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Ride,Stance & Handeling ?

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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 01:06 PM
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Default Ride,Stance & Handeling ?

I know that lower is better and that wider tires get more grip. What happens when you mix 17"/18" wheels to get a little rake to the car? I want to get the wheels up into the wheelwells better. I don't like the space between tire and fender. After Overhauling and Rides, I like the wheels into the wheelwell look.
I was thinking of 9/17 wheels on ft and 10/18 on rear. I want to drop front 1" and make the rear look the same gap while being slightly higher. If that is a problem I can always go 9.5 x 17 all around. Any problems w/alignment or handeling? I'm trying to evolve into a Pro Tourer, ride is top priority for me. Comments please. TIA

Rick
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 01:13 PM
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I think 10 x 18 rims are hard to fit on the back and look good. If you don't like the space between the tire and the wheel well how are you going to tuck the 10 inch rims under the fender so you can lower the car??? Flares would work but are you going that root???
Tire diameter is a function of ratio 30, 40, 50 series and a 18 inch tire diameter can be smaller then a 15 inch depending on aspect ratio.
You can put 17 inch all around and just choose a smaller aspect ration for the front.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 01:29 PM
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Norvalwilhelm:Flares are NOT out of the question. I know offset T/As will be needed. I want bigger/wider tires that fill up wheelwells w/o causing ride/handeling problems. I was thinking 275/50/17 front and 315/40/18 on rear. I want even wheelwell gap and a little F/R rake for high speed down the road. Am I on the wrong track?

Rick
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 01:49 PM
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The 315/40/18 will be a problem on the back without flares. A 305 already fills out the wheel well and lowering the car on all 4 corners is a problem. Most vets are high in the right rear making lowering the car evenly a problem
I have coil overs all around so lowering is really easy but the oil pan then becomes too low, driveways become tricky and any speed bumps scarp the exhaust.
I prefer a little higher to save the undercarriage and make driving the car less worrysome.

Last edited by norvalwilhelm; Feb 21, 2005 at 01:53 PM.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 02:09 PM
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TTT

VERY curious about this exact issue... s

BTW, Norval, you have a PM... need advise on the 6-71...
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 02:18 PM
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I want to try cutting the ft springs and using a transverse glass in the rear. I like the idea of being able to adjust the ride highth and spring rate. My front end has pop up headlights removed #45, alm heads #40 and alm intake #10. Thats a good #100 lbs off ft end. The rear spring is very weak. When I remove spare and carrier rear will be lighter. I have seen many mistakes on this forum. I'm doing this as "homework"!
I want to go a little lower w/o problems. I have 245/60/15. Bigger tires should be 1" taller. I think I can drop suspension 1" w/o problems?
Shortie headers "no dragging" are in the future. Ideas?

Rick
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by breathial
TTT

VERY curious about this exact issue... s

BTW, Norval, you have a PM... need advise on the 6-71...
I have no private message. I just checked and my inbox is empty.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Taijutsu
Norvalwilhelm:Flares are NOT out of the question. I know offset T/As will be needed. I want bigger/wider tires that fill up wheelwells w/o causing ride/handeling problems. I was thinking 275/50/17 front and 315/40/18 on rear. I want even wheelwell gap and a little F/R rake for high speed down the road. Am I on the wrong track?

Rick
If you run 18's on the rear, offset trailing arms will not get you any more clearance. I have 245/45/17 on the front and 275/40/18 on the rear with stock trailing arms. I can post some pics if you want. I also need to lower it about 1-1.5".

You need to decide on the wheel flares before the wheels and tires.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 04:39 PM
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70LS1: Flares first? Why is that, I thought that wheels came first then the flares? Would 10x17 in front and 12x17 rear solve the problem? TIA

Rick
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 04:42 PM
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Also, with flares, you don't need offset TA's to tuck the 10" wheels. In fact you will probably want to maintain a 4" backspace to fill up the flares as much as possible. Of course it depends on which flares you use too. I use 11" wide wheels with 4.25" backspace, and a spacer for the wheel to clear the calipers.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
The 315/40/18 will be a problem on the back without flares. A 305 already fills out the wheel well and lowering the car on all 4 corners is a problem. Most vets are high in the right rear making lowering the car evenly a problem
I have coil overs all around so lowering is really easy but the oil pan then becomes too low, driveways become tricky and any speed bumps scarp the exhaust.
I prefer a little higher to save the undercarriage and make driving the car less worrysome.

