20" wheels on '71-'73

[sonnyman30]

Im a fan of the larger wheels myself. I really love the stance on the purple Mach but with no experience, i don't even know where to start. Im afraid of buying wheels and they turn out to be a bomber fit. i've been researching for the past year looking for the correct stance. I wish i had the specs on that purple Mach!!!

 

[Mister 4x4]

I had oldschool on my car and I was certainly no fan. MY car had atleast 12 inch wide American racing solid wheels in back that hung out past end of the fender. They were 15's in the rear and 14 up front. I now have 17's front and back. The car has not been lowered in the pic but when it is it will just need a little taller tires to be perfect. The old tires provided a softer ride for sure and I bought tires with 40 sidewall height and I plan to go to 50. The original tires were 75's up front and 65's in the rear.

I just added some "old school" staggered wheels on mine this past weekend. While I absolutely love the look, I'm reminded by your post that the "old school" look, too, is not for everybody. BTW Ralph, those look a lot like 15x10s with 295/50R15 BFGs. You don't by any chance still have those tires, do ya?

I think my biggest issue with the 17"s and up, is the lack of affordable 'deep dish' wheels offered in those sizes. I could be happy with a set 17x9s out back with a set of 17x8s up front, sportin' 275s and 245s, respectively - but without the deeper set rims, it make our cars look no different than most front-wheel drive cars... I know I don't like that look. But, I'm sure I'll have to figure something out eventually as 15" tires get harder and harder to find. There are only a dozen or so brands out there with 15" rims, and they're either back-ordered or the selection is limited... and only going to get worse as manufacturers move away from 15"s altogether.

I ain't gonna lie, though: that car of 7173Modstangs' is freaken awesome! I'll bet those rims all by themselves were a small fortune as well. He made a great point about getting the axles tucked up into the car: once the rim sizes get much past 18", the cars start getting more and more ground clearance - which does start to look a little odd.

I'm also going to say that I honestly haven't seen anything in this thread I absolutely hate. There are a few I like a little less than the others, but my opinion is just my opinion. At the end of the day, the owner is the one that has to like it. I think we can all agree that having more '71-'73s rollin' on whatever wheels are under 'em is a good thing... except for the DONKs, though... I gotta draw the line there. rofl

Good stuff here, guys! ::thumb::

 

[Finmach]

I ain't gonna lie, though: that car of 7173Modstangs' is freaken awesome! I'll bet those rims all by themselves were a small fortune as well. He made a great point about getting the axles tucked up into the car: once the rim sizes get much past 18", the cars start getting more and more ground clearance - which does start to look a little odd.

Do you mean the actual overalldiameter or the appearance f.ex. with big diameter thin spoke wheels? Thin spokes may give the appearence of grown ground clearence. Otherwise it is the overall tire diameter makes the groundclearance either grow or drop. If you got a 275/60-15 meats with 15” tire, you’ve 28” of overall diameter. If you have a 20” wheel with 295/30-20 tire your car actually gets lower by ½ inch since the overall diameter of the tire drops to 27”.

IMO anything under 28" tire is tuning / import stuff :angel:

 

[Mister 4x4]

I'm not talking "appearance" at all - I'm talking about raising the car's ride height.

I meant that increasing the overall wheel diameter without relocating the axle at all will add ground clearance. Increasing the rim diameter while decreasing the sidewall aspect ratio by using a lower profile tire usually doesn't increase the overall wheel diameter, but it also depends on the leaps in sizes. There is also a point where you cannot go any lower in sidewall aspect ratio (profile), so you have no choice but increase the overall diameter.

Our cars came with 26-ish overall diameter wheels from the factory. Increasing to an overall diameter of 28" just raised the car 1", if nothing else is changed. My comments on the purple car were about the overall look of the car itself. Yes, it has 20" rims, but the suspension has been altered and the car has no extra ground clearance - therefore, it doesn't look as "goofy" in my eyes as the red & black FB on page 3 of this thread. Again, just my opinion.

I'm not entirely sure about overall diameter measurements, but the rears on mine are 295/50R15s and alleged to be 26.6" diameter - same as factory specs (so no weird speedometer readings).

