Lowered 85GT wheel & tire combo

[Crankyster_01]

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse with this thread but I’m about to order some wheels and tires and I don’t want to make a $1700 mistake. I have my car lowered and am looking to fit some staggered 17’s under it with having to do any fender rolling or anything to the body if I dont have to. I read lots of post and cannot find anybody specifying anything about there lowered fox’s. I’ve looked at pics threads and all anybody have the same set up with suggestions I’m going with the FR500 black and polished possiable, it’s got SN95 spindles and brakes in the front and just the standard 5 lug swap in the rear

[85GTGuy]

What width are the rims? How much has the car been lowered? Generally speaking, I think wheels wider than 8" are where issues start to show up.... especially on a lowered Fox.

[Patrick Olsen]

What wheels and tires are on the car now? Any rubbing issues with those?

Edit: Assuming you're talking about the SVE FR500 replicas that LMR sells, looks like they're 9" or 10.5". It's not likely you're going to fit those on a lowered, early Fox without rolling the fender lips at the very least. Maybe you could avoid that if you went with narrow / stretched tires, but then what's the point of buying wide wheels?

[richpet]

Agree with them ^.
While my Fox isn't a Mustang ('81 4 dr Granada) it is lowered and I run 17x8 Trii-Bar replicas from LMR with 225/45/17. If I hit any bump at all while turning I get a piece of the fender.
When I lowered my '83 I stayed with stock sized wheels/tires. If you don't go too wide or tall (think staying close to overall height/width of the stocker) you may be fine.
Also, lowered means different things to different people and reality. Did you heat the springs? Aftermarket? Brand? How much is it lowered (1, 1.5, 2 inches?).

[85GTGuy]

If they are the 9" wide front and 10.5" wide rear FR500 repops that Patrick Olsen is referring to, then there are going to be issues. Even on a stock ride height, those width rims on the front are going to be an issue with the inner fenders and, I'm guesstimating, with the fender lips. Rack limiters would help (though maybe not solve?) the fender liner rub (at the expense of acquiring an 18-wheeler turning radius), but the fender lip is still probably gonna need rolling. I will say I have no idea of the effect of the SN95 spindles though... but I just can't picture them solving the issues... heck, they may make things worse... dunno. On the rear, the quad shocks will need to be removed, and I can't see the fender lip not needing to be rolled. And all those notes are on a not-lowered Fox. Lowering is not going to help in any way with those problem areas, imo.

This is all based on what I've read of quite a few of other people's encounters. My personal experience is only with 7" wide 16" Pony's on a lowered '85, with 225/55's front and 245/50's rear, and there were zero rub issues anywhere. But that's a far cry from 17" 9" and 10-1/2" rims.

[wraithracing]

Couple of things to keep in mind. The Sn95 spindles widen the front track width 0.120" per side with 94/95 spindles and 0.320" per side with 96-04 spindles. You don't want to use the 96-04 spindles unless you are running an aftermarket K member as the straight steering arm cause major bumpsteer issues with OEM K members. Hopefully you are using some type of Castor/Camber plate otherwise you are going to wear out your tires in short order due to the added positive camber of the Sn95 spindles.

With all that said, the Foxes don't have a lot of room up front for wider wheels. 9" is often the widest you can go without significant modifications for clearance. I run 17x9 (24mm offset) on my Pace Car with 255/40/17 tires and only have mild rubbing issues, but that is currently with an SVO K member, Fox OEM control arms and Maximum Motorsports CC Plates and only a mild 1-1.25" drop.

Recommendation would be to consider purchasing either the wheels bare and test fitting to see how things look or just purchase a single wheel for the front and see how they fit. That limits your investment and gives you an option to return them or you could also keep the wheel as a full size spare since the stock spare is no useless. Good Luck!
'

[Crankyster_01]

Thanks for the responses I have the cheaper SR performance lowering springs they say it’s about 1.5 down for the front and the rear, the car is currently sitting without any wheels just completed 5 lug conversion. I like the look of the 17’s the and the FR500 look but I’m not set on anything yet just looking and I like that style. I was looking at ordering a tire wheel combo I was think 8 on the front and 9 on the rear but that’s why I’m asking on the wealth of knowledge here some of y’all’s experance. This is my first fox and it’s a pretty huge project for me currently, I don’t have caster camber plate yet but that is for sure on the list.