Which type of coil overs did U use in the rear? I'm looking to do pretty much the same thing with a '72 coupe (lowering it all the way around as much as possible). I'm gonna be running 17's on all 4 corners. Thanks
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 06:05 PM
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Originally Posted by cruzzin-style
Which type of coil overs did U use in the rear? I'm looking to do pretty much the same thing with a '72 coupe (lowering it all the way around as much as possible). I'm gonna be running 17's on all 4 corners. Thanks
I bought 4 Pro shocks at $1430CDN. They are 5 inch travel and give 7 inches of wheel travel. They are 10 inch compressed and 15 inches extended.
I did cut out all the spring pockets in the front.
I ended up with 400# springs in the front and #450 in the back.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 70 LS1
If you run 18's on the rear, offset trailing arms will not get you any more clearance. I have 245/45/17 on the front and 275/40/18 on the rear with stock trailing arms. I can post some pics if you want. I also need to lower it about 1-1.5".

You need to decide on the wheel flares before the wheels and tires.
Offset trailing arms allow you to run more back spacing to push the rim further under the car. With offset arms and alot of work I can get away with 6 1/2 inch back spacing so a 10 inch wide rims doesn't stick out the side of the car.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 06:57 PM
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How big could I go w/o flares? I can run more tire sidewall on 17" for a better ride. I have to have a nice comfportable ride or the GF won't come w/me. 275/50/17 is 27" tall and should fit w/o flares?

Rick
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 07:31 PM
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Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
Offset trailing arms allow you to run more back spacing to push the rim further under the car. With offset arms and alot of work I can get away with 6 1/2 inch back spacing so a 10 inch wide rims doesn't stick out the side of the car.
The key words here are a lot of work. With 18 inch wheels, the widest part of the rim/ tire combo is further out towards the circumference. This places it in an area that is not even offset on the Trailing arm (unless you offset your own arms). The offset arms were designed 30+ years ago when 15" rims were the hot ticket. With my 275/40/18 tires for example, I would hit the frame before the trailing arm, stock trailing arm that is.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Taijutsu
How big could I go w/o flares? I can run more tire sidewall on 17" for a better ride. I have to have a nice comfportable ride or the GF won't come w/me. 275/50/17 is 27" tall and should fit w/o flares?

Rick
There are a couple of reasons why you need to decide on the flares first. There are a couple of different manufacturers of flares that vary in width. Once you get the flares on the car, then you can measure your available area under the flares and choose proper width wheels and tires to fill them. The last thing you want is your flares extending 2" past the tires. Or your new wheels sticking out past your flares. Remember Merlin? He had those massive 345's on the rear and they stuck out past his 4" flares.

Hope this helps.
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Old Feb 21, 2005 | 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
I bought 4 Pro shocks at $1430CDN. They are 5 inch travel and give 7 inches of wheel travel. They are 10 inch compressed and 15 inches extended.
I did cut out all the spring pockets in the front.
I ended up with 400# springs in the front and #450 in the back.

Hi 'norvalwilhelm": So, U didn't have any trouble mounting the rear coil overs?
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Old Feb 22, 2005 | 03:02 AM
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Originally Posted by norvalwilhelm
I think 10 x 18 rims are hard to fit on the back and look good. If you don't like the space between the tire and the wheel well how are you going to tuck the 10 inch rims under the fender so you can lower the car??? Flares would work but are you going that root???
Tire diameter is a function of ratio 30, 40, 50 series and a 18 inch tire diameter can be smaller then a 15 inch depending on aspect ratio.
You can put 17 inch all around and just choose a smaller aspect ration for the front.
I have 17x8 with 225.50.17 front and 255.50.17 rear with no issues at all......john
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Old Feb 22, 2005 | 07:54 AM
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Originally Posted by jdunne
I have 17x8 with 225.50.17 front and 255.50.17 rear with no issues at all......john
Hey, what brand tires do U have. Are the rears the same brand, model , tread type, as the fronts?

I'm running 235/55R/17's in the front & 245/50R/17's in the rear. I'm running Dunlops......they're the only brand available that have the sizes I needed that matched front & rear. The rest of the brands, either had one or the other, but not both.

What year is yours?
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Old Feb 22, 2005 | 09:57 AM
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Who sells rear flares that are only 2 inch? All the rear flares I see are 4 inch, and that is just too wide.
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