My staggered wheel/tire setups - info, specs, opinions.

[JoeyD]

Mark told me you were switching to a GT. Congrats! I actually like the look of my body colored roof but a wrap up there will protect the paint. Good to know that the dealer let you swap the wheels and tires. That’s something I have been wondering if I could do if I swap out my car. If I can’t find a dealer around here that’s willing to do that when I am ready to switch, I might take a drive to AZ. ??

Thanks Steve and a little history here.... I feel I know you, through Mark. I'm not on the forum all that much but he's always talking about many of the members here that he's personally met and personally frequently talks to and I know you are one of them. We've been best friends since 3rd grade and a few years ago my wife and I moved from the Bay Area to AZ to be with our daughter and her husband. Mark comes out about once a month to visit and always updates my car and has been helping me with projects around our new home.

Ok, back to cars.... While I enjoyed the glass roof in the Bay Area, didn't want it on my next car here in AZ. The dealer I bought from orders most of their Mach-E's without it. The only option was the $995 paint. In the short time I've been driving it, there are quite a few differences between my early build (Dec '20), '21 Premium and this '24 GT. First thing I noticed was the ride and how much smoother it was. Mark told me this would be the case because of the active suspension. Also my speedo is in the center and the auto lane change works on Blue Cruise (which I used on my Premium daily on my drive to work). The AC seems to get cold faster or maybe it's just colder? Mark and I spent a few hours one early morning between 6-8 am going through a couple of dealers lots looking for the car I wanted. The dealer I bought from had 72 Mach-E's while another one not far away has over 130. Certainly no lack of models and colors to choose from, that's for sure! This glacier gray looks really good with the GT trim and the all black wheels I had on my other car. It's going in for PPF and ceramic coating on Wednesday and will have it back on Saturday. I'll take some photos when I get a chance although I don't have a fancy camera like Mark. ?

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[JoeyD]

A continuation from the above post, here is my new GT! Kept the staggered wheels from my '21 Premium (had the dealer swap out the wheel/tire setup before I picked up the car). Wasn't sure the black wheels would look good on the lighter color (Glacier Gray Metallic) but they really do. PPF, ceramic coating and black roof all done. Very happy with this color. Got to change my avatar now.....

 

[Snakebitten]

Beautiful car.
Wheels look fantastic.

I know it's Glacier Grey, but could be confused with low-light Space White.

 

[nicholaspe]

265/45/20 with a 9" wheel up front with a +33 offset will bring that front out flush and more match the rear. If your rears are sticking out 1/4" then the offset is probably around +40 or so, not +47 as they should be to be flush. Thing is, the wheels I get and Steve (HuntingPudel) and quite a few others, are custom made/ordered wheels so we can get the exact fitment we want. If you don't go with custom ordered wheels, you may have to find a set that can get as close to 20x9 +33 up front and 20x10.5 +47 in the rear. We can help you with this so keep us informed how it's going in your search.

I received my GT with bronze package yesterday so I’m returning to this conversation! It’s beautiful but I’m not sure I’m ever going to be satisfied with the size of these tires after my ‘21 had 295’s. Looking at them side by side the difference is huge. I think I’d like to track down some bronze wheels. 20x9 for 265’s in the front and 20x10.5 for 295’s in the rear.

 

[markboris]

I received my GT with bronze package yesterday so I’m returning to this conversation! It’s beautiful but I’m not sure I’m ever going to be satisfied with the size of these tires after my ‘21 had 295’s. Looking at them side by side the difference is huge. I think I’d like to track down some bronze wheels. 20x9 for 265’s in the front and 20x10.5 for 295’s in the rear.

I know exactly how you feel Nick. I ran 295's on the rear on both of my '21's for a couple of years and even had 315's back there for about 6 months. With my '24 I'm running a square 275 summer/winter setup and while it is adequate, I am itching to run something a bit larger in the rear for the summers.

My current setups: (summer) wheels 21"x9.5" tires 275/35/21, (winter) wheels 20"x9.5" tires 275/40/20

Make sure to post some photos of your car if and when you get the new wheel/tire setup.

