Hi all:

In my neverending search for inexpensive 18's, I discovered that the new Dodge Magnum has the same bolt pattern as an Explorer (5 x 4.5). The 18" wheels that come on the R/T model are 18 x 7.5 with a 24mm offset, so I think they would fit. Has anybody tried a set of these? I think they would look pretty good. I might try calling some local Dodge dealers to see if they have a set of new takeoffs I could get cheap. I tried Ebay, but all the wheels I found were >$1k and in California.

Here is a link to a pic of the wheel design:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/194084869/194085161xVKlVo

Thanks in advance,
John.

Even if they did, please don't. Get some Cobras or something similar in the aftermarket.

Even if they did, please don't. Get some Cobras or something similar in the aftermarket. Yeah

Even if they did, please don't. Get some Cobras or something similar in the aftermarket.

Actually, I would like to use some 18" '03 Cobra replicas with the right backspacing, but they don't exist (or at least, I haven't found them). The Mag's would be my second choice. Don't worry, Hartman. I promise I won't drive up your way any time soon. You won't have to look at them :rolleyes:

John.

its funny you say this, I own a 91 Exploder and a 2005 R/T (Magnisium).

I wouldn't try this even if I cared to know if they fit. Big wheels on an SUV isn't my thing.......sorry.

they would suck major

would they even fit over the hub?

I am sure they would fit over EVERYTHING. These things are huge. In fact, these wheels have to be used on the R/T because the 17" ones used on the SXT won't fit over the R/T's HUGE brakes. I believe the frt rotors are 13.5" vented with 12" vented rears.....thats HUGE!

Some R/T owners are going with 20", but I am happy with the stk ones. If anything, I'd be interested in cromeing the rim of the wheel as well as the raised portion to better highlight the contrast.

These wheels are going for big $$$ so its cheaper to go with cheap CObra imitations.

umm... what my post meant is would the hole in the wheel be large enough to go over the explorer hub. not would it cover the rotor.

umm... what my post meant is would the hole in the wheel be large enough to go over the explorer hub. not would it cover the rotor.


that is unless he had the 20" rotor option with 24 piston calipers. THey came on the XLT typeRR.

woah, can't wait to hear about the cost of replacing those rotors

umm... what my post meant is would the hole in the wheel be large enough to go over the explorer hub. not would it cover the rotor.

I went by a Dodge dealership yesterday and did some checking. The center hole is too small to clear the front hubs. Also, it looks like the back of the rim might hit the upper control arm at full suspension droop (I didn't confirm this since I couldn't mount the wheel, it just looks like it would be close). So much for that idea. Now all you haters can rest easy. :rolleyes:

If the inside of the wheel hit a control arm, it would hit the lower on sharp turns... if it were to hit the upper it would have to have so much backspacing you could never get it mounted anyway. You can(could) either not turn it all the way to lock, run some modified home-made steering stoppers, or grind a little bit of the lip off of the lower control arm.

If you really want those on your truck, go back and measure the inner diameter of the hole. If its not much less than the outer diameter of the hub then you could have them turned out at a machine shop for a relatively inexpensive price. Its the same problem with the 98 Cobra wheels.

that is unless he had the 20" rotor option with 24 piston calipers. THey came on the XLT typeRR.

Thanks Mr.Funnyman for your input.......it helped alot. ;)

You may laugh at the big brakes........but you wouldn't if you drove the car. I am not much into "Dodge" stuff, but this is really nice. When you look at the brakes on this thing, you know they got something right. Not many other "cars" have duel piston frt and rear nor do they have vented frt and rear. This car has all of that and large diameter rotors........I love the package, but I suppose thats why I bought one! :thumbsup:

Why not look for the new X rims. I think they look great and the dodge wheels aren't anything to scream about IMHO. They are very nice looking, but why not just get new X rims or Cobra bullits?? At least then you know that it will work...




oops- I didn't notice that you wanted 18" rims. The Cobras would still be a good option. I don't know about the new X diameter but I suspect it is either 16 or 17. It seems as though they are all getting bigger.

Hi RedEB:

I considered the 17" 5-spoke ones available on new Explorers, but they are chromed. I'm looking for a machined finish, maybe polished. Also, as you said, I'm looking for 18's. AFS makes 18" '03 Cobra replicas that I like, but I believe they have too much backspacing, so I'd probably have to use spacers. It's not out of the question, but I'd rather avoid spacers if possible.

Regards,
John.

Thanks Mr.Funnyman for your input.......it helped alot. ;)

You may laugh at the big brakes........but you wouldn't if you drove the car. I am not much into "Dodge" stuff, but this is really nice. When you look at the brakes on this thing, you know they got something right. Not many other "cars" have duel piston frt and rear nor do they have vented frt and rear. This car has all of that and large diameter rotors........I love the package, but I suppose thats why I bought one! :thumbsup:


haha, I was talking about the Explorer XLT type RR. I freakin love the magnum.

