Mustang Wheel Question

Florida · Feb 24, 2015

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster. I live in south Florida, have a 2011 Regular Cab 2.3L 5-speed ranger. It is my DD and I put 300-400 miles a week on it. Looking into getting lighter weight wheels, but I dont like wheels that draw attention to my truck.

I am considering 1999 Ford Mustang wheels 15x7 6spoke wheels. Is there anyone on here who has these wheels? I know most might think they are ugly, but they look stock, and I read that they are super light. I am getting my friend to weigh his soon. Or if someone can perhaps photoshop it on a reg cab truck? My truck is dark metallic gray, but any help would be great.

Also, I cant find much information on the hub, tho I know the lug and size fits. What size hub is our truck (bore)?

Lastly, I do 80% highway, and 10% gravel roads for outdoor fun. Would going to an alloy like these be a bad idea for that type of driving?

PS. I plan to put Cooper AT3's in size P235/75R15 on them.

don4331 · Feb 24, 2015

Hey Florida:

If they are OEM; they aren't super light - Ford wouldn't want the liability.

'99 Mustang rims have the same hub bore as the '98 and newer Ranger but the 15x7 you are looking at have a 20mm offset; Ranger rims of same size are -20mm...

So, you need 1.5" spacers to get same track; i.e. center caps won't install without them. But that doesn't stop you from running them.

I run the stock Ford alloys and my truck sees lots of gravel - in-laws live 15 miles from pavement... So, alloys are fine form durability perspective.. They are susceptible to dings in clearcoat after which the rim will corrode (I have one rim which needs polish and re-coating.)

Florida · Feb 25, 2015

Hey thanks for the info!

I have actually started doing more research. I wish there was someone who weighed the stock 7-spoke steelies, as that is what I am running now.

I read that OEM steelies might weigh ~16lbs... Could that be true? The thing is, I plan on getting P235 Cooper AT3's which weigh in at 31lbs. My stock ContiTracs weigh 25lbs. If I can save some of that weight replacing the wheels I would like to. BUT if the steelies are ~16lbs, then it wont be worth the price as sub 15lbs wheels are about $150+ a pop.. Does this make sense?

EDIT: According to an online retailer who I asked, the steelies weigh 21.5lbs. So it might be worth it to get 15lb wheels. The mentioned mustang wheels I asked, and was told 16lbs 10oz on their scales... Hmm Maybe if there is a stock ranger wheel in alloy that weight under 17lbs I should look into those.

Would I need 1.5in spaces for both front and rear?

stmitch · Feb 26, 2015

Florida said:
Hmm Maybe if there is a stock ranger wheel in alloy that weight under 17lbs I should look into those.

They offered a few different alloy wheels for the Ranger over the years, but I believe they were primarily 16 inch diameter. The ones that I think look the lightest (and best) are known as "Y spokes". You can google them by that name. I be surprised if they're much lighter than the Mustang 15s though.

Florida said:
Would I need 1.5in spaces for both front and rear?

Technically no. The spacer is only required to use a center cap in the front. Adding one to the rear would only be for cosmetic reasons so that the front tires dont' stick out significantly more than the rears.

Florida · Feb 26, 2015

That has me a little confused. So the spacer of 1.5" is only required to put the cap on in the front? So the rear wheel and cap can be mounted without the spacer? The spacers add a few more pounds to the wheel so it might be a wash trying to save a few pounds with a wheel that requires spacers. I do however, not like the look of the stock steel 7 spokes...

Thing is I can get a decent set of those wheels for $100 for all four, which still has me thinking. But if the spacers are required on all 4 wheels, they probably weigh atleast 4-5lbs each...

I know I am nit picking about the weight, and the saving will be negligible compared to cost of new wheels, but I just dont want an increase at all in mpg. I LOVE that I get 28+ MPG right now!!!

Bronco638 · Feb 26, 2015

I don't think the spacers weigh more than .5 lb. each. So, you're talking 2 lbs. total.

Don't forget that the front hub has the grease cap for the outer bearing. The rear hubs don't have that. If you want to run the (front) wheels w/o center caps, don't worry about the spacers. If you want to run center caps, you should consider spacers for all four wheels. You might be able to find polished or chrome grease caps which would make running w/o center caps (on the fronts) a little more palatable.

stmitch · Feb 26, 2015

In most cases where people put mustang wheels on a Ranger, people use spacers for cosmetic reasons only. They want to run a center cap and/or they don't want the wheels to be tucked in close to the frame. Typically, a 7/16" spacer is plenty.
There are some Mustang wheels with different offsets (anything for 05+ for sure, some random older style wheels too) that require a thicker adapter to avoid rubbing the control arm or inner fender. The wheels you're considering MAY be this type, but my memory is fuzzy. Sorry.

Either way, the wheels will not need a spacer in the rear. There is no hub/dustcap to worry about, and the wheel wells are big enough to fit lots of widths/offsets. The only reason people might run a spacer in the rear with mustang wheels is to try and match the track width in the front. It would look goofy to have the front wheels spaced out something close to stock, and have the rears tucked in a bunch.

You're totally right about 1.5 inch adapters weighing 4-5lbs each, plus they'll add a fair bit of cost to your wheel purchase.

Florida · Feb 26, 2015

Thanks! For some reason amazon or some of the websites has the shipment weight at 20lbs. Either way. If I wanted to run the stang wheels, and have them the same, that would mean 1.5" spacers on all four wheels? Sorry for probably an easy search and repeitive question- but I am just confused.

1.5" spacers are requires on the fronts to use center caps.

People add to the rear to match the front wheel track.

And yes, the wheels cost 100 for all four, and the hubcentric spacers cost another 75-100. Probably not worth it since the weight is probably a wash! Might start saving for something else then, topper shell!

don4331 · Feb 26, 2015

Florida:

My CAD model guestimates weight of 1.5" spacer at 2.8lbs. So, 4 * 3lbs + packing and box would be close to 20lbs shipping.

You only need 0.5" spacers to allow the Mustang center caps.

1.5" puts track back where Ford intended it...

IMHO, looks cheap if rear doesn't match front (owner was too frugal to buy 4...)

Aside: What size are your current Conti's?

Extra weight of adding topper shell hurt my fuel economy (city driving) but helped with traction in winter...

Florida · Mar 16, 2015

Conti's are stock: 225/70R15. They look soo small. I actually just had to pass on those wheels as they were in much worse shape in person.

I did add the topper however. It couldn't weight more than 60-70lbs MAX. Im sure it wont help city MPG, but I read research articles that a standard topper can give as much as a 5-10% reduction in drag. That should be pretty good at highway speeds. I already get 25/34, combined about 27 or 28mpg so i can lose a little in city.

The topper makes my truck beg for wheels/tires. It looks so plain or "old". Kind of boring actually. Still not sure what route I want to go. I just don't want to spend $100 per wheel, as the tires are mounting isn't going to be cheap. That's why I wanted a used stock wheel, alloy preferably.

Dan B. · Mar 17, 2015

Updated yet understated. Not sure of the weights of everything. Paid $100 for all four with tires.

Florida · Mar 17, 2015

Dan Bowers said:
Updated yet understated. Not sure of the weights of everything. Paid $100 for all four with tires.

I like those! They have a set near me for $100 no tires. Did you get spacers? Know what size they are or what model them came off?

don4331 · Apr 7, 2015

98 Ranger 96 Cobra GT wheels

Florida:

One of my rangers, with the Mustang wheels on it. Without spacers, the 'hubcaps' don't fit over the grease caps on the spindles.

I also have all the pieces to install Mustang 13" rotors up front and they need the same smidgen of spacer.

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