18" wheels

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255 x 35 x 18" all around. Just put 1.5 5 x 4.5 spacers and had to roll front fenders out a bit. Great grip now. Plan to run car in SCCA CAM Class Autox.

I may try 1" spacers on front to pull tires back in just a bit. Will see when hard cornering if it still rubs.
 
Coy's wheels. You'll have to call and see if what they have if you're looking for 5x4. They can custom drill the bolt pattern on some of there wheels
 
72bluNblu said:
Yes, it's easier to get an 18x9" on the front than a 17x9. I wouldn't plan on running a 17x9. I've only ever heard of one car that did it with a set of 17x9" Cobra R 5 spokes that had a 6" backspace, and he later admitted he had some clearance issues. Most 17" rims start to have outer tie rod end interference issues at about 5.6" of backspace.
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Who had the issue? I know Wracks ran 17x9's and had issues, but later on it was discovered he had dropped spindles, too.

An OEM 17x8 Mustang rim has an offset of +30mm, while the OEM 17x9 has an offset of +24mm. This works out to about a 1/4" difference between the 8" and 9" wheel as to where the inside lip sits with the 9" rim being closer. If the 8" rim clears the tie rod, the 9" should as well with a worst case 1/4" spacer.

Sorry, I know this is late, but just saw this had to ask.
 
DionR said:
Who had the issue? I know Wracks ran 17x9's and had issues, but later on it was discovered he had dropped spindles, too.

An OEM 17x8 Mustang rim has an offset of +30mm, while the OEM 17x9 has an offset of +24mm. This works out to about a 1/4" difference between the 8" and 9" wheel as to where the inside lip sits with the 9" rim being closer. If the 8" rim clears the tie rod, the 9" should as well with a worst case 1/4" spacer.

Sorry, I know this is late, but just saw this had to ask.
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The 17x8 doesn't clear the tie rod. The OEM Mustang rims that are 17x8 have a backspace of 5.72", and pretty much everyone I've seen run them has to add an 1/8" spacer to put the backspace at ~5.6" to clear the outer tie rod. A 17x9 with a +24mm offset has a backspace of 6". You'd need to get the backspacing to ~5.6" to get it to clear the tie rod, at which point you wouldn't be able to run 275's because of fender clearance, you'd be maxed out with a 255 and even that would be tight.
 
72bluNblu said:
The 17x8 doesn't clear the tie rod. The OEM Mustang rims that are 17x8 have a backspace of 5.72", and pretty much everyone I've seen run them has to add an 1/8" spacer to put the backspace at ~5.6" to clear the outer tie rod. A 17x9 with a +24mm offset has a backspace of 6". You'd need to get the backspacing to ~5.6" to get it to clear the tie rod, at which point you wouldn't be able to run 275's because of fender clearance, you'd be maxed out with a 255 and even that would be tight.
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Mine did, now they're on my buddies 69 and he doesn't need spacers either.
 
pauly v.100 said:
Mine did, now they're on my buddies 69 and he doesn't need spacers either.
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That's certainly not the norm. It does depend on the rim design though. Were those mustang Bullits or a different style?

For the 275 it doesn't change all that much, a 6" backspace is pretty much the minimum on a 9" wide rim to get a 275 to clear. Any less than that will require fender mods on most cars anyway, body tolerances being what they are. I'm at 6.1" of backspace with my 18x9's and 275's. My fenders aren't rolled, but the lower front corner is pushed out further than stock with a modified brace, and when I mounted the fenders I pulled them all the way out on the mounts. The tires clear but just. If they came out any at all I'd have to roll the fender or raise the ride height. And the fender roll wouldn't buy even a full 1/4", not on my fenders anyway.
 