Photos of winter setup (I'll post photos of summer setup in April)

 

[nicholaspe]

I know exactly how you feel Nick. I ran 295's on the rear on both of my '21's for a couple of years and even had 315's back there for about 6 months. With my '24 I'm running a square 275 summer/winter setup and while it is adequate, I am itching to run something a bit larger in the rear for the summers.

My current setups: (summer) wheels 21"x9.5" tires 275/35/21, (winter) wheels 20"x9.5" tires 275/40/20

Make sure to post some photos of your car if and when you get the new wheel/tire setup.

Photos of winter setup (I'll post photos of summer setup in April)

Beautiful set up. I’m excited to see how mine turn out. I should be getting it back from the install of matte PPF (on black with bronze package) tomorrow. Then I have decided that I like the wheels so much that are on my premium that I’m going to powder coat them to match the sinister bronze GT wheel and just put them on the GT. My premium will look great with the GT sinister bronze wheel. Might be easier to sell too if not in a staggered set up.

 

[nicholaspe]

I wonder how long these stickers will last.

Where did you find those stickers and have they lasted so far? I need the same sticker!!

 

[AliRafiee]

Where did you find those stickers and have they lasted so far? I need the same sticker!!

So far so good.

https://a.co/d/bpY2RzU

 

[nicholaspe]

So far so good.

https://a.co/d/bpY2RzU

For some reason I thought you had referred to the center cap on your wheels as being a sticker. I am going to powder coat some wheels but can’t seem to find a center cap to match. But thanks for the Brembo link. I might need to do that too!

 

[AliRafiee]

For some reason I thought you had referred to the center cap on your wheels as being a sticker. I am going to powder coat some wheels but can’t seem to find a center cap to match. But thanks for the Brembo link. I might need to do that too!

The center caps were machined by the people that made the wheels. You might be able to get a wheel shop to make something for you, or rather have the company they use to get their wheels from to make them.

 

[stellman]

My current setups: (summer) wheels 21"x9.5" tires 275/35/21, (winter) wheels 20"x9.5" tires 275/40/20

What's the offset of the 20x9.5 square setup? Thanks!

 

[markboris]

What's the offset of the 20x9.5 square setup? Thanks!

My offset on both setups is +40mm

 

[Firefly Ship Works]

WARNING: This is another one of my long posts… ?

I’ve had many members direct message me asking about running a staggered wheel/tire setup so thought I would post what I’ve learned with the Mach-E over the past couple of years. I’ve gone through all my messages and collected the questions I’ve been asked. Hopefully from now on I can just point anyone else to this thread and will update it if I obtain more info/questions and or change my setup.

Over the course of the last 2+ years and two Mach-E’s I’ve run nothing but a staggered wheel/tire setup. The only time I ran the OEM setup was on the drive home from the dealer after purchasing the cars. Why do I run a staggered setup??? Well, mainly because to me the Mach-E looks wimpy from the rear with the “bicycle” tires on it. I also want the tires to have a flush fitment because I think they are set in too far. My current and past ICE Mustangs have and had staggered setups from the factory. I think it would have been cool if Ford had at least offered that as an option on the Mach-E GTPE. Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Jaguar EV’s come with a staggered setup and I am sure there are others. Another reason is I want wider tires for better handling. This is a very heavy car and tossing it around in the corners with the OEM size tires makes me nervous.

Going staggered there are mainly four different setups you can choose that are either the OEM diameter of 28.7” or close enough to it. It is recommended to stay within 3% of the OEM diameter. These are all 20" options because going with 21" or 22" you can run into issues obtaining tires that have the proper load rating when you are at the OEM diameter or close to it. Not saying it can’t be done, you just don’t have many options.

For reference below are the OEM 19” and 20” tire and wheel specs.
Premium/First Edition:
Tires: 225/55/19 load rating 103XL, width 9.2”, diameter 28.7”
Wheel: 20”x7”, offset 47.5mm, bolt pattern 5x108, center bore 63.4mm.
GT/GTPE:
Tires: 245/45/20 load rating 103XL, width 9.7”, diameter 28.7”.
Wheel: 20"x8”, offset 47.5mm, bolt pattern 5x108, center bore 63.4mm.

