I know this topic has been discussed quite a bit, but some of the older topics are missing (likely due to forum upgrades) so brace yourself for yet another wheel & tire topic! I'll be buying the wheels from Summit Racing and the tires from Tire Rack. 215/60-R14 <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Avid+S%2FT&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=16TR4STOWL&fromCompare1=yes" target="blank">Yokohama Avid S/T's</a> for the front, 235/60 or 245/60R-15's for the rear. The thing is I am having a difficult time deciding on tires (it always comes down to the tires!) At least I am consistent in being indecisive! I would really dread spending $500 on wheels and tires only to have them make contact during cornering. Originally I planned to spend $100 per wheel plus tires, but at this point I want to spend less and have them sooner. The difference in price between 235's and 245's is only $9 per tire so please share your opinion if you are running tires this size. I am leaning towards the 245's at this point but if any of you have tried wheels with the same backspacing and offset and they made contact I will downgrade to 235's. Here are the wheels I'll be getting: Front: <a href="http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=19935&view=257&applid=%7BF76DCC00%2D2C94%2D44DC%2D89A7%2DDFEB9C711D82%7D#largerimage" target="new">U.S. Wheel Series 97</a> Rear: <a href="http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=55067&view=257&applid=%7BF76DCC00%2D2C94%2D44DC%2D89A7%2DDFEB9C711D82%7D#largerimage" target="new">U.S. Wheel Series 94</a> The fronts will be 14x6, the rears will be 15x7. If you guys think they'll fit I'll get the 245's. Other than that, how do you think they'll look? All-chrome fronts, chrome rears with black centers. I think it will look tough once I pick out some center caps to go with them. 245's will look pretty wide on a car this size and the black wheels will draw attention to them. The backspacing on the rear wheels is 3.75" (same as stock). 7" rim width which is the narrowest width a 245 will fit, should help hold in the beer belly (that's a new technical term don't make fun of it). The rim width does affect the tire width to a degree. The -6mm in offset doesn't hurt either! Your thoughts gentlemen! Tires and wheels will be $412 shipped. Center caps not included. That's another question I have, can I go buy some cheap but decent looking center caps at autozone or do they have to be made by U.S. Wheel? *edit* Fixed link!
Honestly, I'm not big on modular wheels on anything but trucks. They just don't look right on cars IMO.
With the 3.75 backspace, you should be OK on the rear. I had 4" backspace with 245/50-15, and it would just ~barely~ rub on the inside turning at speed one way (axle not centered in body). There might be issues with the wheelwell lip, though with the taller profile and negative offset, depending on ride height. I believe you'll be fine with the fronts, I have run 195/70-14 with no problems, and dad-in-law is running 205/70-14 on AR 14x7 chrome mods. Just make sure that the caster is set up correctly and the wheel is close to being centered in the opening. I had some minor rub on the pinchweld flange before I corrected the caster on his car. Good to know you still have the II.
Personally I'd either get all 4 with black centers, or all 4 chrome. I wouldn't want the mix and match look.
FRONT= im ridin on 225-60-14 front 14x7 3 1/2in backspacing a very slight rub on full turn, a 3in backspacing 7in rim would be a perfect fit. (i removed the inner plastic and no more rubbing..) REAR= 245-60-14 rear 14x7 3 1/2in backspacing fits perfect. has never rubbed,matter of fact i wish i did an 8 in rim with 4in of backspace.. cause thats as big as you can go with SSM lift bars without rubbing..
oh my personal opinion on those rims? they are a steel rim you can get at any rim/hubcap shop. very cheap 65.00 new ea. personally i enjoy an aluminum rim lighter,easy to clean,can polish 5 yrs from now. same price range you are lookin at. those rims you can expect to last 3yrs in my area before the dip comes flaking off and they rot (winter).. i dont know about texas??
2Much, if your wheel offset is the same you will have more clearance than me because your wheels have 3.5" backspacing and these are 3.75" so you GAIN a 1/4" of clearance in backspacing alone. Increasing backspacing reduces clearance because it puts the wheels closer to the center of the axle. It is the distance from the inner wheel lip to the mount plate. Do you know what the offset of your wheels is? These are -6mm. If I know the offset on yours I can see how closely matched your wheels are to these.
think these will fit my front?4 1/2 in pattern,8" lip to lip,not sure about backspacing for the front,but i have two on the rear already.