72bluNblu said:
The 17x8 doesn't clear the tie rod. The OEM Mustang rims that are 17x8 have a backspace of 5.72", and pretty much everyone I've seen run them has to add an 1/8" spacer to put the backspace at ~5.6" to clear the outer tie rod. A 17x9 with a +24mm offset has a backspace of 6". You'd need to get the backspacing to ~5.6" to get it to clear the tie rod, at which point you wouldn't be able to run 275's because of fender clearance, you'd be maxed out with a 255 and even that would be tight.
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Just to be clear, I agree that 18" wheels makes this a non-issue.

In this post in the huge 17" wheel thread Anybody running 17" Cobra Bullit rims on a Duster, the Leadfoot Rally guy (Duster346) says he could not fit his OEM 17x9 wheels on 2 cars, but they worked fine (if a little close) on his '73. This is what I remember reading is that some cars work fine with an OEM wheel, but others don't. But it didn't mean that none did; maybe most, but not all.

I was going to add that I have had a set of '97 Mustang 17x8 wheels on my Valiant when I was working on my big brake kit that never had a problem, but realized that part of that setup includes a 13" slip on rotor, which is effectively a wheel spacer.
 
BTW, looks like Clair Davis's post right after the one I linked above indicates that he was able to run an OEM 17x8 wheel without tie-rod interference. But he didn't have the clearance to run a 17x9 OEM, either.
 
Yeah, the "trick" is the Cobra wheels. Bullits need to be spaced back to ~5.6", the CobraR 5 spokes fit with the 5.72" backspace. The tie rod interference does depend on the specific design of the rim. I forgot about the Cobra R's being different.

Duster346 did run 17x9's later with the same Cobra R wheel, which have a 5.94" backspace. But when I asked him about it after the rally he said he was "on the tie rods and the fenders" with the 17x9's, 5.94" backspace and 275/40/17's.

Really it comes down to what size tire you want to run. If you don't mind running 255's then you can make a 17x9" rim work. But if you want to run 275's up front the backspace/offset window you have to work with is only about a 1/4", and it's from ~6" to ~6.2". And least without starting into significant fender mods. Tomswheels ran 285's on 18x10's on his Valiant, but he also pushed the fender out with a porta power. :D I know I could probably make 285's fit on my Duster if I rolled the fenders and pushed on the wheel opening a bit when I did, but with 16:1 manual steering I think I'm happy with my 275's.
 
72bluNblu said:
Yeah, the "trick" is the Cobra wheels. Bullits need to be spaced back to ~5.6", the CobraR 5 spokes fit with the 5.72" backspace. The tie rod interference does depend on the specific design of the rim. I forgot about the Cobra R's being different.
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I'm going to run neither, but I have a 1/4" "spacer" in my brake kit so I suspect it wont be an issue. :D

72bluNblu said:
Duster346 did run 17x9's later with the same Cobra R wheel, which have a 5.94" backspace. But when I asked him about it after the rally he said he was "on the tie rods and the fenders" with the 17x9's, 5.94" backspace and 275/40/17's.
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He said it was close. Another reason 18" wheels are the better option, if you don't already have 17" wheels taking up room in storage. :rolleyes:

72bluNblu said:
I know I could probably make 285's fit on my Duster if I rolled the fenders and pushed on the wheel opening a bit when I did, but with 16:1 manual steering I think I'm happy with my 275's.
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I'd be happy with 275's. Heck, I'd be happy if I could get the 245's on the car. Anything but the 14's that are there now! :BangHead:
 
Not my car but I know they put 18" rims on it. My 67 dart has 18" rims on it. I'll upload a picture tomorrow.

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I just took these yesterday because of this discussion.
17x8 Cobra R w/ 5.72 backspace
With no spacers in front, there looks to be about 1/4 to 3/8" clearance wheel to tie rod end.
I also recall my other mustang 17x8 wheels fit with no issues, I believe that type was on Claire's car too. Must just be a bullit thing!

IMAG0985.jpg


IMAG0989_1.jpg


IMAG0992.jpg
 
On my duster I am running a 18x8.5 up front with 5.1 in of BS and a 225/45r18, no issues here.
 