The four 20” tire staggered setups I’ve run including width and diameter specs:
1. 245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R width 9.6"/10.8" diameter 28.7" (OEM diameter)
2. 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R width 10"/11.2" diameter 29" (1% larger diameter)
3. 265/45/20 F - 295/40/20 R width 10.4"/11.6" diameter 29.3" (2.2% larger diameter)
4. 275/40/20 F - 315/35/20 R width 10.8"/12.4" diameter 28.7" (OEM diameter)

EDIT: Here is a fifth setup I just had on the car for three months (Feb-April '24) but recently sold to another member on 06/24: #20

I've run two different sized wheel sets with my four staggered setups:
20"x8.5" ET34 F - 20"x10" ET47 R with setups 1, 2 and 3 and the slightly wider 20"x9" ET34 F - 20"x10.5" ET47 R with setups 2, 3 and 4. Both sets of wheels are the same exact model, fully forged aluminum Signature Wheels SV706 however I had them finished differently. The slightly narrower set which I ran on my Premium are all gloss black while the slightly wider set I run on my GT are gloss black with a polished aluminum face.

A word about range..... Personally, I'm not concerned about range and don’t purchase tires based on it whatsoever. That said, I did see slight differences and this is what I learned. Going with a wider tire while it may reduce the range, it is very very little. After running all four setups with 9 different tires, I found it's the type of tire you run that affects range more than the width of the tire. I can run Continental CrossContact DWS06 Plus in the OEM 245/45/20 tire size and get worse range than running Pirelli P Zero All Season EV specific tire in a wider 285/40/20 size. All tires have different rolling resistances and tires specifically designed for EV's seem to have the least. Also, aftermarket wheels will reduce your range beings they are usually less aerodynamic than the OEM wheels. The wheels I run are on the average of 8 lbs. lighter each than OEM wheels and my current Pirelli EV specific tires which are larger than the OEM's are basically the same weight so overall I save about 30+ lbs. of rotational weight. This give me a little better range when driving around town but slightly worse range when on the highway due to the aerodynamics of my wheels.

A word about tire pressure….. I run my tires at the recommended pressure for the weight they are supposed to carry on the MME. This also will allow them to properly flatten out and have more contact on the road. These are the pressures I use with each of the tires to maintain the proper load capacity that Ford recommends as per the tire pressure/load rating chart.

245/45/20 103XL 39 psi
255/45/20 105XL 37 psi
265/45/20 108XL 33 psi
275/40/20 106XL 36 psi
285/40/20 108XL 33 psi
295/40/20 110XL 31 psi
315/35/20 110XL 31 psi

Since the pressures are a bit lower when running larger tires, it also gives you a more comfortable ride. However, running at a lower pressure can trigger the tire pressure warning system so you need to change the default 39 psi in FORScan to your new psi so it won’t trigger a low-pressure warning. Right now, I’m running 255/45/20 front and 285/40/20 rear so I changed my settings to 37 and 33 psi. These will show up in the Ford Pass app as the recommended cold pressure.

Ford app Tire Pressure Monitoring page. (My tires are showing 1 psi less than normal because my car has been in my parents garage for a couple of days where the weather is slightly colder right now than where I live).

A word about the alignment..... While I always stay within the window of the recommended settings, I dial in a bit more negative camber than the car comes set with. I do this so that my tires wear more evenly because I drive daily on mountainous roads and I tend to corner hard. While the front camber is not adjustable, you can get more negative camber by removing the two splined bolts that hold the strut to the wheel knuckle and replace them with regular bolts. This will allow a bit of adjustment and can usually get up to -.5 camber out of it. The rear has an adjustable upper control arm that will adjust the camber. Every time I change out my wheels/tires for a different setup, I have it aligned. The camber/castor does not change much but the toe does so that’s why I have it aligned each time. I generally run (on all my cars) around -1.3 to -1.5 camber up front and -1.7 to -2.0 camber in rear.

