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Topic: Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups (Read 6037 times) previous topic - next topic

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

I think we get into several conversations a month over what wheels and tires will actually fit under the front fenders of the Cougars and T-Birds.  One thing that has not been done or at least that I can find is a thread that people post wheel & tire combinations that fit under the front fenders as well as the front suspension makeup.  What I think we need to do is post this information up so that a person can get a better idea as to what works and even what does not work but remember that pictures also help people get a feel for how it looks.  I'll start with what I have on my '83 Bird.

Car Info - 1983 Ford Thunderbird LX 5.0 Base Model

Stock or Aftermarket K-Member - Griggs Racing (moves the tire forward 1")
Stock or Aftermarket Lower Control Arms - Griggs Racing Severe Duty Fox Mustang length (set to zero forward offset so that the total forward movement of the tires is still 1")
Four or Five Lug - Five lug conversion using the SN95 '96-'04 spindles per Griggs instructions (94-95 spindles move the wheel 3.1mm outward per side and the 96-04 spindles move the wheel 8.1mm outward per side)
Steering Rack Limiters - None
Rims - 17x8 Bullitt Style Chrome Replicas, 24mm offset with a 5.5" backspacing (I will measure this as I am not 100% sure but this may take a couple of weeks to get to)
Tires - Yokohama 245/40/17 AVS ES100 (no longer made)

Darren

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #1 –
Car Info - 1983 Ford Thunderbird Heritage 5.0


Stock or Aftermarket K-Member - Stock
Stock or Aftermarket Lower Control Arms - Stock
Four or Five Lug - Five lug conversion using the Ranger 10" Rotors
Steering Rack Limiters - None
Rims - 18x8 Bonspeed Royal - Somewhere between 0 and +6mm Offset
Tires - Continental 225/40/18

Front Fenders rolled and pushed out a fair bit.
No apparent scrubbing
83 Thunderbird Heritage - Right Hand Drive
95 Falcon GLi

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #2 –
1987 thunderbird lx 5.0

Stock everything.
Mustang 10 holes.
235/60/R15.

Excellent replacement size. no rubbing of any kind.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #3 –
After searching a bit, figured this might be an appropriate thread to ask my question in ...

I'm looking at various aftermarket wheels for my 88 TC, and am wondering what you guys are doing for offset on the front with 8.5" or 9" wide to keep them in the fenders.  Guessing that I would need at least 6" of backspacing, any comments?  I do have some late SN95 arms to go on that will offer a bit more clearance at lock.  Will also likely be adding some MM caster plates, and putting in additional negative camber ... maybe set around -1 to -1.25 degrees, which helps to tuck the top of the tire in the fender a bit as offer more front grip.

Should mention that I really don't like to have the front wheels and tires hanging out the fenders as can happen quite easily with these cars.  Am willing to run different front and rear sizes and / or offsets to keep them tucked in.


thanks,
Ed
84 Mustang SVO
95 Jaguar XJR

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #4 –
I run 255 40 17's up front, no rubbing. They are on 17x8 inch wheels. I was running the same size tire on a 17x9 inch wheel, but I swapped the wheel style.

The rears are 17x9 with 275 40 17's.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #5 –
What is the offset or backspacing on those wheels? 


thanks!
84 Mustang SVO
95 Jaguar XJR

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #6 –
I'll see if I can find the info. They are wheels made for a Mustang, but, even on Fox Body Mustangs, backspacing can be different. On the 10th anniversary wheels I had, 17x9 up front, 17x10 out back, they fit perfectly. On the current deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, the 9's rub the struts, so, I went with 8's up front, and left the 9 in the rear.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #7 –
Sticky thread  ?!?!?!

I'll post my info when this thread grows and I get my fenders back on more permanently.


86' T/C 4.6L DOHC
16' Chebby Cruze 1.4L Turbo
17’ Peterbilt 389 600hp 1850ftlb Trq 18spd

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

“Heavy Metal Mistress”
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #8 –
Quote from: fast Ed;452643
After searching a bit, figured this might be an appropriate thread to ask my question in ...

I'm looking at various aftermarket wheels for my 88 TC, and am wondering what you guys are doing for offset on the front with 8.5" or 9" wide to keep them in the fenders.  Guessing that I would need at least 6" of backspacing, any comments?  I do have some late SN95 arms to go on that will offer a bit more clearance at lock.  Will also likely be adding some MM caster plates, and putting in additional negative camber ... maybe set around -1 to -1.25 degrees, which helps to tuck the top of the tire in the fender a bit as offer more front grip.

