Fox Body Wheel and Tire Fitment Guide

For many, the Fox Body Mustang was a relief after the Mustang II. Finally, it seemed like performance had returned to the Mustang. Except, of course, for the wheels and tires. The stock tires and wheels for most of the Fox Bodies were fairly generic and were exceptionally small.

Most people with a 1979-1993 Mustang choose to change the tires and wheels out for something a little larger. This guide will walk you through what some of the possibilities are for your Fox Body as well as reviewing the stock options that were available for each year.

Wheel and Tire Size

For the first part of the Fox generation, the Mustang came standard with 14” radial ply tires (the notable exception being 1979, the last year to have stock bias ply tires). By the final years of the generation though, the performance models came equipped with 16” tires stock. This gives you some idea of the possibilities with regard to how much clearance there is in the wheel wells, even if you don’t do any significant body modifications.

Once you start to consider body modifications like fender flares, the options are almost endless, but we’re going to focus on the work that you can do without serious modifications and without causing any fender rubbing.

Even without using a fender roller, you should be able to go up to a 17” tire if you want to, which gives you significantly more options than trying to stick to the 14” tires that would have come stock.

The largest we’d recommend without causing fender rub would be a 245/45R17 tire on a 17” x 8” wheel. Any wider than 8” and you’ll need to look at doing more significant modifications to the brakes and struts.

If you do upgrade your tire size, you’ll want to recalibrate your speedometer if you want to avoid tickets.

Fox Body with Upsized Wheels

Four to Five Lug Conversion

When you start looking at aftermarket wheels, you’ll likely find yourself feeling very limited if you try to stick to four lug options. The aftermarket favors five-lug wheels, and if you want the most options, you’ll need to upgrade your Fox accordingly.

As an added bonus, upgrading your Mustang to a five-lug setup is necessary to upgrade your brakes, so whether you decide to do that at the same time or later you’ll already have done an important part of the groundwork.

This Fox Body Mustang Lug Conversion Guide will walk you through the steps necessary to change your wheels over to five lug options.

Stock Tires and Wheels

Compared to the first generation of Mustang wheels and tires, there were very few changes made throughout the Fox Body generation, but there were a few big changes that make each year distinct. Whether you’re wondering what wheels and tires would be period correct or just trying to get a good estimate of what size wheels and tires are already on, you’ll find all the specifications for each individual year here.

1979|1980|1981|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989 and 1990|1991|1992 and 1993

1979 Mustang Wheels and Tires

1979 Mustangs came standard with 13” bias ply tires, though 14” tires were available and were necessary to get the optional wheels. Though there were multiple optional wheels, there wasn’t a lot to make them “Mustang wheels” and they ended up looking a little generic. The Ghia came with 14” radial ply tires, and the Cobra had 15” forged aluminum wheels and Michelin TRX tires, but that was as exciting as it got for the first year of the Fox Body.

1979 Mustang Wheels

1980 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The 1980 Mustang was the first year that all Mustangs were moved to radial-ply tires. As the brochure noted, the radial plys came with a higher inflation pressure which was designed to help lower rolling resistance. The Michelin TRX tires that had come on the Cobra for this year and 1979 were offered as an option on all Mustangs.

The standard tires for the base model were 13” radial ply tires with black sidewalls. The Ghia came standard with 14” tires which had turbine wheel covers.

1980 Mustang Wheels

1981 Mustang Tires and Wheels

For the 1981 Mustang, the biggest change was an upgrade to 14” radial-ply tires. Full wheel covers came standard on the two-door, and the three-door Mustang received sport wheels. The Ghia still came with turbine wheel covers. No changes were made to the Cobra Mustang’s low profile TRX tires. 13” radial ply tires were still available, and tires were available with black or white sidewalls as well as being available with raised white letters.

1981 Mustang Wheels

1982 Mustang Tires and Wheels

For the 1982 Mustang, many big changes were made, mostly related to the package options. The baseline trim was referred to as the L, which only came in a two-door style. The GL offered a middle ground between the L and the even more luxe GLX, though it shared the GL and GLX shared their wheel design: Turbine wheel covers.

Though the GLX was touted as the top of the line, most enthusiasts were drawn to the GT, which had finally returned, replacing the Cobra. Not only did it include significantly improved suspension and engine features, but also it sported improved tires and wheels.

1982 Mustang Wheels

1983 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The 1983 Mustang saw the return of the packages we’d seen the year before, only now the L, GL, and GLX all were given the improved GT tires from the year before, while the GT was given even better tires. The L, GL, and GLX also had full wheel covers.

