17" Cobra R's on 02+ 4 door question

I have a 2002 4 Door XLT and was looking at new wheels for it. Please see note at end. Anyway I have narrowed it down to the '03 Cobra rims or the Y2K Cobra R replicas in 17 x 8.5". I just have a couple of questions. First has anyone bought the 17" Y2k Cobra R's(not the 95 Cobra R's) or know the offset? BTW they sell them at Performance Wheel Outlet. Also does anyone know the tire size on a 17 x 8.5" wheel on an 02 X? I was thinking 255/60/17, sound right? Any suggestions.

*NOTE* No I do not want dubs, or anything like that. I would get 18's but yes they do bend, contrary to popular belief. Or at least in some states with very bad potholes. So I would appreciate if we could stay on topic. Thanks.

 

[Hartman]

OFF TOPIC...

It would take a pretty big pothole to bend an 18 inch rim, considering the tires that should be mounted on it. Unless you run a 245/35/18 tire, you will not bend an 18. A lot of cars out there have factory 18s with a pretty low profile tire and they don't have problems. When I had my 18s with 255/55s, I know I couldn't have bent a rim unless I was driving on the moon.

 

[Robb]

A lot of cars out there have factory 18s with a pretty low profile tire and they don't have problems

Point: A lot of cars don't weigh 2+ tons.

Counterpoint: If the force is great enough to bend a 18", it is probably great enough to bend a 17"

Not arguing either side, just stating a opinions..........

 

[Garth]

Off topic;
When saying you can bend 18's is like saying you can bend any wheel out there. If you can bend 18's I guarantee the you'll have the same problem with 17's. Admit it you are a terrible driver.

 

[james t]

a 255/60 would fit great. overall diameter will be 29", and the 255 width will work fine on a 8.5" wide wheel. if you wanted a little more tire width, a 275/55 would be the same height, and should also fit fine.

 

[X24]

I have 17" cobras with 255/60's. The ride is not that bad and I really dont think I've hit anything hard enough to bend a wheel. James is right, a 275/55 will be the same size just a little wider.

Explorer Express is running 18" cobras (I think they are 18's) on their 02 4dr X.

 

[Explorer46L]

Yeah they have a deal on the 17's and 18's, but those are the 95 Cobra R's, not the Y2K Cobra R's that I was looking for. But thank you anyway. As for the wheels bending, please people just do a search on it. There have been many threads on it. Wheels can bend. It does happen. Not all wheels are the same and not all state's have the same road conditions. It all depends on the size of the pothole, tire profile, vehicle weight, and of course speed. That is why most of you who have gone offroading haven't had a problem. If you hit a large hole doing 10 mph it isn't that bad. Hit the same hole doing 40-50 and there is a problem. But please people, just hit the search button and look up wheels bending.

 

[X24]

Did anything happen to your 18's that you had on your 98 sport? Is that why you're nervous? Personally, I think 18's or 20's look best on the new 4dr's.

 

[J. Kennedy]

wicked pissa

Its OK, Explorer46L, as a fellow Masshole, I feel your pain. Looks like most folks on this board haven't driven in & around Boston lately. You see, this thing called the Big Dig has sucked up all the dough we normally would put into our already crappy roads, making parts of 93, 95, and secondary highways look like downtown Afgagistan.

Just had relatives up from PA this weekend. Had to listen to the litany of "SUVs are bad, no one really needs one, we should all drive Camrys, blah, blah, blah." Then we went to dinner in the North End. After the 4th full "Car Wash" on Rt. 2 (storm drains have been plugged for years), and bouncing over dozens of Potholes, they drank a big cup of "Shut The F*** Up" and left me alone.

Around here, the larger the rim, the newer they are. Rim size is inversely proportional to lifespan. I know lots of people with 17s that have had limited issues. I have yet to know of a set of 18's to make it thru 2 winters.

 

[JOHN V.]

We do not have any experience with the YK2 Cobra or 03 Cobra Wheels fitting your Explorer. It is a good chance they will. The gen 3 X'S are forgiving when it comes to tire/wheel clearence. The only way to know for sure is to bolt them on. We run 18" Cobra R Replica's and do not worry about bending them any more than we would with 17's. The roads here in the San Francisco Bay Area are terrible. I have never had a Cobra wheel returned due to bending. I think there is a degree of caution you should have if you have custom wheels.

We have these in 17" & 18" Chrome or Black.

 

[Black Magic]

John, that X is screaming for clear corners. You should try and be a retailer for J-Spec parts. Then you can get some different stuff from Ford Japan.

 

[JOHN V.]

It does not have anything to do with wheels, but how about a supercharger shot?

 

[The Cheat]

I have 17x9 cobra wheels on my 2001 X sport with 255/60/17 GoodYear GTII's. I love it. It does rub a little on the sway bar in the front, but I think it's the raised letters on the tire hitting it.

 

[lo_jack]

I heard of the Big Dig, but I would have to say San Antonio has to be pretty bad, since they just never fix anything and there is no drainiage. Potholes have to be huge to get filled, but the next rain washes out the filler. Brilliant. I wanted to go to 17s on my 92 but bending was never a consideration...I thought I would just have a terrible ride with less rubber and more metal. But now that I am in civilization again, perhaps I will reconsider. Do all mustang wheels fit? I was told all explorer wheels will swap backward at least.

 

[X24]

Not sure if you said this previously, but are you 4wd?