Should mention that I really don't like to have the front wheels and tires hanging out the fenders as can happen quite easily with these cars.  Am willing to run different front and rear sizes and / or offsets to keep them tucked in.


thanks,
Ed

I should note I have 03-04 Cobra A-arms on the front of my Thunderbird. They did not pull the wheels in at all as the SN95 arms are the same dimensionally as the 87-88 Thunderbird/Cougar A-arms.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #9 –
Yes, the SN95 arms are the same length as 87-88 Bird, but the 99-04 arms have a revised contour that allows more steering lock to be applied before the wheels will rub on the arms.  I've got a set of 03 Cobra arms to go on mine as well.


cheers
Ed
84 Mustang SVO
95 Jaguar XJR

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #10 –
Quote from: fast Ed;452807
but the 99-04 arms have a revised contour that allows more steering lock to be applied before the wheels will rub on the arms.
cheers
Ed

I'm going to get rid of my front tubular LCA/coil-over setup and install 03' cobra arms & springs. That's why I'm going this route


86' T/C 4.6L DOHC
16' Chebby Cruze 1.4L Turbo
17’ Peterbilt 389 600hp 1850ftlb Trq 18spd

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

“Heavy Metal Mistress”
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #11 –
Quote from: fast Ed;452643
After searching a bit, figured this might be an appropriate thread to ask my question in ...

I'm looking at various aftermarket wheels for my 88 TC, and am wondering what you guys are doing for offset on the front with 8.5" or 9" wide to keep them in the fenders.  Guessing that I would need at least 6" of backspacing, any comments?  I do have some late SN95 arms to go on that will offer a bit more clearance at lock.  Will also likely be adding some MM caster plates, and putting in additional negative camber ... maybe set around -1 to -1.25 degrees, which helps to tuck the top of the tire in the fender a bit as offer more front grip.

Should mention that I really don't like to have the front wheels and tires hanging out the fenders as can happen quite easily with these cars.  Am willing to run different front and rear sizes and / or offsets to keep them tucked in.


thanks,
Ed

87 TC

stock crossmember
stock control arms
'95 SN-95 spindles/Cobra brakes

18 x 9 wheels w/ 6.5" BS
255/40-18 BFG KDW II
-1.5* camber

Back when I ran the 17" Cobra Rs I used the M179 up front and the R58 out back. The M179s had a 6.42" BS. I ran 255's on those as well and same camber.

With both setups I would get some scrubbing on the inner fender liner (it crosses over the top of the tire at a steep angle compared to a Mustang) under HARD cornering but even that went away after swapping out my control arm bushings. Under normal driving and spirited they never rubbed. Keep in mind though I run very stiff springs up front . Never had issues of hitting the actual fenderlips.....only the stupid liner due to how Ford designed it.

X
X

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #12 –
Thanks Glen, that's what I was looking for.  I remember you mentioning some of the stats when I saw you in the summer, but could not recall the specifics.


cheers
Ed
84 Mustang SVO
95 Jaguar XJR

Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #13 –
1988 Ford Thunderbird (started out as a 5.0 so that K member)

Stock or Aftermarket K-Member - Stock 88 with spring perches and whatever else is sticking out at the top cut off.
 Stock or Aftermarket Lower Control Arms - MM Fox 3/4" forward tubular arms delrin bushings
 Four or Five Lug - Five lug conversion using the 04 mustang spindles.  Crash Bolts in Both Holes in strut.  Limited adjustment for caster and camber with MM Caster camber plates.
Steering Rack Limiters - None but should probably have a couple put it.  Occasionally hits stuff in a spin on track.
 Rims - 18x10 Mesh XXR 521, +25 offset with a 6.48"backspacing
 Tires - 315/35/18 Hoosier A6 Required rolling the fenders quite a bit(always remember to unbend the second bend on the fender lip before attempting the rolling)

88 t-bird tc - 14.97 @ 90  IHI 18 psi + k+n filter...so far - NOW HX-35 @25psi - 12.75@112    348rwhp/395rwtq
78 F-150 - 11.61@120 on 175shot N20 - 12.55@110 on motor - 5200# race weight:hick:

Re: Front Wheel and Tire Fitment - Dimensions and Setups

Reply #14 –
Quote from: vinnietbird – on
I'll see if I can find the info. They are wheels made for a Mustang, but, even on Fox Body Mustangs, backspacing can be different. On the 10th anniversary wheels I had, 17x9 up front, 17x10 out back, they fit perfectly. On the current deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, the 9's rub the struts, so, I went with 8's up front, and left the 9 in the rear.

Hey Vinnie, What 8" wheels are you running up front.  I'm trying to find some decent 4 lug wheels that fit and I like.   :smile:
Mike