I had mentioned that new wheels were coming for the Focus, and here they are. No more secrets.

When I first found the Rs they were something different and the price couldn’t be ignored. I picked them up and had some new tires mounted, and when bolted on the car the result was great. They looked good and were easy to keep clean too, since they were so simple in design.

After two summers of the Rs though I felt it was time for a change. More and more Mk3s were appearing with these wheels, and with the rest of the car progressing I decided it was a good time to upgrade. I wanted something more aggressive, and likely aftermarket this time.

Fortunately a set of wheels was available locally in a good colour and size. I was planning on picking them up eventually but they became available sooner than expected. Yes, you have seen these before.

Mario’s Tarmacs! So yeah, there was a slight change of plans on his part, but he has something else up his sleeve.

With a 5×108 bolt pattern finding wheels for these cars can be a bit tricky. As I had mentioned when I first posted about the Tarmacs though, they were originally made up for another Mk3 ST so the bolt pattern and sizing was taken care of. While I personally was wanting to stay with grey wheels, I think the white will also work well. I ultimately want to get new tires (I want 235s at least, and these are 225s) so I can look into changing the colour at that point, to grey or something else.

Compared to the Rs, they are both larger and wider. The Tarmacs measure in at 18×9.5 while the Rs are 17×8. The Tarmacs also have a lower offset so they’ll fit much better. When combined with a lower ride height (Coilovers are still on the shopping list) the STedan’s stance should be taken care of properly.

-Bill