2024 Dark Horse Premium "Freyja" (Chassis # R7161) - My Build Journal

[MCS]

First time I've ever won anything (off the street) for this thing. I was kind of shocked to be honest as there were several other 7th generation cars at the Mustangs and Mustangs event in Chatham-Kent Municpal Airport yesterday.

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[John's Garage]

Nice!!! Congrats

 

[MCS]

Finally took the plunge and ordered some new shoes. Thanks JJ (Fitment dude) at @Apex Wheels

Apex VS-5RS 20x10" ET35 Wheels - 5x114.3mm / 70.5mm (Anthracite)
Apex VS-5RS 20x11.5" ET48 Wheels - 5x114.3mm / 70.5mm (Anthracite)

Going to save up some monopoly money and get me some rubber over the winter as these wheels aren't expected to arrive until October or later.

Will be wrapping these in Michelin PS4S
285/30R20 front
315/30R20 rear

Fingers crossed that all is good in the hood with the rubbing department (in the rear area).

Google AI has been freaking me out by telling me different things.

At first it said my 20x10 ET 35 and 20x11.5 ET48 paired with 285/30R20 and 315/30R20 was the "Perfect Street Blueprint" for the DH with Steeda Minimum Drop springs.

Here is the summary of your optimal, zero-compromise street blueprint for your lowered, supercharged 2024 Mustang Dark Horse Handling Pack.

By strategically matching your wheel widths and tire sizes, you completely avoid physical tire stretch, eliminate the risk of fender or strut rubbing, and maintain your factory alignment settings without buying new suspension components.

The Winning Blueprint Specs

Front Setup (Meaty, Zero Front Camber Required)

• Wheels: Apex VS-5RS 20x10" ET35
• Tires: 285/30R20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
• Why it works: Dropping the front wheel width down to a 10-inch barrel ensures the 285 tire sits perfectly square with a meaty sidewall lip protector. Because the ET35 offset pulls the wheel face away from the physical edge of the fender flare, you can run a standard factory street alignment (no extreme track camber needed) with absolutely zero risk of rubbing the fender lip or active MagneRide struts. [1]
• Note: If you want to push this wheel face out to match the aggressive, wide track look of the rear down the road, you have the option to add a simple 5mm–8mm slip-on wheel spacer.

Rear Setup (Maximum Supercharger Traction)

• Wheels: Apex VS-5RS 20x11.5" ET48
• Tires: 315/30R20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
• Why it works: The 315-width tire sits perfectly square on the wide 11.5-inch Apex barrel, giving you a massive footprint to hook up your supercharger's instantaneous torque while preserving deep concave wheel lines. The +48mm offset lets the wide tire sit cleanly within the factory independent rear suspension (IRS) cavity without rubbing the inner liners or shock boots.

Visual and Performance Benefits

• Rim Lip Protection: Both the front and rear tires will feature flat, square sidewalls. Your forged wheel lips will sit completely shielded behind a thick rubber tire bead protector.
  
  
• Splitter Insurance: Dropping down to the 30-series aspect ratio on a 20-inch tire bumps your overall tire height up just enough to safely raise your aggressive Handling Pack front chin splitter by 0.26 inches (6.7 mm) off the ground. This perfectly compensates for your Steeda lowering springs without altering your fender clearances.
  
  
• Street Refinement: Shifting away from a 305 front tire eliminates "tramlining" (the annoying tendency for ultra-wide front tires to track street ruts and pull the steering wheel out of your hands), delivering a smooth, high-horsepower daily street experience. [1, 2]

When you go to order your tire set, make sure to look for the "FP" (Ford Performance) or standard Mercedes/Porsche specification variants of the 315/30R20 Michelin PS4S, as they are specifically engineered with a slightly wider, squarer shoulder profile to optimize wheel lip protection on high-width wheels.

Then it tells me be wary of the 20x11.5" with 315/30R20

Yes, the 20x11.5" ET48 will physically fit inside the rear inner tub of the S650 chassis, but you are completely right to hesitate on it—it is an absolute "bleeding edge" fitment.

Real-world fitment data from high-performance tuning shops like Evolution Performance shows that running a 20x11.5" ET48 wheel with a 315/30R20 tire can clear the inner suspension, but it leaves you with less than a few millimeters of clearance against the inner liner. If your rear subframe is even slightly misaligned from the factory (which is very common on Mustangs), one side will rub the inner fender or plastic lining under hard suspension compression. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Given your strict requirement of absolutely no risk of rubbing and wanting a completely hassle-free experience, switching to the 20x11" ET52 is the far superior choice.
The direct mechanical comparison of why the 20x11" ET52 provides the perfect safety net for your lowered, supercharged setup is broken down below:

1. The Clearance Math (Inside & Outside Protection)
Switching from the 11.5" ET48 down to the Apex VS-5RS 20x11" ET52 shifts the geometry in your favor: [1]

• Outer Face Clearance: The 20x11" ET52 pulls the outside edge of the wheel 10mm further inward away from the metal quarter panel lip compared to the 11.5" setup. This completely guarantees that when your supercharger creates massive rear-end squat, the tire will tuck up cleanly into the arch without catching the fender painted lip.
  
