Thanks to Streetking: 69 max rubber

cphsonic · 08-20-2007, 04:05 PM

Just to share the info: inspired by Streetkings immaculate black 69 Sportsroof (http://www.1969stang.com/mustang/forum/showthread.php?t=2301&highlight=streetking), I got his exact wheel setup and duplicated it (almost, I have a different front end). His setup is:
* Front is 245/40R18 on a 18x8.5" wheel with 5.375" backspacing
* Rear is 295/35R18 on a 18x10" wheel with 6.375" backspacing
Rolled fender lips and a bit massaging on rear inner fender well.

I got the set of FR500 wheels I have wanted since I first saw them, with almost the same setup:
* Front 18x9" with 5,85" backspace, cut, narrowed 1" and welded back together to make a 18x8". Rubber is 245/40R18.
* Rear is a 18x10" with 6.38" backspace and a 295/35R18 tyre.
No rolled lips but I did have to get the 2lb hammer out to massage a 4x2" area on the inner fender wells. Nothing drastic.

This is what it looks like (still need to go 1" lower in the rear):

Also posted this on Stangnet. Exact copy - no need to read both.

bswor · 08-20-2007, 05:09 PM

That looks really really nice especially with the color of the car.

slackr · 08-20-2007, 10:41 PM

I agree... that looks really nice. I also think it will look better with the lowered rear.
Good stuff.

70-DropTop · 08-20-2007, 11:16 PM

Damn, that looks good! I was using SK's ride as an example to check my wheels. I'll be essentially the same thing with my wheels. I have Ford Racing 2000 Cobra R's that will be going on my vert.

They measure 18x9.5 with 6.12 backspacing. From looking at your and SK's ride, they should do just fine out back.

Now, I planned to narrow two of them by 1.5". That'll give me 18x8 with 4.62 backspacing. Everything I've read says that'll work just fine. It's practically 4.5", which most I've seen recommend.

Thanks!

Grabber70Mach · 08-21-2007, 08:52 PM

Man that looks really nice. Great job.

Burn · 08-21-2007, 10:42 PM

The whole car looks really cool. How low have you gone in the front and rear so far?

I also never thought about having a rim cut in half and shortened to achieve the ideal width and backspacing. This really gives me more options now for my setup.

What does it cost to have two wheels shortened? Do you have to have the backspacing reduced by 1", including the wheel or can you leave the BS and reduce just the wheel width?

1BAD351 · 08-22-2007, 01:53 AM

sweet, next set of wheel I get im going to get some nice big tires all around. I mean i have 295's on my car now with a 3.5" backspacing... ok so my tires dont even fit in the wheel well lol

cphsonic · 08-22-2007, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burn

The whole car looks really cool. How low have you gone in the front and rear so far?

I also never thought about having a rim cut in half and shortened to achieve the ideal width and backspacing. This really gives me more options now for my setup.

What does it cost to have two wheels shortened? Do you have to have the backspacing reduced by 1", including the wheel or can you leave the BS and reduce just the wheel width?

Thx! I'd say 2-3 inches lowered in the front and 1½ in the back? I'm not really sure because I dont have the original measurements...

The sectioning of the wheel is done on the inside => 1" narrowing will reduce BS with 1" too. To keep the BS while narrowing, you'd have to take the material from the outside witch most rims don't have the material for.

I' payed around $185 a piece for the work, but that's over here in euro-land with our high costs of everything.

Add the cost of the wheel, shipping to Denmark, import taxes etc, but I wanted FR500's VERY bad!

70-DropTop · 08-22-2007, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cphsonic

Thx! I'd say 2-3 inches lowered in the front and 1½ in the back? I'm not really sure because I dont have the original measurements...

What suspension package are you running...maybe that'll help us understand how much lower it is from stock (what leafs and eye location...lowering springs with coils cut?).

Quote:

What does it cost to have two wheels shortened? Do you have to have the backspacing reduced by 1", including the wheel or can you leave the BS and reduce just the wheel width?

The only place most wheels allow any modification (widen or narrow) is behind the spokes...doing that will always affect backspacing. If you go wider and don't want the increased backspace, use a spacer. The extent at which a wheel can be narrowed is determined by the wheel's cross section geometry (is there a long enough flat stretch). My understanding is that they can widen about anything.

As for price, I've been quoted $150/wheel to narrow mine by the shop that did BIG-MAC's (from Stangnet). They do quality work and they're in Michigan (I'm in Ohio). That'll work well for me. I'll be taking mine there sometime before next summer.

cphsonic · 08-22-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70-DropTop

What suspension package are you running...maybe that'll help us understand how much lower it is from stock (what leafs and eye location...lowering springs with coils cut?).

About the only thing I don't have info on is what the coils are. Installed by previous owner, I'd say they are 620ties by the feel of them and they are not cut.
Global West uppers and lowers (boxed), SPAX gas shocks.