need info on Cobra r rims 18x9.5

[gasgzlr]

I have bought a set of Y2K cobra R's for my 01 cobra and when I installed them they make the car pull and hunt for the humps in the road.

I am running
265/35/18 Front
295/35/18 Rear

Yokohama AVS SPORTS

Do you guys that have R's have a problem with your car pulling and tracking?

I have had an alignment and have had everything checked out.

Could it be the tires? or is the rim to wide for the car? I love the look and the tires grab real nice in the turns but as far as going straight it just plain sucks...

Please let me know any info that you guys have.

Also what is the factory size and make tire for a 00' R.

Thanks

 

[griffined]

When I replaced the 245/35/18's on the front of my R with 275/35/18's I noticed the tendancy to hunt for ruts and grooves was increased. I also have my front alignment set for the track(orig. SVT specs), which adds to the effect. It did it with the 245's on the front, but not as much. They looked too skinny for the stock 18x9.5" rims, which is why I replaced them.

My 01 Cobra doesn't do this, and it still has the stock BFG tires(245/?/17), and stock rims(8x17 I think), and factory street alignment.

I think it happens when you have wide grippy tires on the front.
Stock tires for the R were the BFG KD in 265/40/18, stock rims are 9.5x18"

 

[gasgzlr]

With the stock set of tires on your R did you feel the pull? Maybe I need to go with a factory spec tire.... or down size to a 18 x 9 or 18 x 8.5 rim...?

 

[Cobra-R]

My 00R wonders if I have the KD's on, but with the same size Bridgstones it doesn't do it.

My 01 also has the 00R wheels with 265/40-18 KDW's and that drives fine. I am going to guess the problem is with the tires.

 

[gasgzlr]

on your 01 are your wheels the 9.5" or the 9" I am thinking of putting the 9" on the front and keeping the 9.5 in the rear...

 

[Andy M]

As a general rule of thumb (depends on car and alignment settings mostly), the wider the front tires, and the stickier the front tires, the more the tendancy to wander and follow the ruts in the road.

I am running stock size (265/40/18) BFG KDW tires all around and I don't get much of this "hunting", unless of course the road has a lot of grooves, then all bets are off.

 

[gasgzlr]

Would a less sticky tire in a 265/35/18 or 265/40/18 and a 9" rim solve this problem?
I was thinking of getting a aftermarket 9" wheel so that there would not be alot of rim on the front. I know it is only 1/2 inch but would this help?
What is a good back spacing for the front with a 9" wheel. Or better yet what is the factory backspacing?

 

[ac427cobra]

I noticed a lot of what you're experiencing when I was breaking my car in on the freeway. In certain areas of the freeway the car would track the groove in the asphalt. That was with the standard O.E. KD's on it.

I don't notice any wandering with a different set of KD's that I run for track purposes on the road course. Then again, road courses don't have a tendency to get grooved like the freeway does.

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[Andy M]

Originally posted by gasgzlr
Would a less sticky tire in a 265/35/18 or 265/40/18 and a 9" rim solve this problem?
I was thinking of getting a aftermarket 9" wheel so that there would not be alot of rim on the front. I know it is only 1/2 inch but would this help?
What is a good back spacing for the front with a 9" wheel. Or better yet what is the factory backspacing?

I think a less sticky tire would solve your problem... of course, you have to also realize that you will lose some handling grip in the process.

I remember my car exhibiting this same behavior on the freeway when I first bought it and it still had the original (100 wear compound) KD tires on it. This issue is not nearly as prevelant now with the KDW's on the car, which is what I run for street use only.

 

[gasgzlr]

Does anyone know the backspacing on a factory 99 cobra wheel?
I want to compare the Y2K's backspacing....

 

[Cobra-R]

Originally posted by Andy M
As a general rule of thumb (depends on car and alignment settings mostly), the wider the front tires, and the stickier the front tires, the more the tendancy to wander and follow the ruts in the road.

I am running stock size (265/40/18) BFG KDW tires all around and I don't get much of this "hunting", unless of course the road has a lot of grooves, then all bets are off.

I agree, Andy. I really do think it depends mostly on the tire choice.


I am using the ford wheels which are the 9.5", I believe.

 

[Cobra R Man]

RIMS

Originally posted by gasgzlr
Would a less sticky tire in a 265/35/18 or 265/40/18 and a 9" rim solve this problem?
I was thinking of getting a aftermarket 9" wheel so that there would not be alot of rim on the front. I know it is only 1/2 inch but would this help?
What is a good back spacing for the front with a 9" wheel. Or better yet what is the factory backspacing?

If you like what you have already bought, have your front end man set your toe 1/6th-1/8th IN for the street, and 1/6th-1/8th OUT for the track. I've seen front end books have incorrect settings for cars before and a mech. "going by the book" make a car dangerous. The books arn't always right, and neither am I.

Gene

 

[gasgzlr]

I am having the alignment done on Friday morning. I will let you know what happens. But I have called a friend who works as a master service tech at a Ford Dealership and he was able to get me the alignment specs for the car and it still did nothing to the stearing...
I think I am just to wide in the front. The only bad thing is that with a 9.5 rim I am limited to tire size. I think these wheels are more problems than they are worth. Does anyone run a smaller rim in the front? also how does it handle on and off the track?

 

[gasgzlr]

had the alignment done and still all over the place....

 

[Cobra-R]

Try your old wheels/tires in the front. I still say it's either something wrong with the tires or the compoud of the rubber. Like we mentioned above, the bf goodrich KD's act weird on the street, but the KDW's and Bridstones of the same size do not.

Brian

 

[gasgzlr]

I am not running BFG's. I have yokohama AVS SPORTS. I am just kind of fed up with the combo. I am just going to sell the wheels... I would like some thing a little lighter anyway.....

Any takers?

 

[ragansrcobra99]

The effect is known as "tramlining". It's more a tire issue than an alignment issue.

Tire rack has a very good write up here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/tramlining.htm

I'm running 275/40/18 all the way around on 9.5 rims and I don't have it too bad, but it does do it. You also have to remember different tire manufacturer's 275 wide tire are not the same dimension in width. One of the reasons it more noticeable with some, and not others.

s.

 

[gasgzlr]

Yep that is exactly what is going on.. It looks like it is the tires and not the wheels. I will have to see which tire does not do it as much. Any one want some AVS SPORTS with about a 1000 miles on them?
295/35/18
265/35/18

 

[Cobra-R]

Originally posted by gasgzlr
I am not running BFG's. I have yokohama AVS SPORTS. I am just kind of fed up with the combo. I am just going to sell the wheels... I would like some thing a little lighter anyway.....

I was using that as an example hoping to show that some tires will cause these symptoms more then others.

 

[gasgzlr]

oh I see.... thanks I think I am going to look into a different set up..
Thanks for all the info....