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CrownVic wheel upgrade, finally!

Warped9

Admiral
Admiral
Finally, after having to delay for about two years, I’m pulling the trigger on my wheel upgrade.

My initial plan was to go for 18in. wheels, and I looked at countless options. I was also mindful of what would actually fit. I found a few I quite liked with two or three candidates that would work. But I was also nagged by having to buy new 18in. tires to replace my current rubber with very low mileage on them.

I then considered the option of staying with 17in. wheels, but going a bit wider with something I liked better than what I presently have—something that looked a bit more aggressive. There was the bonus of keeping my existing tires and cutting the upgrade cost in half.

My final choice is the XXR 555 17x8 w. 35 offset in Chromium Black. These wheels will poke out 1/2 in. further than my current setup and give the car a bit sportier stance along with the bolder wheel design.

I’m presently trying to get these wheels from a Canadian source, but if thats bust or if I have to wait too long I’ll order them from the States and just pick them up in Ogdensberg, NY.

Posted is a photoshop image of what it will look like along with red caliper covers. When I get the real wheels mounted I’ll post up-to-date pics.



I’m also hoping to upgrade the rear control arms at the same time, probably with CHE control arms and Watts link.

My one small disappointment is the wheels have extra lug holes. I think I’ve heard of lug hole caps to cover them and I’m hoping thats true.
 
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Show me with whitewalls. I love whitewalls.
No white walls (waay too ‘50s/‘60s).
No window tint (sooo ‘80s/‘90s though some still do it).
No lowered suspension (makes the car look broken).
No black wheels (looks like car is still shod with winter steelies).
No oversized wheels.
No darkened headlights or taillights.
No tacked on tail or chin spoilers.
No underbody lighting.

Yeah, a hint of muscle car vibe, but tuned to be a bit of a sleeper. More like a clean looking Grand Touring car. Suspension and wheels upgraded for vastly improved handling over factory setup without sacrificing ride. Exhaust upgraded. Intake and throttle body will also be upgraded for a bit more power and throttle response. I will also add a Ford Trak-Lok differential and likely upgrade the gears as well for better traction and acceleration. In the end if I’m lucky I might see about 20-25 horsepower over factory. The headlight bulbs and lighting harness have also been upgraded for better night driving.

As I mentioned upthread I’m undecided if I will eventually add headers to go with the already installed dual exhaust.
 
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No white walls (waay too ‘50s/‘60s).

tumblr_mtrwtmW3Sx1rqp2rqo1_500.gif
 
I’m having this discussion on another site also and based on some that feedback I decided to try a bit of extra photoshop. I added a chin spoiler, painted mirror caps and yellow caliper covers just for the hell of it.



The painted side mirror caps look cool. I definitely want to do that. Ford stopped offering body-colour painted mirrors in 2004, the year my car was made. But some folks like painting theirs to recreate that factory look and I find myself wanting to do it as well.

The chin spoiler is something I’m seriously going to consider. This is a real aftermarket piece actually made for a ‘99-‘04 Mustang Mach 1, but it also just so happens to fit a ‘99-‘11Crown Victoria. It’s a subtle piece that apparently also has an actual benefit, besides appearance, by creating directional stability at highway speeds.

The yellow caliper covers are…interesting. The yellow is bolder than red and more less common, but I’m not sure whether I like it or not. The red is more low-key seems to blend in better. Hmm…I dunno…
 
Okay wheels ordered as well as the caliper covers, of which I’m going with red. I also ordered wheel hole plugs to plug the open lug holes because this wheel has two bolt hole spacings: 5x114.3 (which is my car’s spacing) and 5x100.

Finally I also decided to order CHE Performance rear control arms and Watts link bars. This should make for a nice upgrade along with the new wheels.

Now I wait maybe 2-4 weeks for everything to arrive.
 
Just got notification that control arms AND wheels have been delivered already to my mechanic’s garage. Cool!

Still waiting for the caliper covers to ship, but they can easily be installed later.

I gotta say this was very prompt service. I ordered everything on March 17th and the main items have already been delivered. Four years ago it took more than three weeks to get my previous wheels.
 
I’m eager to see the new wheels on the car and to see how close my photoshop image (posted at the top if the thread) is to what they will actually look like.
 
Dry fit of new wheels and they fit perfectly with zero issues.



Considering how they look dry fit then installed they should look pretty close to the way I photoshopped them.



Unfortunately thats delayed because my spline lugs and hub rings have gone missing sonce last December. I have picked up new hub rings, but no one locally has the same spline lugs I had before. So I've had to order them, from the same place I got them four years ago, but it'll be aboit a week or so before they get here. There's also a delay in my red caliper covers being delivered.
 
Great news! Got a phone call Monday morning (yesterday). My mechanic found my missing spline lugs and hub rings! Apparently one of his guys had realized some hours later he’d forgotten to put the box in my trunk after he had put my winters on. He put them aside knowing I’d be back in the Spring.

It’s all good. I’m going Thursday after work to get the new XXR wheels installed. Woo-Hoo!
 
Great news! Got a phone call Monday morning (yesterday). My mechanic found my missing spline lugs and hub rings! Apparently one of his guys had realized some hours later he’d forgotten to put the box in my trunk after he had put my winters on. He put them aside knowing I’d be back in the Spring.

It’s all good. I’m going Thursday after work to get the new XXR wheels installed. Woo-Hoo!

Are you sure this time? ;)

It's been a long strange trip.
 
Some guys really go for that pseudo cop car look including a pushbar. Others get into 18-22 inch wheels and lowered suspension. I’m not into any of that. I don’t care for tinted windows either.

I’m thinking of mine as something of a grand touring, mild musclecar vibe with most of the upgrades out of sight under the skin.

Visible upgrades (from stock)
- Chromed honeycomb grille
- 17in. wheels with wider and lower profile tires.
- Original factory optional body moulded splashguards.

Out of sight upgrades (from stock)
- Dual exhaust system (mostly out-of-sight except for exhaust tips).
- Bigger front stabilizer bar and added rear bar.
- Upgraded rear control arms.
- Larger police interceptor airbox and intake tube w. upgraded throttle-body
- Locking differential with upgraded 3.27 gears.
 
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