Depends on which iteration/generation of bullitt wheel--the 01-04 17x8" are not the same as the S197 (05-up) Bullitt wheels.

here's an excerpt from another website about the matter.

Bullitt Wheels, which ones? - Vintage Mustang Forums

Aftermarket sellers like www.americanmuscle.com sell the same rims for the SN-95 and S197 body styles, but the factory wheels are most definitely different. measurements.

Pauly, FWIW, those are not specifically Cobra R wheels-they're actually factory equipment on 99-01 Cobras. The Cobra R wheels from a 2000 (only three Cobra R year models exist, 93,95,00), also knows as Y2K, look like the pic attached

2000 Cobra R.jpg



PS. That '69 looks WAY better than the time I saw it when you guys were hustling away at the body work.
 
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I was thinking of these in 18x8.5 with +35 offset (6.1")on my 69 Barracuda FB with either 255/40R18, or 265/40R18 if I can get away with a 26.3 diameter. The wheels also come in a +24 OS as well, with the possibility of getting a custom OS. I will wait till I get my disc setup installed before I order. My main concern will be the front, b/c I will be adjusting a b body rear to the proper size. What do you guys think?

XXR521_17X7_8H_FGM-wm2.jpg
 
Nice wheels!
Size wise those are very close to what I have with a b-body rear, not sure about the difference in front track width though as I'm using drum brake spindles.
Remember offset and back space are not the same thing, seems like a common misconception.
 
Yes, I should have labeled that better. according to the calculator I was using a +35 Offset on an 8.5" wide wheel should give me 6.1" of backspacing. I hope everything works out with these.
 
69wacuda said:
I was thinking of these in 18x8.5 with +35 offset (6.1")on my 69 Barracuda FB with either 255/40R18, or 265/40R18 if I can get away with a 26.3 diameter. The wheels also come in a +24 OS as well, with the possibility of getting a custom OS. I will wait till I get my disc setup installed before I order. My main concern will be the front, b/c I will be adjusting a b body rear to the proper size. What do you guys think?
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It will depend on the brakes. Most increase the track width. If you run standard 73+ disks, the +35 offset wheels with a 265/40/18 would have ~.1" less clearance than the 275/35/18's I run on my Duster. While that might not sound significant, I have exactly zero extra clearance to the frame at full steering lock. So it would be close, you'd probably need a thin spacer if the brakes don't add track width compared to the 73+ disks.

The +24's would have ~.1" more clearance to the fender than I do, but I don't think that would work at all with 26.3" tall tires. I had to extend the fender to bumper brace on my car almost 2" to get the front lower corner of the fender to clear the wheels when turning, and my tires are only 25.6" tall. I think 26" is pretty close to that limit with tires that wide, unless you run a higher than stock ride height.

I would plan on the 255's and use the +35mm offset. Pretty much all the aftermarket brake kits add track width even compared to the 73+ Mopar disks. And even if you used those with the 255's you might not need a spacer. If you did it would only be a couple mm's, so no big deal.
 
What is your budget? I say get a custom wheel that fits.
 
prrc said:
What is your budget? I say get a custom wheel that fits.
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There's really no need for a custom wheel, there are plenty of viable options in 18" that are available off the shelf. A +35mm offset will work great with most of the aftermarket disk kits out there. I mean, if there's a certain style you just NEED to have and don't mind shelling out 3x the money knock yourself out, but there's a pretty good selection of 18x8.5's, 18x9's, even 18x9.5's and 10's that will work with 255's up to 275's up front.

I run 18x9's with a +35mm offset, a dr. diff 13" cobra style disk kit and a 3mm spacer. I need the spacer because I run 9"
wide rims and 275/35/18's, with an 18x8.5" it's not as much of an issue. It would depend on the steering stops, which vary a little by manufacturer of the lower ball joints.
 
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