Wheel And Tire Question

SoFlStang

Member
May 22, 2013
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I recently purchased my 1988 GT and was given a set of weld wheels for it from the seller. The wheels he gave me for the rear are 15x10 with an offset of 25, so I believe from research that comes to a 6.48 inch back space, and from what I read the cars use a 6.5 inch back space. The car has the rear end from a 95 mustang installed, so its 5 lug and disc brake. I would like to put these wheels on the car, since the matching front wheels are already on, but they are not 15x10, look more like 15x8. So my question is, will these 15x10 offset 25 rims fit the rear of my car without modification, and what size tires should I put on? I will not be drag racing or anything like that, just driving it to work and for fun. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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So the rear 15X10 wheels have no tires on them? Even if it's a bare rim it's still worthy of just jacking up the back and removing a wheel and putting in on there just to see how it fits width wise. Is the car lowered? If so what suspension set up?
 
Thanks for the welcome! The car is not lowered, it currently has a 16 inch steel wheel on the back, which is a 225/60-16. I've been looking around and keep seeing the numbers 295/50-15 and 275/60-15. I checked the dimensions of the wheel that is on there, and its showing as 26.63 diameter and the 275 shows 27.99 diameter, which I think would be close, and the 295 is 26.61 diameter, so I am pretty sure that will fit without issues. Not sure the width will fit, so I will take your suggestion and put the bare wheel on the car to make sure it doesn't rub. If it doesn't rub, then I am guessing the 295/50-15 is the way to go? I need these tires to be economical, since it'll be a daily driver. Thanks again.
 
I have an 89lx with the weld 15x8. I run 295/50/15s on the back of mine. Any tire you can find other than the cooper cobra should be economical. My local tire guy gets me tires for $50 a pop, mostly barley used. People tend to buy large tires to find they don't fit, he calls me, I buy them and feel less guilty doing a burnout at every stoplight. Only rubs when cornering but I also have no sway bar. I drive my car 94.4 miles a day for work. Just with a real wide tire and a light rear end it will get real squirly in the rain. A little hammer work on the shock mount will help, and carefull with bumps cause you'll wrinkle your fenders. Makes for nice burnouts so definetly worth it to me.
 
I was told the engine has a 331 stroker kit. It does have the 5 lug wheels, came from a 95 mustang. As for my plans, its to use it as a daily driver for now and work on it as a project. I am leaning towards finding another set of steel wheels for the front, so I'll have matching wheels, and then sell the weld wheels.
 
I was told the engine has a 331 stroker kit. As for my plans, its to use it as a daily driver for now and work on it as a project. I am leaning towards finding another set of steel wheels for the front, so I'll have matching wheels, and then sell the weld wheels.
Light weight wheels reduce your et's give better mpg, and argueably less wear on drivetrain. Nothing looks better than a fox with big fatty's in the back. Can upload a rear shot of my car if you'd like.
 
caleb bday, car pics 057.JPG
View attachment 80340
caleb bday, car pics 056.JPG
 
That looks nice. So in your opinion, would I have to mod much to make the 295/50r15 fit? I was reading about the exhaust possibly being in the way, but I noticed that on my car, the exhaust pipe is short after the mufflers and stops underneath the car.
 
That looks nice. So in your opinion, would I have to mod much to make the 295/50r15 fit? I was reading about the exhaust possibly being in the way, but I noticed that on my car, the exhaust pipe is short after the mufflers and stops underneath the car.
As you see in the picture, my exhaust dumps before the axle. I just used a hammer and gained a little on the inner fender and curled the fender away from the tire towards the shock. Don't be intimidated, you wont hurt anything. A set of strange ten way direct replacement shocks will alow you to stiffen the shock when you have passengers ect. Has ten preloaded settings and a dial you can reach very easily and you just turn it to adjust. Good for the track and street. Also raises and lowers ride height about 2 inches. You might not rub if you still have a sway bar. that's my next upgrade. See If you can find a used set real cheap and try those out, then you don't have a bunch invested. That's what I did to see If It would work. And the new mickey Thompson sportsman flame tread tires would look sick. If you look at the rear shot, to the bottom left of the fuel tank you can see the knob on the shock used to adjust it. Their about a buck and a quarter a piece.