been reading a bunch of stuff here and I just keep getting more and more confused. I want to put these on my '94 2wd XLT, and I think I need spacers at least on the front, but I cannot figure out what thickness I need. They fit the rear fine, but the brake line causes interference in the front. Could be more things causing interference yet, but I won't know until I get them mounted. Anyone use these and can tell me what spacers I need? Would 1” be enough, or do I need more? Should I add a spacer to the rear too, just to keep the tracks similar? I'd rather nut have to cut the studs if I don't have to.

 

[MSGia]

Hey! I have a set of 2018 Mustang Ecoboost Wheels and Tires on my 2010 2WD ranger. I love them and I got them for a great price. Now, my truck is the 3rd gen ranger (98 - 11) so it might not apply, but I needed a 1 inch spacer. I needed them because the front brakes on my truck had the hub inside of them (first attachment below...).

I did not need to cut the studs because the rear mounting surface of my rims were dished (I attached a picture, if your wheels have this area then you should not need to cut any studs.)

Yes, get 4 spacers, it looks bad with just 2, and your tires would probably wear badly. Also another reason you need spacers, Mustang wheels have more positive offset, my OE steel wheels had no offset, so the mustang wheels would rub even if they fit. In short, one inch is enough.

 

[OldBlue61]

Thanks for the info and pics! The rims I got fit the rear fine, but I only tried the passenger front, and I couldn't get them to go on because it was hitting the metal part of the brake line. I suppose I could use my tubing bender if I had to, but I'd rather not mess with the lines (for obvious reasons!). I'll have to look at the backside of my rims to see if there are pockets there like on yours. Not sure if they will clear the front hubs yet, since I couldn't get passed the brake line. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[OldBlue61]

Yeah, the back of these wheels has no pockets, just flat.

 

[19Walt93]

I have 95 Mustang 16's on my 93 Ranger and they work because I used 235/65 tires. If I cramp the steering hard in either direction the wheels rub on the lower shock bolts so I made a couple of steering stops. A couple of spacers would have been easier.

 

[MSGia]

I really would like to see the brake line in question. If you do end up using spacers, you might have to use some that are greater than one inch width

 

[JoshT]

I really would like to see the brake line in question.

I would too. There shouldn't be any issues with brake lines if everything is stock, or stock replacement.

These guys covered all the issues you should encounter. That being the need for spacers to clear the hubs on front. I can't verify if the 1" thickness is needed for your truck though.

 

[rubydist]

Ranger wheels are 12mm offset. 06 Mustang wheels are in the range of 40-45mm offset, depending on the exact wheels. iirc, the ones you pictured are 44 or 45. So, to put the tire in the correct location, you need ~32mm of spacer / adapter, or 1.25"

 

[JoshT]

...to put the tire in the correct location, you need ~32mm of spacer / adapter, or 1.25"

That jives with what I was remembering. I'm remembering that most people use a little thicker at about a 1.5" spacer. Generally that'll be thick enough that the original studes won;t need to be cut and it'll flush the wheels with the body a little better IIRC.

Good reminder since I was thinking about picking up a set of Mustang stockers to run on my 99 until I figured out the aftermarket wheels I want, and that generation seems to be most common takeoffs around here.

 

[OldBlue61]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions. I only tried one wheel on the front passenger side and it does contact the brake line. I’ll try and get a picture tomorrow. Didn’t try the drivers side though. I replaced the entire front brakes last year (minus the steel lines) with new parts, and I remember comparing the new parts with the old and everything matched up.

Not sure if they will clear the hubs as I couldn’t get the wheel on, but maybe I’ll try the drivers side and see if there’s any issues there. I’m also going to measure the exposed stud length just to know how deep they are. I will install spacers in the rear as well just to keep everything symmetrical (they fit the rear fine).

 

[stmitch]

Yeah, 05+ Mustang wheels have more positive offset than earlier ones. Without a spacer (if they could even fit over the hubs) they'd be sucked in too close to the frame where they'd rub and would look odd. If you really like the wheels, an adapter that's 1.5" should push them out enough to clear the hubs, avoid rubbing close to the frame, and fill out the wheel wells better with a wider track width.

Mustang wheels from before 2005 had less offset and fit with much smaller spacers if any at all. I also prefer the looks of the added dish that they tend to offer, but it's not my truck.

 

[OldBlue61]

Well, I have 1.5" spacers coming for front and rear. Should have them next week. I'll take a pic of the passenger side and the brake line interference once I get ready to mount them.

 

[OldBlue61]

I don't have the spacers yet, but I went ahead and tried installing the front wheels. Well, good news is there is no interreference w/ the brake line. Not sure what I did to see that, but there's no issue there. They fit with no rubbing lock to lock (at least on the jack stands). Only problem - I can't install the front center caps because they hit the bearing covers. I measured the studs, and they stick out 1.375" from the face of the rotor, so the 1.5" spacers will work fine. I just hope there's enough clearance for the center caps. Please excuse the dirty truck! Waiting for a good early spring day to get it cleaned up!

 

[OldBlue61]

Ok, in case someone else wants to do this in the future, here's what I did and how it turned out...

I'm very happy with the results and how they look. For starters, these are (I believe) 2006-2009 Mustang GT wheels, 17" x 8". Tire size is the stock (for that car) 235/55R17 running at 32psi at the moment. I used 1.5" forged aluminum spacers front and rear, torqued to 80 foot pounds with red Loctite, and there are no interference problems. My truck is a '94 2WD.

 

[JoshT]

I dig it. While I'm with @stmitch on the deeper dish, I don't think I'd mind running a set of those until I found something I liked better.