17's or 18's

[SVTwhore]

I am palnning to lower my 93 and throw some 10th ann. or FR500 wheels on it and can't decide whether to run 17's or 18's. Im not sure what the best fit would be though. Is there common practice for measuring clearence on the front? I don't want to rub at all and also don't want to run rubber bands for tires. What is the best rim tire size combo for the front? Im looking to go with the Steeda springs for a 1.25" drop.

Also for the rears, how wide can I go without stick out passed the fender wells? Im in the process of building a pretty stout 306 and do not want a traction issue slowing me down.

If anyone is running 18's and could post a pic that would be awesome. Just trying to get some ideas

 

[blownfox]

I did a steeda sport spring drop and running 17's. I thinks it looks great. I went with the FR-500's 17 x 9 and the rear tire was 275 40 17 (nitto so it is a little smaller). I does not pass the fender. I think I could get a 305 if I wanted to. If I had to do it all over again I would get 17x10 dd wheel for the rear.

 

[cobra186]

You anwsered your own questions basically:

You dont want a band-aid tire, any rubbing problems, nor traction issues... then the 18's are pretty much out the window.

I have 18's on my 93 Coupe and they fit but the fit is very very tight... I use 275x35x18 & 295x35x18 which clear put just barely..... when you are going up an incline driveway the rears do touch the inner fender wells.

IMHO I would do a 17x8 front & 17x9 rear for good clearance yet still a good fat tire look. 255x40 & 275x40 tires

 

[SVTwhore]

I was leaning to the 17's just wanted to see what your opinions were. I want to run the 10 inch DD's on the rear, I think they look great

 

[rw93cobra]

I would go with 17's. I put my buddies 18's on my lx and they looked too "Big" for the car.

 

[runin1320]

For the rims you mentioned (FR500 and 10th Ann.) I would go with 17". If you wanted 18", go with Saleen, 2000 Cobra R, or even 18" 03/04 replica rims.


Here is my old '93 with 18's with "C" springs. Minor rubbing issues.

 

[SVTwhore]

^^^^^ That looks pretty sweet. I may consider the Saleen's

 

[carrew]

I am glad I went 18 (245/40/18 front and 275/35/18 rear) the exact same size as a BMW M3 OEM setup. When I put my cobras 10ths on it, it just didn't have the same look as the 18's.

The pic in the sig is when I finished the car, now I have adjustable rear control arms and dropped it about an inch all the way around. My rears actually sit in further then the front. The front fenders and rolled and massaged with no clearance issues. The wheels are 18x8.5

 

[RydeOn]

^^^

Wow, those are 18"s? Your car doesnt have that "street ryda" look that I normally associate 18s with on a fox. Thats a nice car there, you pulled off a good look.

 

[RARE5.0]

Here is my notch with 03 10th's with 245-45-17 front and 255-40-17 rear
and b springs and no rubbing at all.

 

[JoeRacer]

Here are the pics of my coupe with eibach prokit, tokico blues, steeda X2 balljoints, FR500 18x9/18x10, and I forget the front tire size but the rear is 285/35-18 I think the front is 255/35-18. This setup fit fine with no rubbing in the rear, but I would get a little rubbing in the front in long high speed turns but this was fixed after a little massaging of the inner fender lining and I trimmed the inner fender lip off instead of rolling it.

Here is my 93 Cobra with almost the same setup except with FMS C springs, and Tokico illuminas.

Most important to me was the fact that the 18x10 FR500 reps that I purchased from American Muscle are a perfect offset for the fox length axle. All of the deep dish 17's require a spacer (I think most people run 1/2"), and to me the wheel looks like it sits out too far. I've seen some people buy the 17x10.5's and have them narrowed (thus lowering the backspacing and not needing a spacer).

IMHO the 18's look better than the 17's. The 18's have the 'upgraded' look to them, and now that I've had 18's on the car I don't want 17's. However, if you want the 'factory' look to your upgrade for whatever reason then you should run 17's (*edit* the white coupe above is a perfect example of the factory look, that is how the car could have come from Ford if it was sold today. Awesome car!) Also with the 17's you have a larger sidewall which will help a drag radial hook up a lot better. If you're just going to run a street tire then either 17 or 18 will both have an equally difficult amount of time hooking up (especially once you start putting more power down hehe). Personally for me if I want traction I run slicks, and for cruising the street I want something that looks badass.

Go big or go home

 

[SVTwhore]

JoeRacer, I really like the setup on your 93'. Thats probably the way I'll go in the spring, after I finish the all the engine modding. Which seems to be an epic battle in itself. Anytime I think Im about done buying parts I add a little here and there and have changed directions a couple of times already.

 

[Kevins89notch]

Here is my notch with 03 10th's with 245-45-17 front and 255-40-17 rear
and b springs and no rubbing at all.

Looking perfect as always!!!

 

[JoeRacer]

Yea ... the engine mods are a dark and slippery path hehe. I've enjoyed everything I've done in my engine, but lately I've kind of been regretting the upgraded fuel system. It is annoying that the fuel lines have to be primed so much before I start (I'm going to wire a switch in so that I can prime it with a switch instead of turning the key off/on 3 or 4 times), and I've also been having problems with the fuel evaporating or leaking or something ... argh .... lol, I'll stop hijacking the thread to complain about my problems ...

Go with FR500's, there really isn't a better looking wheel on a Fox IMO. The BBS RK is similar looking, and nice because it is a little different. The FR500 just has the right lines/edges to look good with the Fox Body. It's almost as though they released it on the SN95, but designed it to be the perfect wheel for the Fox.

If you go 18's I really don't see you being disappointed, especially putting them on a Cobra. I was worried about them on the LX (because no ground effects, so it is a 'smaller' looking car), but it came out fine. On the Cobra 18's look perfect to me.

Enjoy, and update with pics once you get there

 

[carrew]

^^^

Wow, those are 18"s? Your car doesnt have that "street ryda" look that I normally associate 18s with on a fox. Thats a nice car there, you pulled off a good look.

Its lower now since I rear adjustable control arms and I adjusted the front coil overs.

 

[Goodson]

I personally think that wheel and tire choice has a lot to do with whether or not 18's look right. I've got 18's on my GT and when people look at them they actually question if they are 17's or not until they look at the tires. 17's or 18's are a good choice either way. 19"+ is too big on a Fox because you look like you're running rubber bands for tires. Some 18's look that way because of tire choice. I'm running 245/40 and 275/35 tire sizes on 18x8 and 18x9 rims.

 

[alpha06]

Love my 18's FR500 18x9 18x10

 

[SVTwhore]

^^^^ Are those 10th ann seats in your car?

 

[alpha06]

^^^^ Are those 10th ann seats in your car?

Yes, Full Anniversary Interior, Dash, guages, car is an 03 swap. Whipple going on it in a few months:banana:

 

[SVTwhore]

Yes, Full Anniversary Interior, Dash, guages, car is an 03 swap. Whipple going on it in a few months:banana:

I would like to see pics of the dash. I am contemplating doing the same swap in the next couple of years and was wondering how the dash looks . How much fabricating went in to fitting it into the car?