Here is a neat little illustration showing the difference between the factory setup of a 225/60R16 tire on a 16x7 w. 45 offset wheel and a 235/55R17 on a 17x8 w. 35 offset.
Along with the illustrations I've shown of how much a 17X8 wheel will be set up differently from my current 17x7.5 I did a bit of 3D modeling to get an even better understanding of what would chamge with the new setup. If keeping the same 235/55R17 tires with 17x8 or 18x8 wheels with 35 offset the new wheel itself will protrude 1/2 in. further out than presently, but the outer edge of the tire tread will move only 1/4 in. further outward. The reason is the tire sidewalls balloon a bit more to fit the 1/2 in. wider wheel even as the 235 tread width remains the same. Also will the wheel's outerface moves out 1/2 in. the wheel's inner face would move outward less than 1mm or practically not at all. If I went with an 18x8.5 w. 45 offset and a 235/50R18 tire the result would be the wheel protruding 1/2 in. further and the outer edge of the tire tread wouild not move at all. The reason is because the difference between a 45 offset and my present 42 offset is negligible (the new wheel's centre is only 3mm. displaced from the present wheel's centre) and so while the new wheel's outer face protrudes 1/2 in. further outward the wheel's inner face tucks in 1/2 in. further. The illustration below shows exactly what I've just described. The far left image is my the current setup. From left to right shows the current setup darkened and superimposed onto different new setups and each lined up by the wheel's mounting face.
It seems like the back left tire of my Buick toed out a tad more than the rest-might be the crappy drive. I’ve seen that on all four wheels of some old Ford 4x4s.
If I wanted to I could add wider wheels and tires (or add wheel spacers) to the rear of the CrownVic for a staggered setup as the body of the car is a very subtle wedge shape as seen from above. A lot of Tuners seem to like staggered setups. I have no interest in doing that just as I have no interest in lowering my car or tinting the windows darker. People love to modify/customize their car to be distinct from everything else, and I can understand that...to a point. But there is a point where appearance starts to intrude on function, and particularly safety. Lowering your car or modifying the suspension in an extreme way essentially makes the car unsaleable. No one else is ever going to want it like that unless you’re lucky to find that one particular interested buyer. The same applies to jacking your car or truck higher off the ground beyound reason—you’ve made the vehicle extremely unsafe to drive. Tinting your windows to the extreme not only means no one can see into the car, but it also interferes with the driver’s vision looking out particularly at night. Certain mods can be undone with little fuss and the car put back to factory spec. But extreme mods basically kills the salability as it costs far too much to undo what has been done.
Given my druthers if money were no object then I would pop for the 18in. wheels. But doing that essentially doubles the cost of upgrading, because new tires also need to be purchased, and then I have a set of tires to sell as well as a set of 17in. rims. They might be sold together or they might have to be sold separately. Sticking with a 17in. upgrade cuts the cost in half and then I have only a set of 17in. rims to sell. I can afford to go for the 18s, but it's a question of whether it's really worth it. There is no tangible performance benefit with the 18s, but certainly a different look. But is that bigger wheel look really worth double the cost? Arrgh!!
You might keep the 17" rims and maybe use them in winter, especially if the tread on those tires is more snow capable. Do you have winter?....Canada....of course you have winter
I have the car’s original 16in. wheels with snow tires (the narrower tires are better in snow) and my all-season 17in. tires are really more summer performance. They are great in the rain, but not suited for snow. I switch to winter tires in late November to early December (depending on the weather) then switch back again around late March.
I miss the car drawings from the old Chilton manuals. A car recognition manual would have been good for local law enforcement. Now everything looks like a jelly bean
Candidly there is a general sameness to most car design in every era. It is the discerning eye who can tell vehicle models apart from each other just as a learned eye can see how horses are distinct from each other while everyone else see multitudes of the same thing. When you are making a product for the masses there will inevitably be a lot of sameness given you’re targeting the same customers. There will also be exceptions when a product is targeted for a specific rather than general demographic. It also doesn’t help when companies market the same car with only slight variations. GM could rebadge a design four times through Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick. Ford did it through Ford and Mercury. Chrysler did it with Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth. Thats a helluva lot of sameness. The minivan craze spawned a lot of sameness because everything became a slight variation on a one box concept. And thats extended to crossovers and SUVs where we’re seeing slight variations on the two box concept. The masses are where the money is. Distinct designs are generally loss leaders because the target markets are much smaller. It’s why we lose cars like the Beetle because there isn’t enough money in it. On the other hand a vehicle like the Kia Soul manages successfully to straddle that line between distinctiveness and practicality even though it, too, is a two box design. The funny thing about the Soul is it was originally marketed towards a younger demographic and yet many older buyers really took to it which really caught Kia by surprise. The older crowd liked the Soul’s whimsy yet were really drawn to its size and functionality. This was somewhat of a replay of what happened with the original VW Beetle wherein it was initially intended as a practical, reliable and inexpensive car for the masses and yet was embraced by the youth movement eschewing domestic cars getting bigger, heavier and more ostentatious. One could make the argument the Kia Soul succeeded where the reimagined new Beetle failed. The Soul is this era’s spiritual successor to the old Beetle.
Sometimes I think too much and second guess myself about something I thought I had made a decision about, particularly laying awake late at night when everything is so quiet. But in the cold light of day things can often be clearer. And so I’m sticking with the decision that the 17x8 XXR 555 is the way to go. It looks great as well as makes more sense financially.
