When you get a new car, we all know first things first, you get some wheels and tires. I did some research for which wheels and tires I wanted to do. I won't say I spent hours and hours. It helps to have a brother who you are simply copying to know what parts to buy. I did end up buying the same exact set up that Brent has on his RED BARON 3v Mustang. The goal for the car is to be a fun street car that can do Autox and HDPE track days. I've purchased many sets of wheels in my car history. This is the 7th set of wheels I've bought. That doesn't include the aftermarket wheels that my first Mustang had or the 2 sets my last WRX had.
Before I get to some pictures, I'll give some insight into why I copied Brent.
I did talk to other 3v/S197 "stick axle gang" members about their wheel and tire set ups and their opinions. One comment that I heard more than once was that 18's have better tire options and are typically lighter weight. While I would normally agree with both of those concepts, what I found was not quite that clear cut when comparing to the 19's I bought.
The wheels I ordered are the SVE R357 in 19x11 and +50mm offset in the Gloss Graphite color. Here's some pics.
Here's a screenshot from LMR.com's website. The SVE brand of wheels is an exclusive brand only through Late Model Restoration, or LMR.
The R357 costs $305/ea and the 19x11 size weighs in at 22.8lbs. This is the biggest wheel I've ever owned! The last set of wheels I bought myself was the 15x7" wheels for my Civic which weighed just under 12 lbs each haha
The biggest wheel I've had in my past was the 18x9.5" Enkei NT-03M+ wheels that are on the WRX that I just sold. I think those weighed about 18-19lbs per wheel. They are a fairly light wheel for that size.
Hot off the press pic here of Red Baron and its new big track wing! Here's a view looking into the sun of the R357 wheel. Looks killer!
Again, here is the wheel on Brent's 2005 REB BARON. One cool thing about this wheel is the way it can look bright or dark depending on light and angle. I did initially think about getting either the black or bronze color. Black has always been a no for me because you just can't see the spoke design. Bronze would be cool and I did consider it for a bit. The only small hesitation on the Gloss Graphite color is that it could be too much grey with the Vapor Silver color of my Mustang. But, it comes off much darker than the silver so it should give a nice contrast with a dark wheel. The gloss finish on the Graphite color really shows off the spoke design in different ways depending on light. I'm happy with the choice and think it will look great on the car!
The only other wheel I was seriously considering was the APEX EC7 in 18x11 or 19x11. The 18x11 weighs 22.6lbs, only 0.2lbs lighter. The 18x11 cost was $414/ea. That's over $100 more per wheel. APEX has a nice deal where you can get a replacement wheel for 50% the cost if damaged on track. By going with the SVE wheel though, I saved $400 total for the set, which would cover the purchase of another wheel if damaged.
For tires, I ordered the Continental Extreme Contact Force (ECF) in 295/30/19 from trackdaytire.com. Thanks to Nico for the discount code! Buy 3, get 1 free is a W!
What a great looking tire! Some may not consider the tire tread design part of the look of a performance car but you are Oh So Wrong! They most certainly are part of the look and I think these look aggressive!
The Continental ECF is a 200 treadwear tire meant for track duty. The description details actually say it was designed for endurance racing. So, this will make this tire longer lasting, which for a street car and a 200tw tire is one of my biggest priorities. Without the discount code, I'm not sure I would have done this tire or any 200tw tire, but it was too hard to pass up. I did research quite a few other tire options and sizes. I really want to run a 305 wide tire, but Continental doesn't make a 305 for the ECF. They have a 295 or a 315. Brent and I weren't sure 315 would fit well enough up front to be worth the step up. As it is, to get this 295 to fit will require longer wheel studs with a 19mm spacer and big camber, at least about 2.5-2.7 degrees. The pics of Brent's car above also have this same tire, so it gives me an idea of fitment and look.
Due to living in Utah and that this is my "daily driver", I will end up getting some stock wheels with all season tires for next winter. For this winter, I can run the stock 17's with the all seasons on it until I put the big brakes on it.
I'm stoked for these to get on the car! Next up, we'll talk suspension modifications!
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