1983 Mustang Wheels

1983 Mustang Wheel Cover

1984 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The wheel and tire options for the 1984 Mustang L, LX, and GT mostly stayed the same. The GLX was determined to be mostly redundant. People who wanted a luxurious interior but didn’t care as much about horsepower went for the LX and people who wanted power went for the GT.

A turbo GT was added to help bridge the gap. What had been missing from the Mustang’s lineup was a performance-king, for people who wanted performance over comfort.

For 1984 the big news was the SVO, a high-performance model with equally high-performance tires and wheels. The great thing for everyone, including those who judged the SVO to be outside of their price range, was that the tire and wheel offerings for all Mustangs improved a little just to keep up.

The GT and GT turbo both got performance tires this year.

1984 Mustang Wheels

1985 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The L package finally gave up, leaving behind only the LX, which was promptly given slightly wider tires. Optional larger Goodyear Eagles were offered, as well as a variety of other tires.

The GTs came standard with the improved Goodyear Eagle’s, but naturally, the SVOs still were a half-step ahead. The 1985 Mustang SVO package included 225/50VR16” Goodyear Eagle tires with a unidirectional gatorback tread and 16” x 7” cast-aluminum wheels.

1985 Mustang Wheels

1986 Mustang Tires and Wheels

There were no major changes to the wheels and tires of the 1986 Mustang, as the last year of the four-eyed Fox Body Mustangs rolled off of the assembly line. The next year would see an all-new lineup.

1986 Mustang Wheels

1987 Mustang Tires and Wheels

Though 1987 was a huge year for the actual body and design of the Mustang, it wasn’t nearly as exciting for the wheels and tires. Still, there aren’t many years that don’t see at least a few changes.

For the new design, the LX and GT were left on their own, without the SVO package. The LX saw a bevy of additional wheel designs, though the actual stock tires and wheels were unchanged.

1987 Mustang Wheels

1988 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The second year after facelift was much the same as the first. With so few models, there was little in the way of change or selection available as stock. Though this may seem depressing, it’s important to remember that years like this one are why and how the Mustang community was able to grow an aftermarket community as large as the one available today.

1988 Mustang Wheels

1989 and 1990 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The biggest change to come for the Mustang in 1989 and 1990 was the introduction of the LX 5.0L. Though the LX didn’t have all of the performance features of the GT, it did share its engine displacement and consequently was given the same tires.

Though the LX 5.0 and GT shared tires, their wheels were subtly different. The GT’s were 16 spoke while the LX 5.0’s were 10-hole design. Both were cast aluminum.

1989 Mustang Wheels

1990 Mustang Wheels

1991 Mustang Tires and Wheels

The LX’s standard tires stayed the same, but the wheels were changed to stamped steel 14” x 5” wheels.

The GT and LX 5.0 now not only had the same tires, but they also had the same wheels: 16” x 7” cast aluminum wheels.

1991 Mustang Wheels

1992 and 1993 Mustang Tires and Wheels

Anyone hoping that the Fox Body Mustang was going to end on a big bang with regard to wheels and tires was likely sorely disappointed. Not only were there no new options for the LX, LX 5.0, or GT, but they even lost a wheel design from 1991’s selection.

Then, between 1992 and 1993 there were absolutely no changes.

It makes sense, these were the last two years before the launch of the SN95 generation.

1992 Mustang Wheels

1993 Mustang Wheels

Fox Body Mustang Tires and Wheels

Even though the Fox Body generation was full of small and important technical changes to the Mustang’s wheels and tires, there weren’t a lot of options that made people’s jaws drop like there were on the first generation.

Fortunately, the enthusiast community has responded by making it incredibly easy to convert your Fox from a four to a five lug design and upsize your tires and wheels to give your Fox that widebody look that everyone loves.

If you want to see wheel and tire recommendations for other Mustang generations, check out our other Mustang wheel and tire guides.

• Classic Mustang Wheel and Tire Guide
• SN95 Mustang Wheel and Tire Guide
• S197 Mustang Wheel and Tire Guide
• S550 Mustang Wheel and Tire Guide

Sources: 1979 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1980 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1981 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1982 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1983 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1984 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1985 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1986 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1987 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1988 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1989 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1990 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1991 Ford Mustang Brochure, Paintref | 1992 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers | 1993 Ford Mustang Brochure, StangBangers

Image Credit: The Driver, Car Domain, Hemmings