In reply to ClemSparks:
This is the information I used when shopping for wheels. Stolen from crownvic.net
Wheels
All panthers use a 5x4.5" bolt pattern, and a ~70.5mm hub centerbore
92-02:
All '92-'97s require 15" wheels minimum to clear the front calipers. 'All 98+ require at least a 16" wheel to clear their larger front dual piston calipers. (15" will clear in the rear, however)
There have been mentions of people grinding down their 98-02 fronts calipers to allow use of 15" wheels. I do not recommend this.
All '98+ use 16" wheels as standard equipment, 17" if it was a CV Sport (and later Town Cars and 18" for Marauder)
-97s received 15" steel wheels as standard equipment on base models, 15" alloys on upper models and 16" alloys on 93+ HPPs
All of the 16" and 17" rims are 7" in width, the 15" wheels are 6.5" in width however I have heard the 'Police' 15" steel wheels may be 7" The primary difference between CVPI and 'base' -'97 15" steel wheels is the police wheels can accept 'dog dish' center caps.
The offset for all -02 is ~6mm (depending on rim model), though a 0mm offset can be used without any trouble provided you keep the width reasonable.
03+
All came with at least 16" wheels, 17" for LX Sport. '03+ Town Cars and 18" for Marauders. All can use the 16" rims, however.
The width is again 7", Though the Marauder's are 8" to run larger width tires
The offset is high, ~50mm *Though anything in the ~40-~50mm range is acceptable.
05+ / s197 Mustang, all 03+ panther, and 2002-2005 Explorer wheels are a direct fit for 03+ panthers.
Note: There is a clearance issue between the wheel and front calipers when using some '05+ Mustang wheels on '03+ panthers. This appears to be limited to the polished 18" 5-spoke "Bullitt" factory Ford wheels, and the 2013 19" rims pictured in this post. If you run into this problem, slip-on style 1/4" spacers will space the wheel far enough to gain adequate clearance.
s197 05+ Mustang / 03+ panther / 2002-2005 Explorer wheels will fit -02 panthers with the use wheel adapters, measuring at least ~30mm/1.25"+. Hub centric adapters recommended
1.5" preferred. Aero owners may want to use 2" on rear.
94-04 sn95/5x4.5" FACTORY mustang wheels can be used on -02 panthers, provided a wheel adapter/spacer measuring at ~1/4"+ is used on the front wheels to compensate for increased offset.
Larger spacers will bring wheels further out to fender well lips. 1/4" is minimum for front ball joint clearance, and is adequate up to (and including) the 8" Cobra rims. 20mm+ preferred all around for the right look. (Aero owners should use a larger spacer in the rear to fill the wheel wells out more)
Hub centric adapters recommended. Increased rim width will effect offset and minimum spacer size calculation. If you're going beyond factory Mustang wheels just keep that in mind and size your spacers accordingly.
s95 (94-04)/5x4.5" Mustang wheels have too low of an offset for 03+ panthers, the wheels may protrude past the wheel openings.
For aero owner's looking for better handling, -02 panther 16" (and 17") wheels are a direct fit, size 225/60/16 tires are closest to the diameter of your original 15" wheel/tire combo.
Kenny Brown panthers used 18x8" Ronal R-7 wheels, using 245/45/18 tires
2006+ CVPIs use 17" wheels. These wheels are a direct swap on all 2003+ panthers.
They can be used on -02 provided hub centric adapters (1.5") are used on all 4 wheels.
-97 Steel wheels come in two varieties. The standard and the 'Police' wheels which have raised portions/bumps to secure the 'dog-dish' style hubcaps.
DCX LX Platform wheels can be used on -02 panthers. The bolt pattern is slightly off (by .7mm, DCX using 5x115mm vs. our 5x114.3mm) , so vibration may be felt at higher speeds.
Hub centric adapter 'rings' are recommended to keep wheels hubconcentric (The LX platform wheels have a larger centerbore than Ford Panther platform vehicles (71.5mm vs 70.5mm), the rings fill this gap keeping the wheel concentric to the hub)
Offset is ~18mm, so spacers are not required for use on -02s but recommended for best look.
These wheels will stick out too far to be used on 03+ panthers.
The aforementioned Ford wheel offerings (Mustang, Explorer, Panther, etc.) use the correct 70.6mm center bore.