Some advice and numbers please

[TDSapp]

So I am looking at wheels and tires now to be able to make my car a roller. I don't want to spend money on a set of tires for just the roller phase and then spend more money once I am ready for the real tires. So I am looking into getting the final tires now. I have stage 1 I am working on and have not bought stage 2 yet so I can't go and make measurements on my car.


I love the looks of this car... But I can't find the thread that I got the picture from to ask what tires they are running.

http://hotrod.sapp-family.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/This-is-the-car-to-model-fidget-after-1-Cropped.jpg


If someone can tell me who owns the car above I will reach out and ask them what wheels they are using.

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I have the rear end from a 2002 Mustang GT which has a width of, I believe is 62.5". I have no idea where the body falls around the axle or anything so I can't measure to figure out the wheel I need.

So, with at least an 18" wheel how can I calculate the required backspace for the wheel? Oh yeah I do have the adjustable control arms for the rear end so I can move the wheel\tire back to be able to get a full 30" of wheel.

[wallace18]

Those are Mickey Thompson SR rear tires. I just ordered them from Summit myself. Just look at what Summit has under tires.

77980

[CVOBill]

I have the Mickey Thompson SR tires on my car. 8X26X15 front and 12X28X15 rear.77981

[DaveS53]

Be aware that using the tall diameter versions of these tires requires significant rear suspension mods, if you want the rear suspension to work properly. The kit, as sold does not allow a 29" diameter tire. Using 15" rims also limits your choice of rear brakes.

[TDSapp]

I am trying to figure out the wheels first and the tires will be bought based off the wheels.



Those are Mickey Thompson SR rear tires. I just ordered them from Summit myself. Just look at what Summit has under tires.

I have been looking at the tires on Summit for a few days now. I really do like the MT tires and that is probably what I will go for. But I have to know what wheel I am going to have before I can order the tires. What car are you putting your tires on and what size are the rims?



I have the Mickey Thompson SR tires on my car. 8X26X15 front and 12X28X15 rear.77981

Bill, the tires look great on your car but I want much wider tires once I am done with mine. I also want some pizza cutters up on front so they will be based on the width of the rear tires.


Be aware that using the tall diameter versions of these tires requires significant rear suspension mods, if you want the rear suspension to work properly. The kit, as sold does not allow a 29" diameter tire. Using 15" rims also limits your choice of rear brakes.

I have the adjustable rear control arms from he who shall not be named and also QA1 shocks and springs. I should be able to move the rear end around enough to allow the bigger tires than what the stock kit does. I was also asking about 18" wheels and not 15" but I am not too worried about the space requirements as I will be running stock rustang brakes on the rear end.

[wallace18]

I am using the American racing rims. 15x8 front with 4.5 backspace and 15x10 rear with 3.75 backspace. I will use wheel spacers if needed, but I should not. They are going to go on my FFR 35 P/U. Same size tires as CVO Bill.

77984

[erlihemi]

I hate to give numbers and then it not work on your set up, but here is a couple things I have run into. After you go wider than 10-10.5" rims, cost rises exponentially, especially 17" and above diameter. Depending on tire you can run a 6.5" backspace on the rear with those axles, but, fatter tires get closer. I think you just missed sale prices on wheels for less, but check them. I am running a 6.0" back space on rear with 295/40/18 under the fender, but I have the narrow rear. Pictures of my car show smaller 285/35/18 with 6.5" back space and they do not "fill" the fenders. They also don't stick under serious throttle and the sidewall was too stiff. I have 18" X 12" rims ready for 345/35/18 Hoosiers this spring. No fenders with those on, but they are 27"diameter. The fronts are easy for you as you're going thin. In addition to caliper clearance on inside diameter watch for wheel style near the pistons also. Some wheels and calipers just don't work. If your running mustang brakes and wheels your ok, but, bigger calipers and smaller wheels are something to watch. I have 5.5" back space torq thrustII on front for fenders.
I have my car low and set up for turning corners. Wide rears generally grow in diameter with the M/T and other drag style radials. Once you go past 28" diameter you have to change geometry on the rear links. I have 10 wheels and 8 tires at the moment. I mix and match fender/ no fender/ street and autocross for the day, weather, mood. If you really want the "Big n Little" combo consider drum brake rears. This gives you more tire and wheel combos at less cost. Your brake bias will need to favor the rear possibly.

I wouldn't buy tires and wheels until I had the body mounted.

