Wheel Fitment LTD LX 17 inch Wheels

[Fastlane]

I had the opportunity to try out different wheels out on my LTD LX, with and without the fenders.

The Front Suspension has the Following, SN95 Spindles (95 Mustang), Cobra Brakes, SN95 Control Arms (97 Mustang), SN95 Rack and Pinion, and MM Coil Over Kit, MM CC Plates.

Wheels used 01 Bullitt Wheels, Tires 245 45 17
07 Mustang Wheels Tires 245 45 17
95 Cobra R Tires 255 45 17


First I tried using Mustang 01 Bullitt Wheels, these did have good clearance with the coil over, but had a problem rubbing the inside of the fender, seemed to stick out just a little too far to attempt a fender roll.

[Fastlane]

Next I thought I would just see how the 95 Cobra R's would fit, inside clearance was good, but stuck out too far.

[Fastlane]

Next is the 07 Mustang Wheels, these fit the best over all, but unfortunately the MM Coil Over was too close, I could hardly get my fingers between the coil over and the tire. I then tried using a 1/4" wheel spacer, this did give me the inner wheel/strut clearance, but the inner fender clearance was a problem, Although I may have been able to roll the fender, the tire actually stuck out just a little further then I felt the fender roll would work .So I removed the coil over kit and installed Ford Racing "C" Springs. With the coil overs removed and using no spacer, wheel clearance was good, but I still had to roll the Front Fenders slightly or the tires would rub on any slight bump. If I had used 87-93 Mustang Control Arms, I may have been able to use the coil over.

[Fastlane]

After Rolling the Front Fender, I was able to fit the 01 Bullitt wheels, and it looks like I can turn the wheels completely with out rubbing suspension parts. The Newer 07 Wheels did fit fine, but when the steering wheel was turned all the way right or left, it would rub the control arms.

[ZephyrEFI]

Interesting stuff. As far as fender clearance, the S197 wheels should fit no problem (i have SVO wheels which are the same offset) with Fox control arms, but i couldn't say for sure how they do clearing the suspension. They are wider than my wheels.

You could always do what Martin Pond does and actually pull the fenders out too. Then I would think you could do whatever you want.

[Fastlane]

Yes the S197 Wheels work fine, but since they sit further inboard, compared to the 01 Bullitt Wheels, they touch or rub the control arms (plus using the S197 wheels, are too close to the coil overs, may rub when corning). They will still work, and only rub if I need to turn the wheels sharply. I suppose I could use a 1/4" spacer or steering limiters, but I prefer not doing that.
Also the SVO wheels I believe are 7.0 inch wide, the S197's are 8in.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yes the S197 Wheels work fine, but since they sit further inboard, compared to the 01 Bullitt Wheels, they touch or rub the control arms (plus using the S197 wheels, are too close to the coil overs, may rub when corning). They will still work, and only rub if I need to turn the wheels sharply. I suppose I could use a 1/4" spacer or steering limiters, but I prefer not doing that.
Also the SVO wheels I believe are 7.0 inch wide, the S197's are 8in.

Cool. I was speaking in terms of Fox-length control arms from my own personal experience with a Boxy Fox in case you were curious.

[Patrick Olsen]

Next is the 07 Mustang Wheels, these fit the best over all, but unfortunately the MM Coil Over was too close, I could hardly get my fingers between the coil over and the tire. ... So I removed the coil over kit and installed Ford Racing "C" Springs.

(plus using the S197 wheels, are too close to the coil overs, may rub when corning).

That's plenty of clearance, I wouldn't have given it a second thought to run it that way. Unless something is wrong/broken, there will be minimal relative movement between the wheel/tire and the coilover, so if it fits at rest it shouldn't rub during cornering. I suppose it's a moot point, though, since they rubbed on the control arms at full lock.

As far as fender clearance goes, any idea how much negative camber you had dialed in as you were test fitting?

Edit: Did you go back to the coil-overs since they fit fine with the '01 wheels? They'll be better in every way than the C springs.

[Fastlane]

That's plenty of clearance, I wouldn't have given it a second thought to run it that way. Unless something is wrong/broken, there will be minimal relative movement between the wheel/tire and the coilover, so if it fits at rest it shouldn't rub during cornering. I suppose it's a moot point, though, since they rubbed on the control arms at full lock.

As far as fender clearance goes, any idea how much negative camber you had dialed in as you were test fitting?

Edit: Did you go back to the coil-overs since they fit fine with the '01 wheels? They'll be better in every way than the C springs.

With the S197 Wheels installed, I could hardly get my fingers between the wheels and the coil over. This may work in a straight line, but in a corner, it could rub, although a 1/4" spacer would fix wheel/coil over spacing and the wheels rubbing the control arms.
Since I am going to use the 01 Bullitt wheels I will probably go back to the coil overs. The "C" Springs work ok, in the front, but in the rear end I had to go back to the Stock LTD Springs since the "C" Springs were just too light, allowing the suspension to bottom out.
As for the negative Camber, its currently at .75 degrees.