The next changes were performed in the spring of 2007, when I added new wheels and tires, and removed the rear L bumper.
I liked the appearance of the Etoile wheels very much, but I was unhappy with certain other aspects. I wanted to experiment with rear wheels that were 2 inches larger in diameter than the front wheels, I wanted rear tires closer to 27 inches diameter, AND I wanted to eliminate the exposed bolts which held the wheels together. There was 40 of them per wheel, and the space between the bolts needed to be cleaned and polished from time to time. It was a tedious chore.
I could have selected a wheel/tire set that were 17" front and 19" rear, but I decided on 18" front and 20" rear. This is the outcome.
Ford reduced the amount of front caster by half. This was accomplished by moving the upper ball joints forward by about 5/8 inch (15mm). The side view above reveals how the front tire is off-center in the fender opening. Increasing front caster is on my list of things to do … if for no other reason than to improve the appearance (there ARE other benefits 
).
Front
Wheels - 18" x 9" HRE model 898R, 25 mm off-set
Tires - 245/35ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Rear
Wheels - 20" x 12" HRE model 898R, 12 mm off-set
Tires - 325/25ZR20 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