ROFL....yeah, we "friggen" love it too......next time we're in Duluth we'll stop by and take you for a spin!

I considered the 17" 5-spoke ones available on new Explorers, but they are chromed. I'm looking for a machined finish, maybe polished. Also, as you said, I'm looking for 18's. AFS makes 18" '03 Cobra replicas that I like, but I believe they have too much backspacing, so I'd probably have to use spacers. It's not out of the question, but I'd rather avoid spacers if possible.
Oh, I didn't know they were chromed. Yeah, I would agree, chrome finishes aren't my cup of tea either. The aluminum or machined finish is definitely a nice touch. Good luck and let us all know what you finally pick out!
Greg

If you can get a good price on the chrome ones get them. FInd someone in your area that can "parkerize" or "acid wash" them. This should be cheap. Once you have acid cleaned them, the chrome will be long gone......

Depending on how long you leave them in, the deeper the etching and sometimes can look pretty cool for the low spots in the wheel. For the high spots, you can take them to a machine shop that has a lathe and ask them to mill the high spots for you. This will give you a 2 tone wheel that sticks out like nothing you have seen before! The trick here is to figure out how long to leave them in the acid wash......remember that you can always put them back in to continue to get that dark grey look. Just do 3-5 minute increments.

I swear that folks will stop you all the time to ask you how you did that to your wheels.

Other little tricks are to find someone that can "machine finish" your lathe work. That one maybe harder to find, but worth the effort. The machine finish will put little, perfectly spaced, swirls on those newly lathed high spots. You can even swirl the middle section and highly polish the outter rim with Mothers and a high speed rotory such as a Drimil tool.

Get creative and I swear to you good results and wheels that NO ONE else has. Once you get the look you want, you can't tell our little secret! ;)

if your wondering how I came to know this crap......it because my Dad is a machinist and I grew up around this kinda stuff. As I grew up and got into cars and guns, I played around with different looks with machining and acid washing. The acid stuff came from the gun world. A parkerized gun will have no shine. The more you wash it (acid) the deeper the dark gray becomes. You can parker. the upper receiver to take out the shine but highly polish your lower for a bad@ss 2 tone look that folks always question me about.

I have 2 toned valve covers, esp. the ones with fins (heat sinks).

Another idea I have is to have a special modded wheel like this but have someone chuck it up to an etcher that they do trophy lettering on. They could etch lettering into the otter rim to say anything you want.....don't know if it will work yet but I haven't seen anyone do it yet.

Its a poor boy way of making an average, everyday metal object look like nothing anyone has seen before. You can get into powder coating and all this other stuff, but that costs money while the things I told you would be super cheap. With acid washing and machine work I'd be suprised if you spent over $250 to $300 and they would look so much cooler than coating. Besides, no one would be able to figure out how you did what you did........any idiot can go out and powder coat!

That advice is gold my friend. Thanks for all of the information!

lol the F-250 super duty has dual piston calipers and big brakes. and they suck if you have to change them cause ford made like 4 diff caliper styles in the same year.

yeah.......I own a auto mech shop and we run into this kinda stuff all the time.....you go to order a simple little part and the dealership or parts depot wants to know the WHOLE vin......then they still are not sure which part! What the hell do they need the vin for then?

Parts people in general are the stupidest folks are earth..........I take that back, the stupidest are the parts drivers by far! :p

Its a poor boy way of making an average, everyday metal object look like nothing anyone has seen before. You can get into powder coating and all this other stuff, but that costs money while the things I told you would be super cheap. With acid washing and machine work I'd be suprised if you spent over $250 to $300 and they would look so much cooler than coating. Besides, no one would be able to figure out how you did what you did........any idiot can go out and powder coat!

All good ideas. Thanks. I have access to a lathe and other machining equipment, so I've previously considered doing some of the things you suggest. I also considered buying some polished wheels and beadblasting them to get rid of some of the bling-factor. When I was considering 20's, I was thinking of doing that to some Boss 306's. Still, if I can find something that doesn't need a whole lot to make attractive, I'd rather not make another project out of this. I won't have the money for wheels until January anyway, so I've got time to keep looking.

My first choice would be to get a set of machined-finish 18x9 replica '03 Cobra wheels (AFS sells them on Ebay), but as I said, they will need spacers. I'm willing to try it, but not without checking other options first. The Magnum wheels were potentially one of those options, but I'll have to modify them and run spacers, so I may as well go back to the Cobras.

Thanks again for the ideas!

Regards,
John.

bead blasting is a good idea as well. I like the acid etching a little more but blasting might work.

Lathe work could do some incredible things to a set of wheels. I was mostly thinking about flattening out and smoothing the high spots to have a brushed alum. look.

Good luck with your wheels.