My pros and cons of each setup:

Setup 1. 245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R
This setup is the same diameter as OEM and the least aggressive looking of the four. The 245 fronts are the same size as the OEM GT/GTPE tires with only the 275 rears being wider.
Pros: Many different tires available in both sizes with a wide variety to choose from. No fitment issues.
Cons: May not be as aggressive looking as you like and only a slight improvement in handling.

Setup 2. 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R
This setup is one size larger in diameter (1%) than OEM. Tires have a slightly higher sidewall which can give you a slightly softer ride depending on the type of tires you get and lessens the wheel well gap just a bit. Personally, I think this setup is the sweet spot of the four.
Pros: Decently aggressive looking and an improvement in handling. No fitment issues at all.
Cons: Least amount of tire choices available in this setup however, there are a couple of good ones, one of which I am currently running right now which is EV specific.

Setup 3. 265/45/20 F - 295/40/20 R
This setup is two sizes larger (2.2%) than OEM. The tires have again slightly taller sidewall giving a bit more of a softer ride and fills up the wheel well a bit more. This is the most aggressive setup you can run without having to modify the suspension. This setup was the one I ran on my Premium the 10 months I had it and several members here also run this setup.
Pros: Many different tires available in both sizes with a wide variety to choose from. Aggressive looking setup with no fitment issues however, you need to have the proper rear wheel offsets. Good improvement in handling.
Cons: Must get the proper wheel offset in the rear to allow the 295's to fit properly with no interference of the suspension or wheel lip molding. Also, it helps to find tires that have a flatter sidewall profile (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S for example) to help with fitment which may be difficult.

Setup 4. 275/40/20 F - 315/35/20 R
This setup is the same diameter as OEM and the most extreme you can run. As far as I know, I'm the only one that has run this setup and did it mainly to prove it could be done. I don't recommend this setup unless you don't mind modifying the rear suspension and never fully loading the rear of your car with 3 passengers in the back seat plus luggage.
Pros: Most aggressive setup of the four and best improvement in handing.
Cons: The 275/40/20's are the widest tire you can run up front on the MME and you may get a very slight rubbing of the inner tire tread against the fiber fender liner when the wheels are at full lock going over a dip or bump. As far as the rear to fit the 315’s, the OEM upper shock mount must be "thinned down" to allow the inner sidewall of the tire to fit without rubbing. I shaved 1/4" off the back and 1/8" off the front of the shock mount giving me 3/8" more clearance. Also, the fiber inner fender liner needs to be pulled back in two places (I used screws) and you need to have the proper wheel offset. The only tire I could get to fit properly was the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S because it has the flattest sidewall profile of any tire I have seen. It also happens to be my favorite performance tire that I've run on several cars.

I’ve tested 9 different tires over the past 2+ and many have asked why. On previous cars I knew exactly what I wanted and just ran with that. On my SUV’s I would always use Michelin Pilot Sport All Season’s. My performance cars always Michelin Pilot Sport’s. My trucks Michelin LTX All Seasons. I have kind of always been a Michelin guy but have run Pirelli and Continentals from time to time. The Mach-E has been a very different car for me to get a handle on the tire I like for it. The car is very heavy and unless I run my favorite tire, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S which has a ton of grip, I’m not very happy with the handling of this car. Problem is, for the Mach-E I also want a tire that rides somewhat comfortable and is decently quiet and I decided I wanted to stick with and all-season tire because didn’t want to change tires out every six months. On this car, all the Pirelli tires I tested were more comfortable riding and quieter than the Michelin’s however the Michelins all had a bit better performance. In the end I figured since I also have a performance car (GT500) I would stick with tires that sided more towards ride comfort and low noise so stuck with Pirelli’s.

Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 Plus 245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R
Good all-around all-season tire. Decent riding, handling and fairly quiet.

Michelin Latitude Sport 3 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R
Good summer performance tire. Low rolling resistance however has somewhat harsh ride and can be noisy. Besides the EV specific Pirelli, this tire had the second-best max range.

Michelin Pilot Sport SUV 265/45/20 F - 295/40/20 R
Good summer performance tire and second best to the Pilot Sport 4S as far as handling. As with most Michelin performance tires, can be a bit harsh and noisy.

Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R
In my opinion the best handling all season tire however it has the harshest ride of any of the all seasons I tested and it’s the noisiest.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 275/40/20 F - 315/35/20 R
My favorite summer performance tire and has been for 6 years. Besides the Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires, this has the most grip of any tire I have tested. Great steering feel and handling however they do ride a bit harsh and are not the quietest tire.

Pirelli P Zero PZ4 275/40/20 F – 315/35/20 R
Why second favorite summer performance tire next to the Pilot Sport 4S with a less harsh ride and a bit quieter. Doesn’t have the max grip the 4S has and the steering can be a little vague

Pirelli P Zero All Season EV 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R
As of right now, this is my favorite performance all-season tire. It is the smoothest riding, quietest tire of this bunch I’ve tested. This is what I’m currently running and it’s a BMW spec’d EV specific tire designed for their i7 electric luxury sedan. It has the least rolling resistance and so far, the best range I’ve seen in my GT. On average of 2.8-3.2 kWh/mi and 260-265 miles at 100% battery level which is basically what I would have expected to get if I had the OEM EV tire/wheel setup. Again, not concerned with range but I have seen my best with these tires. I’m sure most EV specific tires will give better range than a non-EV tire.

Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R
Good all-season tire with good handling, ride and low noise level.

Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season Plus 265/45/20 F - 295/40/20 R
Heavy-duty all-season tire with better handling than the P Zero All Season Plus above with a great ride and a low noise level.

There are two tires I want to mention that while I have not personally tested them, I have recommended them quite a bit based on what I have learned from others and reviews from the web. They are two of the most comfortable riding, quiet tires you can buy for the Mach-E and also listed as such on the Tire Rack. The top rated for those two qualities is the Pirelli P7 AS PLUS 3 followed by the Michelin Cross Climate 2. I know several members I have recommended these tires to have all been very happy. I get asked why I don’t run them and it’s because they are grand touring all-season tires which have a strong emphasis on a quiet, comfortable ride, with long lasting tread. Performance is not really a trait of grand touring tires and while they will work very well on the Mach-E and most owners would be very satisfied with them, it’s not my type of tire. All 9 tires I have listed above are either summer or all-season performance tires.

Below are some photos of the four setups. I didn't take photos each time I changed tires as I ran though 9 sets and sometimes, they were on the car less than a couple of months. While it may not look like it in these photos, on every setup, the tires have a flush fitment.

245/45/20 F - 275/40/20 R 20"x8.5" ET 34 F- 20"x10" ET47 R Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus.

255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R 20"x9" ET33 F - 20"x10.5" ET47 R Pirelli P Zero All Season EV
This is my current setup and so far, my all-around favorite.

265/45/20 F - 295/40/20 R 20"x8.5" ET34F - 20"x10" ET47 R Michelin Pilot Sport SUV

275/40/20 F - 315/35/20 R 20"x9" ET33 F - 20"x10.5" ET47 R Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

Mark, in the last pic of your GT I'm not able to zoom in enough to see the logo on the rear mud flaps. Can you tell me what brand they are? Also, I assume this pic shows the car with your 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R setup? Stunning car BTW.

 

[markboris]

Mark, in the last pic of your GT I'm not able to zoom in enough to see the logo on the rear mud flaps. Can you tell me what brand they are? Also, I assume this pic shows the car with your 255/45/20 F - 285/40/20 R setup? Stunning car BTW.

Hey Mal, the last photo of my GT tire setup is 275/40/20 F - 315/35/20 R 20"x9" ET33 F - 20"x10.5" ET47 R Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

The mud flaps are Rocblokz
https://rokblokz.com/products/ford-...che+rally&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=39693945864235

 

[Johnny_b]

This is on order. It’s called Blast Bronze
8.5 x 20 +42 with 255 45 20
10 x 20 +52 with 285 40 20

Hello,
Would like to get a price on these for a 2025 GT on bronze. Would like to run a 295 on the back tho.

Not going to lower the car I think. Would not like to run spacers.

Please DM me.

Thx.

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