[NAZ]

TD, that's a beautiful red hot rod in your photo. If mine comes out that good I'll be thrilled. Of course if you are going to run without fenders you have many more options for large tire / wheel combos. And back spacing is not as critical. I love the no fender look and was going to run mine that way until I go carted the chassis down my 1/4-mile long cinder driveway and was sprayed with gravel. Living in the country means making compromises so I've added fenders front and rear.

As was mentioned, if you're planning to run 30" tires on the back you should plan for some serious chassis mods or put up with an ill handling car. I set mine up to run 30" but there is no FFR chassis parts left behind the firewall on mine. I've also set up my car to run 18" wheels and lo-pro tires for the street and 15" wheels with drag slicks on the rear for track use. I'm also running 12.19" diameter Wilwood disc with their four-piston calipers and my 15" wheels fit over that combo. If you search the photo gallery for FFR 33 Hot Rod Roll Cage I think I have a couple photos with the body on and tires under the fenders. My rear street tires & wheels are 315/30ZR18 Toyo Proxes mounted on 18"x10"x 5.74" BS TorqThrust. These fit under the fenders.

I'll second the suggestion about getting the body mounted before purchasing tires or wheels. Good luck, sounds like it's going to be a cool car when done.

[TDSapp]

I wouldn't buy tires and wheels until I had the body mounted.

Yeah I was thinking someone would eventually say this. I would really like to have a go cart trip or two soon and with no wheels and tires it's kind of hard to do.



I also like the looks of the tires on this 33. http://www.greasenuts.com/about-us.html He is having some trouble getting them lined up though because he does not have the adjustable control arms. I swapped some emails with him and his rims are 20X15s and his tires are 31X18s.

I am now leaning towards a bit narrower than 15" and maybe down to 12" or so.

[CVOBill]

TD, how about finding some used wheels and tires at a junk yard to roll it and go cart it with. That's what I did when I built my Cobra years ago. (wheels were on back order)

[RoadRacer]

you can buy used mustang GT sets of wheels/tires for $200-$300 easy, from people upgrading.

[33LXS]

I love the looks of this car... But I can't find the thread that I got the picture from to ask what tires they are running.

Try this one:
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/120-factory-five-33-hot-rod-forum-sponsored-e-t-wheels/593673-old-school-hot-rod-finished.html

[HVACMAN]

Tim I started looking several months ago and found a set of 20 inch Foose wheels off of a mustang that flooded in hurricane Harvey for $100. I'm now looking for a set of "may pops" to make a roller. My build is not progressing as fast as yours and I was afraid new tires would dry rot before I finished my car. Deals are out there you just have to be patient.

[TDSapp]

Try this one:
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/120-factory-five-33-hot-rod-forum-sponsored-e-t-wheels/593673-old-school-hot-rod-finished.html

You are the man 33LXS! I have been looking for that thread for a while.

[TDSapp]

Tim I started looking several months ago and found a set of 20 inch Foose wheels off of a mustang that flooded in hurricane Harvey for $100. I'm now looking for a set of "may pops" to make a roller. My build is not progressing as fast as yours and I was afraid new tires would dry rot before I finished my car. Deals are out there you just have to be patient.

Yeah I have been thinking about the dry rot issues as well. I am planning on having my car at least road worthy this coming summer so six months would not be an issue. But life happens and something may delay that.

[TDSapp]

Try this one:
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/120-factory-five-33-hot-rod-forum-sponsored-e-t-wheels/593673-old-school-hot-rod-finished.html

Sadly it looks like Shawn has not logged into that forum in several months. Anyone know how to get a hold of him?

[DaveS53]

Note that in addition to having adjustable control arms, Shawn also moved the lower coil-over mounts up by 3 inches. Even with the adjustable control arms, the angle of the arms will not be optimum, with the frame raised 3 inches higher.

For what it's worth, a popular combination for many years was 295/45/20 tires that are 30.5" tall in the rear on 10 inch wide wheels and 225/45/17 in the front that are around 25.5" tall, with 7 inch wide wheels. I have that combo on my car, but the frame was designed to use tires that tall and still have horizontal control arms. The other problem these days is that 295/45/20 tires are no longer available with a matching tread for the front. I have found 295/40/20 rear tires with a matching tread for the 225/45/17 front, but they are over 1 inch shorter.

[Niagara Dave]

I found a set of mustang gt wheels and tires in the local paper for $35. Best $35 I spent. I have primer on them and when I got to the go cart stage I burned them up and made a great smoke show.