2005 Ford Mustang Wheels

Falken TireNext up on our list of industry types to call were John Choi and Roman Racela of Falken Tire. Associate Editor Johnson recently hooked up with them for a set of their new Torque 5s wrapped in FK-451 Falken rubber for his Fox five-lug brake upgrade. That means you can use their sweet-looking wheels on Fox cars if you have the five-lug hardware, otherwise Falken's wheel line is strictly for the '94-and-up crowd right now. Falken also offers three Ultra High Performance tires-the FK-451, the ST-115, and the RT-215. The RT-215 currently comes in only 245/45-17, which is the OE 17-inch tire size.

'94-'04 Wheel Applications (with recom- mended tire size)* 18x8.0 inches +35 mm with 245/40-18 (FK-451 or ST-115) Torque 5 and Koblenz* 19x8.5 inches +25 mm with 245/35-19 (FK-451 or ST-115) Koblenz only* 19x9.5 inches +35 mm with 275/30-19 (FK-451 or ST-115) Koblenz only (rear fitment only)

By the time you read this, Falken will also have released a new Koblenz wheel in 19x10.5 inches +10 mm and +30 mm.

Nitto TireNitto tire has made a name for itself in a short period of time, introducing a popular radial drag tire and having a large selection of sizes for the hot aftermarket wheel industry (see chart p. 145). We spoke with Conrad Galamgam and Efrain Viveros, who shared with us their most popular sizes in their hottest lines of tires, the NT555, the NT555R, and the new NT555RII. Wrap a set of these around your new wheels!

Steeda AutosportsWe spoke with Fred Mills, Steeda's top wheel and tire sales specialist, about what Steeda would recommend for a customer.

'87-'93 Applications* 15x7 Factory wheel 225/60-15 tires* 16x7 Pony wheel, or equivalent 16x8 225/55-16 or optional* 245/50-16 (Note to GT owners: Wider tires may rub front "spat" of front lower valance-minor trimming is required)

17-inch Wheel Choices* 17x8 either 245/45-17s or 255/45-17 tires * 17x9 run 255/45-17 on the front and 275/40-17 tires on the rear (Note: Some rear fender clearancing may be required for the 275 tires, and good aftermarket upper and lower rear control arms are recommended)

Special note to Fox owners with the FRPP M-2300-K kit:

Longer rear axles will generally require a different offset rear wheel. For example, a 17x9 rear will require a 6.42-inch backspacing, while 17x8 wheels can be used with same off-sets and tire sizing front to rear. Some rear outer fender clearancing may be required.

'94-'04 Applications* 17x8 wheels use 245/45-17 or 255/45-17 tires* 17x9 wheels use minimum of 255/45-17 tires; best recommen-dation is 275/40-17 tires* 18x9 wheels 265/35-18 minimum front and 285/35-18 rear, recommend same size front and rear 285s (Use rack limiter bushings on front to prevent tire rub on full lock turns)* 18x9.5 wheels 285/35-18 front and 295/35 or 305/35 rear tires (Once again, good upper and lower rear control arms recommended, or use 5-Link 2 to control lateral axle movement)

Special note for '03-'04 Cobra owners:When running 9.5-inch-or-wider rear wheels, it is strongly recommended to use Steeda's 555-4016 IRS subframe bushings and IRS rear cantilever bracket braces to eliminate rear suspension deflection, which can cause interference between the tires and suspension.