Restless and still poking around. Found this one: Fast Wheels FC04 18x8 w. 40 offset Silver with Machined Face. This is actually an ideal size for an 18in. wheel on a CrownVic. This is also readily available in Canada.
My issue with wheels like those is that I worry what happens to them if you hit a pot hole too hard. Spindly spokes just don't 'inspire' me.
You’d be surprised by how strong some of these wheels are. I have seen this wheel in person and looks pretty sturdy and not that spindly. Furthermore bear in mind that the wheel itself rather than the face is what is supporting most of the weight. But also try to avoid potholes that could swallow your car.
This is a crazy video on the strength of alloy wheels. Enjoy. https://driving.ca/fiat/auto-news/news/w...s-you-dont-need
I am ready to buy...pretty much. However, by the time my purchase would arrive by end of August I would have the new wheels on for about three months before having to swap them off for my winter wheels and tires. So maybe it’s best to hold off until next Spring when I swap the winter tires off for the summers. Aarrgh!
Fast Wheels FC04 - Why I like this wheel. Firstly the fitment is pretty much perfect: 18x8 with 40 offset. It’s distinctly wider than stock, but not too wide. Mounted with 235/50R18 tires gives it a good balance of more aggressive looking rubber and better performance without sacrificing fuel economy. It fits better than the 18x8.5 F1R F21 because it won’t poke outward as much. Also it has only the specific required bolt holes to fit a specific hub rather than extra bolt holes to allow for more than one hub size—resulting in a cleaner looking wheel. These wheels are easily available locally given Fast Wheels is a Canadian company. Pricing for these wheels is very similar to the F1R. The Fast FC04 is a very polished looking wheel for a reasonable price. And I don’t think it looks out of place on the this CrownVic. XXR 555 - Why I like this wheel. The look of this wheel on the CrownVic is so counterintuitive. You likely wouldn’t think of putting something that looks like this on such a car, and yet (in my opinion) it works. It gives the car a more elemental look and completely different character. It looks badass and like something you’d see a cool character in a film or TV series driving. The car looks fast and more athletic just sitting there. Even the slightly smaller 17x8 size looks a bit more old school than the current bigger-is-always-better school of thought. With 235/55R17 tires the performance would be essentially the same as the bigger wheel. With a 35 offset this wheel would poke outward a bit more than the Fast wheel, but not detrimentally so. The final point is cost—this wheel wouldn’t require corresponding larger tires which effectively cuts my upgrade cost in half—and thats very appealing. My one disappointment is I wish the 18in. version of this wheel fit the CrownVic, but 18x8.5 with 35 offset is not an optimum fit. If only it was an 18x8 then it would be a no-brainer. Even so with the wheels poking outward a bit more than what I have presently the car will have a slightly wider stance with the wheels and tires will looking more flush with the fenders. With either one of these wheels I plan on adding red brake calliper covers as a colour accent. I think it would look rather striking against the silver of the Fast wheel or the Chromium Black of the XXR.
Great thread. I am on Panther number 15. I had 14 others over the years, from a 1982 LTD 2 door that was quite basic, to a 2004 Crown Vic LX that was highly-optioned. Among the 15 has been a fairly even mix of both Crown Vic and Grand Marquis. I had a 1998 Crown Vic base that was Spruce Green. Loved the color. I had 2 virtually identical Grand Marquis cars at the same time. One was a 1995 and the other was a 1996. Both were Medium Willow Green Metallic with Willow Green leather interior. Both were LS cars with slightly different options. I have had 2 Crown Vic interceptors, a 1998 with 3:27 gears and a 2000 with 3:55. The previous owner of the 2000 changed the high beams to HID and they were great. A 1991 Grand Marquis and the 1996 did indeed have electrical problems that could not be tracked down. The 91 kept blowing out alternators. The 96 would go 100% dead, electrically, at random times. Not good. My current car is a 1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX 4 door sedan, white with white vinyl top, and burgundy cloth interior. The first owner had it Ziebarted when new and there is zero rust on it. The chrome is absolutely like new. Zero wear to the interior. The paint is original and looks great. It was babied. When the latest stimulus checks finally arrive, I need to replace the left front wheel bearing, the intake manifold gasket, and the exhaust system. Just things that every vehicle eventually needs. Two of the power windows don't work, but it has the manual pivoting front vent windows (1989 was the last year for those....also the last year with no airbags). The car only has 92,500 miles on it. The car has its original turbine cast aluminum wheels and a new set of Goodyear Integrity tires were put on just before I got it, so I will most likely leave those alone. The car handles great, but then again I have been accustomed to driving these cars in purely stock form for over 30 years. I tend to prefer 14" to 16" wheels on these cars for myself, though I appreciate most any customizing that people do with theirs. It's fun to compare tastes and styles. As far as wheels, I like the old aluminum slots and also brands that have been around for a long time....Magnum 500, Keystone Klassic, Cragar SS/T, etc. I had a 1979 Ranchero GT, and with that retro stacked headlight design, I added a set of 1960 Galaxie cone-shaped wheel covers for the standard steel wheels. I had a 1973 Ranchero GT with the 400 Cleveland and 2 barrel carb. That setup felt heavy and lacking in power. A 4 barrel carb might have improved things, but fuel economy would have suffered even more. I would love to see photos of the 73 Meteor. We did not get those down here in the States. We had the Torino-based Mercury Montego from 1972 through 1976, and the Mercury Cougar was enlarged for 1974 through 1976, and shared the same platform. But we did not get the Meteor.