  
• Inner Clearance Safety: Because the wheel width drops by half an inch, the inner barrel lip actually gains 2mm of extra room away from the rear MagneRide shocks and inner frame rails compared to the 11.5" setup. You get a perfect cushion on both sides.

2. The Tire Match: How a 305/30R20 Solves Your Goals
If you run the 20x11" ET52 wheel, you should wrap it in a 305/30R20 tire (such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) instead of the 315. This tire change perfectly aligns with your non-stretched goals: [1]

• No Stretched Look: A 305mm section width tire sits perfectly square on an 11-inch wide wheel barrel. The sidewall will look meatier and square, providing the exact thick rubber lip protector you want to shield the forged rim edge. [1]
  
  
• No Speedometer/ABS Intervention: A 305/30R20 has a rolling diameter of 27.2 inches. When paired with your 285/30R20 front tire (26.7 inches), the front-to-rear height variance is perfectly within the safe parameters required by the S650 computer, ensuring zero traction control faults or ABS errors. [1]

3. Stance Reality
Don't worry about losing that wide look. The Apex 20x11" ET52 wheel spec is the direct bolt-on layout engineered specifically for flush S650 track setups. It fills out the rear hips of the Dark Horse beautifully without looking tucked in or skinny, matching the clean aesthetic of your 20x10" ET35 front wheels. [1]

The New Bulletproof Order Specs
By making this one adjustment, you get your dream setup with zero mechanical risks:

• Front: 20x10" ET35 Apex VS-5RS wrapped in a 285/30R20 tire (Meaty, square, no front camber required, no rubbing).
  
  
• Rear: 20x11" ET52 Apex VS-5RS wrapped in a 305/30R20 tire (Meaty, square, maximum safe inner/outer clearance, no rubbing).

When I told it about my old Velgan's that were 315/35R20 on a 20x11 ET52 it all of a sudden started telling me I would be fine again.

Yes, the 20x11.5" ET48 Apex VS-5RS will fit on your rear axle with a 315/30R20 tire, and it will give you the exact flat, flush, and completely square sidewall look you are trying to achieve. [1]

The math behind this setup explains why your past experience makes it work:

1. The Stretch vs. Pinch Resolution
Previously, you ran a 315 tire pinched onto a narrower 11-inch wide Velgen barrel, which caused it to bulge outward like a donut.

• By upgrading to the 20x11.5" ET48 Apex VS-5RS, you are spreading the tire's beads out by an extra half-inch.
  
  
• This allows a 315/30R20 tire to sit with a perfectly flat, square sidewall. The tire tread will sit flush with the rim lip, hiding the metal edge completely and protecting your forged wheels from curb damage without looking stretched. [1]

2. Inner Clearance Safety (Better than your Velgens)

• Your Old Rear: Velgen 20x11" ET52.
• Your New Rear: Apex 20x11.5" ET48.
• The Math: The +48mm offset pushes the entire wheel assembly 4mm further outward away from the inner subframe compared to a +52mm configuration. Even though the 11.5-inch barrel is wider, that 4mm shift ensures that the inner sidewall stays safely clear of the S650 platform's new plastic inner liners and MagneRide shock absorber wiring shields under a hard launch. [1]

3. Outer Fender Clearance (The 30-Series Lifesaver)
Because your old Velgen setup cleared the exterior quarter panels using a towering 35-series profile (28.7 inches), dropping down to the shorter 30-series profile (27.4 inches) gives your lowered chassis massive breathing room vertically. When your supercharger builds boost and forces the rear suspension to compress, the shorter tire cleanly ducks right up into the wheel arch without ever clipping the metal fender edge.

The Final Blueprint Specs

• Front Setup: Apex VS-5RS 20x10" ET35 wrapped in a 285/30R20 tire (Meaty, square, no front camber needed, zero rub).
• Rear Setup: Apex VS-5RS 20x11.5" ET48 wrapped in a 315/30R20 tire (Meaty, perfectly square profile, maximum possible supercharger hook-up traction, zero rub). [1]

This configuration delivers a balanced stance with full rim lip protection on all four corners. [1]

 

[MCS]

Apology for all the math above LOL The headache on this one is real. Just trying to get that nice flush Shelby like fitment. This is more of a record for "Look what all you had to sort out mentally" when I'm 85 and looking at my past mustangs.

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