Glenn, 3.5" backspace would be -13mm offset. 4" would be "0" offset. This is on a 7 inch wheel. On the 6 inch you mentioned, 3.75 backspace would actually be a +6mm offset
The front wheel linked above is 14x6, 3.5" backspace, which makes it a 0 offset. You have to remember that the overall width of the wheel is approx 1" more than the rim size, which would make the wheel 7" outside to outside, thereby making 3.5" backspace a zero offset. I have 7", zero offset (4" b/s) wheels on the front, with 225 tires, no problems.
then who's got a 4 1/2 pattern? maybe the guy on e-bay made a mistake,they look exactly like the ones i have.
4.5" pattern goes with the early Mustangs (65-68). As you probably know, all non V-8 classic Mustangs had four lugs. The wheels that were used on these cars won't interchange with the II. I'm not sure why Ford decided to change the bolt pattern. d
Not to beat a dead horse, I wanted to bring up this old thread to show Cobramans experience with his wheel and tire combo. I'm reading so many things lately I don't know what backspacing to go with. Cobraman had slight contact problems with 245/50R15's using 4" backspacing on 15x7's. That is a 0 offset. I'm reading other people are running 265's on 15x8's with 4.5" of backspacing without contact. A 15x8" wheel with 4.5" of backspacing has a 0 offset. Increasing the backspacing would move the wheels closer towards the axle, and people seem to be having issues with the INNER fender well. Is anyone out there running LESS backspacing and not having any issues? I want to run a 265 tire on a 15x8 wheel, wouldn't I want 4" of backspacing at most? <hr> The main thing is I can't return the wheels once I buy them. I don't want to end up with tires that rub during cornering, I plan to take some hard corners. All I have to go by is what everyone has said, and the information is a little bit conflicting. For those of you who have tried different wheel and tire combos, does 3.75" of backspacing for a 15x8 wheel seem like a good choice? That would give me an additional 1/4" over what Cobraman had. Do you think there would be enough clearance from the actual outside fender with the wider wheel? <hr> Am I understanding all of this correctly when I say I should not be concerned about the offset, and that I should just focus on the backspacing (distance from mounting surface to the inner wheel lip)? Mustangii.net says the offset of the stock 13x5.5 wheels is 10mm, is that correct? If so, the stock backspacing would be just less than 3.75". So 3.5" backspacing on a 15x7 should clear everything? When the tires hit with the steering lock to lock, where do they hit? While this post is long I hope you can see the confusion and questions I still have about proper fitment. I hope you all can help out with my final decision. Some sites I found useful: http://toy4two.home.mindspring.com/offset.html http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html
Have you shopped around for some used wheels? I think for that kind of money you could get a pretty nice set. You might settle for a little wear and tear, but you might end up with wheels that will make you happier. My old wheels were 14x7 with 3.5 backspace running P245x60. There was so much wasted space on the inside and they would rub on the outside with passangers in the back, but my fenders are not rolled. 3.75" would clear but IMO 4" of backspacing would be ideal for a P245 and center it well in the available space. I had 245x60x15's on 15x8 with 4.5" of back spacing and they looked tucked up under the car. I just installed a 26x10.5x15 (same as 265) and it is centered in the space and I don't see any more room without moving the leaf springs in or rolling the fender lips. Anyhow I attempted to attach pictures. Glenn, I sent you an e-mail, I need yours if you want the rest of the pictures.
Here is a picture of the same 15x8 with 4.5" bs rims with 245x60x15's. with the bigger tires fitting then you know there has to be plenty of space for the 245. I would recommend measuring because it is unlikely all of our cars are identical in tolerances and 30 years of settling especially if you go anything bigger than a 245.
HaveII e-mailed me a bunch of pictures and talked it over with me, it looks like 4.25" backspacing would be best or 4.5 backspacing for a 15x8 wheel. What about the front wheels? I want to run a 225/50R15 Does anyone know what the offset is on the stock 13x5.5 wheels? I'm guessing -6mm, if that is the case for a 15x7 backspacing would need to be 3". Can anyone confirm this?
