Tire Woes Help!!!

[Davedacarpainter]

thanks Dave, I took off 245 x 45 x 17"s on 9" wide rims and with the car being lowered 2.5" they would rub the bottom of the wheel well on a big dump.

Yeah, 2.5" is a lot. To make that much work you would have to do a full mini tub. But 1.5" shouldn't be too bad though.

Remember to measure for the proper backspacing on your vehicle, once you have that, at least you know what to look for in a new wheel.

 

[Rjaaaaaa]

Yea, I'm going to pull these slicks and get some good street / strip tires (any suggestions) then deal with the wheel well issue, maybe drop the rear down some with a little redoing of my spring spacer.
But these slicks look soooooo kool!

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Yea, I'm going to pull these slicks and get some good street / strip tires (any suggestions) then deal with the wheel well issue, maybe drop the rear down some with a little redoing of my spring spacer.
But these slicks look soooooo kool!

If you're willing to perform a 5-lug converstion (and why wouldn't you be....the brake upgrade alone is worth it), and you want to stick to a Ford wheel, you could probably get away with using '05-up wheels on your car with that thunderbird rear end. Combine that with a set of '99-'04 front spindles and you could get yourself a nice, factory stance out of the deal. And some of these S197 wheels really look killer on the old Fox's.

S197 wheels tend to have about an additional 20mm offset, over the Fox wheels, which will pull them in a little closer to the center and offset some of that added width of the Turbocoupe rear end.

 

[sawdeanz]

Gonna follow this thread, since I just swapped a turbocoupe rear into my fox and I'm getting a headache trying to figure out what wheel/tire combo to get. I'm not racing but it would be cool to get 275s in the back without rubbing the fender. I don't mind rolling the fender but with some rims I'm not sure whether it will be enough. I gather plenty of people have done this swap so there must be some 4 lug wheels that are doable. I'm not sure exactly what springs are in mine, I think 2" lowering but how would I even measure that for sure?

 

[Rjaaaaaa]

If you're willing to perform a 5-lug converstion (and why wouldn't you be....the brake upgrade alone is worth it), and you want to stick to a Ford wheel, you could probably get away with using '05-up wheels on your car with that thunderbird rear end. Combine that with a set of '99-'04 front spindles and you could get yourself a nice, factory stance out of the deal. And some of these S197 wheels really look killer on the old Fox's.

S197 wheels tend to have about an additional 20mm offset, over the Fox wheels, which will pull them in a little closer to the center and offset some of that added width of the Turbocoupe rear end.

Hey, thanks for chiming in. The 4 lug setup is fine and the rear disc brakes have to be much better with this t bird setup and I already have the 410 gears ?? It would be nice to be able to just go to a tire store and try every wheel and tire comb till you find that "just" right one but such is not the case. I really like these wheels and I think with a little smaller tire on the back I can adjust the ride height to fit and still look kool. don't think rolling the wheel well is a good option since the rear is extra wide ? and I do not want to take the chance with new paint. I think I can kind a tire that will give me good traction and ride. NO LOW PROFILE TIRES FOR ME.

 

[Rjaaaaaa]

Gonna follow this thread, since I just swapped a turbocoupe rear into my fox and I'm getting a headache trying to figure out what wheel/tire combo to get. I'm not racing but it would be cool to get 275s in the back without rubbing the fender. I don't mind rolling the fender but with some rims I'm not sure whether it will be enough. I gather plenty of people have done this swap so there must be some 4 lug wheels that are doable. I'm not sure exactly what springs are in mine, I think 2" lowering but how would I even measure that for sure?

That 2" lowering is the killer with the extra width in the rear. I'm not going to get new tires till after Christmas but I think I'm going with a 245 60 15 maybe a 255 if it fits good.
Take a look at your springs, sometimes guys just take a torch and cut 1/2 or 1 coil off to lower the car, you should see that, if the springs have been changed out you should see a name and part number on it. Mine are eibach springs.