Do they really look like import/tuner wheels to you?

 

[rottenralph]

I had oldschool on my car and I was certainly no fan. MY car had atleast 12 inch wide American racing solid wheels in back that hung out past end of the fender. They were 15's in the rear and 14 up front. I now have 17's front and back. The car has not been lowered in the pic but when it is it will just need a little taller tires to be perfect. The old tires provided a softer ride for sure and I bought tires with 40 sidewall height and I plan to go to 50. The original tires were 75's up front and 65's in the rear.

I just added some "old school" staggered wheels on mine this past weekend. While I absolutely love the look, I'm reminded by your post that the "old school" look, too, is not for everybody. BTW Ralph, those look a lot like 15x10s with 295/50R15 BFGs. You don't by any chance still have those tires, do ya?

I think my biggest issue with the 17"s and up, is the lack of affordable 'deep dish' wheels offered in those sizes. I could be happy with a set 17x9s out back with a set of 17x8s up front, sportin' 275s and 245s, respectively - but without the deeper set rims, it make our cars look no different than most front-wheel drive cars... I know I don't like that look. But, I'm sure I'll have to figure something out eventually as 15" tires get harder and harder to find. There are only a dozen or so brands out there with 15" rims, and they're either back-ordered or the selection is limited... and only going to get worse as manufacturers move away from 15"s altogether.

I ain't gonna lie, though: that car of 7173Modstangs' is freaken awesome! I'll bet those rims all by themselves were a small fortune as well. He made a great point about getting the axles tucked up into the car: once the rim sizes get much past 18", the cars start getting more and more ground clearance - which does start to look a little odd.

I'm also going to say that I honestly haven't seen anything in this thread I absolutely hate. There are a few I like a little less than the others, but my opinion is just my opinion. At the end of the day, the owner is the one that has to like it. I think we can all agree that having more '71-'73s rollin' on whatever wheels are under 'em is a good thing... except for the DONKs, though... I gotta draw the line there. rofl

Good stuff here, guys! ::thumb::

Nope sold the wheels for a hundred bucks with the tires. Wanted them gone and the Guy was going to try them on a 68. Decided he needed them more than me so I cut the price to 100 and loaded them in his car. I need more sidewall height to make mine look right. Eventhough my tires are new I will by tires with more rubber. Have to see it with the 2 inch drop first. Shop will be done with Engine Monday and then I get to see what drop did to the look. I can move the 245's from back to front and put 45 or 50 height in back to create a little different stance.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Despite my old school preference, I think yours is going to look awesome lowered. ::thumb::

 

[Finmach]

I meant that increasing the overall wheel diameter without relocating the axle at all will add ground clearance. Increasing the rim diameter while decreasing the sidewall aspect ratio by using a lower profile tire usually doesn't increase the overall wheel diameter, but it also depends on the leaps in sizes. There is also a point where you cannot go any lower in sidewall aspect ratio (profile), so you have no choice but increase the overall diameter.

Our cars came with 26-ish overall diameter wheels from the factory. Increasing to an overall diameter of 28" just raised the car 1", if nothing else is changed. My comments on the purple car were about the overall look of the car itself. Yes, it has 20" rims, but the suspension has been altered and the car has no extra ground clearance - therefore, it doesn't look as "goofy" in my eyes as the red & black FB on page 3 of this thread. Again, just my opinion.

I'm not entirely sure about overall diameter measurements, but the rears on mine are 295/50R15s and alleged to be 26.6" diameter - same as factory specs (so no weird speedometer readings).

Do they really look like import/tuner wheels to you?

Ok, now we speaking the same language. Rear needs to be lowered imo. F.ex. my Mach has been lowered with mid-eye rear springs, so by going to 28" tire does not raise the ground clearence, I once had there also a 1" lowering blocks - man it was so low that I was having an issue with my 3 1/2" exhaust, now without the lowering blocks the rear axle doesn't hit the exhaust in big bumps. I will need to cut probably a one full coil away from my front coils, since its nose is sky high like the originals.

Eric, I was actually pretty close acquiring a set of 295/50-15 for my torq thrusts. It's not tuning, I was only yanking your chains. I did not bought them because I had a new set of 275/60-15 on my storage, I am pretty keen to 28"ish tires or taller, so my next 15" tires will probably be MT ET Street Radials in size 295/55-15. It's got a 27.8" diameter, only bummer is the softness and small thread depth.

I would be driving a 30" tall 315/60-15 ET Street Radials if they would fit properly. My friends Charger had them, and wow I liked those tires - not the blown bbm engine though.

Take a close look of the 1972 Mach 1 in this topic:

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-1972-mach-1-w-32-valve-cobra

It's fenders are heavily modified. They have been cut out, widened and they've been raised intact with the sideprofile angle/profile (which is the correct word here??). The racecar has been lowered heavily with 4-links and coil-overs and it looks very stockish exept it's exceptionally low. Super nice workmanship and it's running now with n/a +500hp Coyote engine with unmodified shocktowers. If I will ever again build an another '71-'73 I will modify the fenders just like the yellow '72 has and If I am going to modify my current Mach 1, I'll probably make more room inside the fenderwells.

 

[rolandmhall]

I did Boss Motorsports 338s. 18 x 8 front and 20 x 10 rear. Fit is perfect. Car was lowered 2" in the rear and 1" in the front. No spacers used.No rubbing issues at all.

I like the "retro" torque thrust style of the wheel.

For the big wheels, I'd say really it's about what you like. I wanted to go with a retro/modern look on mine, and for me, the wheels worked well.

Also, important, my transmission was setup to match my cam, rear end and tire/wheel size. That makes a HUGE difference.

If it's your ride. Get what YOU want. Who cares what anybody else thinks right?

 

[Mister 4x4]

For some reason to me, seeing the larger wheels on coupes and 'verts doesn't bother me in the least. It's when I see fastbacks with larger diameter wheels, they don't always look right to me - some do, but not 'most.' But they usually look awesome on coupes and 'verts. See Roland's car as a perfect example.

Eric, I was actually pretty close acquiring a set of 295/50-15 for my torq thrusts. It's not tuning, I was only yanking your chains. I did not bought them because I had a new set of 275/60-15 on my storage, I am pretty keen to 28"ish tires or taller, so my next 15" tires will probably be MT ET Street Radials in size 295/55-15. It's got a 27.8" diameter, only bummer is the softness and small thread depth.

No worries - I didn't take it wrong... I even used smilies!

 

[rottenralph]

Had boss 338's on my 65 and loved the 17's. No rubbing there either but a pretty rough ride. Adding pics of my Mach now that it is lowered. 17 x 8 front and 17 x 10 rear.

 

[rolandmhall]

Had boss 338's on my 65 and loved the 17's. No rubbing there either but a pretty rough ride.

And the Boss 338's aren't overly expensive. I think I paid maybe 700.00 for the set of wheels. Another 600.00 for tires (Toyo Proxes).

 

[Austin Vert]

Can i jump in here again and just rienforce a point i made earlier to Eric about my setup. I'm running 295/50 tires on 10x15inch rims on the back of my '73 Vert. I went 5 leaf springs on standard eye shackles, and Pedder's sports shocks.The rest of the rear end is stock. Here's my point.......

On this setup, i can drive around and not get rub issues at the back. That includes a full tank of gas as well. But on rare occassions, when i drive over a large bump or dip in the road, it get a very slight rub problem that would only last for a second, but you can hear it. This rub does not cause any damage or cosmetic damage to the tire in any way. The rub happens when the outer shoulder of the tire just kisses the outer wheel arch lip.

So if my car was to be lowered at the back from where it is now, i know i would get rub problems happening a great deal more under normal driving conditions.That i don't want.

Greg.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Thanks, Greg.

I think yours tuck just a little better than mine, though. Probably has something to do with the thickness of the mounting surface in the center of the rims. The Cragars are a lot thicker than I anticipated (somewhere between 1/2" & 5/8"), for which I'll actually need to get longer studs... which is a mixed blessing because almost all of them are factory originals, anyway.

OK - as for the rubbing: so no more than 1 passenger, and nothing in the trunk. Good to know. rofl