[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

...Yeah you’re using high offset modern wheels, possibly with a spacer...

The wheels I have on there now are 18X9.00 5X4.75 @00 offset with 5.0" backspacing for the front, the rear are 18X10.00 5X4.75 @05 with 5.70" backspacing.

I have both front & rear lips rolled.

I also have the inner fenderwells in the front trimmed per Herb Adams method.

There is no seat belt bulge in the rear of my car. Or not enough to have to mod it.


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[jhein]

Kore3 is closed this week due to a family emergency. Coincidentally, they are about 30 miles from me located less than a mile down the road from my car dude.

[HWYSTR455]

Drive your car over there after he gets back to work and talk to him about it.


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[Gator67]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

The wheels I have on there now are 18X9.00 5X4.75 @00 offset with 5.0" backspacing for the front, the rear are 18X10.00 5X4.75 @05 with 5.70" backspacing.

I have both front & rear lips rolled.

I also have the inner fenderwells in the front trimmed per Herb Adams method.

There is no seat belt bulge in the rear of my car. Or not enough to have to mod it.


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Just out of curiosity I'm wondering why you had to make those modifications to the front lips and fender wells...was it a function of the wheels you were working with (backspace), control arms, or something else? I only ask because we're running 18X10s with 6.25 backspace in the front of my son's 79 and didn't have to do any of that and have no interference and good turning radius. Just a stock subframe with Ridetech control arms (running 14" Wildwood Aero 6s).

[HWYSTR455]

Yes, at the time I rolled them, wheel selection was very limited. Once you go past a certain width & offset, tubular control arms are needed.

I may at some time change the wheels, but for now, it's what I've got, and am trying to finish the stalled project. Plan also to switch over to SpeedTech uprights.

Aero 6s are very low, and close to the rotor, so depending on the wheel, you can run them. Baer also makes a very low profile caliper, but they do have a wider body, so the go-to is the Aero 6, or now, the SX6R.

What wheels are on that 79?


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[Gator67]

We went with Forgeline (TA3), which are kind of spendy, but they're also made to order, so within limits, you can take wheel size/availability out of the equation when selecting suspension and brake components. On my last two projects I ordered wheels after most everything was installed so I had the opportunity to measure to determine the optimal wheel size, bs, etc. Forgeline asks for info on brakes, spindles, etc. to help ensure things will work, but lots of other factors can create interference or limit turning radius that folks don't always take into account--e.g., tie rod ends, upper control arms, ride height, etc.

[b-man]

Moving thread to Suspension Tech.

[jhein]

Well, I've come around faster than I thought. After looking more at pictures of cars and looking at tire sizes and types, I've decided to go with 18" Rally II style wheels. I'll be sending the Year One wheels back. For tires it will be Nitto 255/45/18 front and 275/40/18 drag radial for the rear. So that will solve the traction problems, the PTFB parts will solve the handling problems and the bigger brakes will solve the braking problems.

[b-man]

Eighteens for the win!

I’ve been checking different tires on the Tire Rack and it’s amazing how many more choices you have for those compared to 17”, it’s not even close.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by b-man

Eighteens for the win!

I’ve been checking different tires on the Tire Rack and it’s amazing how many more choices you have for those compared to 17”, it’s not even close.

LOL. What it came down to was that with the 17", my rear tire would either be too tall or too short. With the 18" I can have a 26.7" tire which is good and my front will be 27.05" so that should give me a nice factory type stance.

And not only that but as I was typing this I remembered that Nitto also makes a 220 treadwear street tire in addition to a 100 treadwear tire that is a road racing DOT approved tire. Both are available in the same sizes I mentioned above. Those are called the Invo and the NT01, respectively. Good looking stuff.

[VCho455]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

The second gen GW anti-squat mounts aren't as high up into the pocket as the PTFB mounts. I believe however this is because the GW mount also needs to handle a Cat5 leaf if so equipped and going too high would limit the twist available to that spring before the eye crashed into the floor.

If you're NOT going to run cat5 leafs, the PTFB bracket is likely better. If you are going to run cat5 leafs, you probably want/need the GW mount.

First gen's have no such option, the leaf mounts are much shallower and do not accommodate any type of anti-squat changes without floor modifications.

This post gave me some concern as I have been planning on running a pair of Cat-5 springs using PTFB spring brackets. So I dug out the springs and Dave's brackets and fit them up on the bench. To me it looks like they will work together. Two sets of photos one from each hole in the bracket showing full travel each way. If I'm looking at this wrong please let me know.

[VCho455]

Here's a rough comparison of the factory brackets and a pair of Hotchkiss springs and the Cat-5 springs with PTFB brackets.

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by VCho455

This post gave me some concern as I have been planning on running a pair of Cat-5 springs using PTFB spring brackets. So I dug out the springs and Dave's brackets and fit them up on the bench. To me it looks like they will work together. Two sets of photos one from each hole in the bracket showing full travel each way. If I'm looking at this wrong please let me know.

Picture #4 does look to be making every slight contact with the bracket at full articulation. It's probably only enough to make a mark and honestly if your suspension has that much travel during cornering loads, there's probably an issue somewhere.

Worst case scenario maybe you hear it a little going up and over bumps at an angle. Unless that's just a visual effect and there's no actual contact.

It's also entirely possible that the difference in antisquat hight is simply how GW likes it verse PTFB. I know GW does a lot of road race setups and there are certainly reasons why you may want less antisquat in that environment, then say an autocross circuit or as a street car.

[vertigto]

Yep...18". I came to the same conclusion. Good choice.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by Gator67

We went with Forgeline (TA3), which are kind of spendy, but they're also made to order, so within limits, you can take wheel size/availability out of the equation when selecting suspension and brake components. On my last two projects I ordered wheels after most everything was installed so I had the opportunity to measure to determine the optimal wheel size, bs, etc. Forgeline asks for info on brakes, spindles, etc. to help ensure things will work, but lots of other factors can create interference or limit turning radius that folks don't always take into account--e.g., tie rod ends, upper control arms, ride height, etc.

This is the way to do it, measure & order once all is done. And yes, spendy, but this is how you are able to get the largest tire under the car as possible.

Forgeline are very nice, and understand they are great to work with.

The wheels I have now are cast, and limited backspacing offerings at the time. I wanted more backspacing, but couldn't afford much more than what I spent then, so that's what I ended up with.

Drop spindles are a no-no for a number of reasons, but that's where you run into the highest chance of tie rod contact.

I will revisit wheels after the car is on the road, best I can do.


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[HWYSTR455]

I tell people all the time to do 18s, it's really a no-brainer, especially once you start looking at tires. 18 tires are a good sidewall/height combo, and can even go into 'half' aspect ratios like 45s, 55s, 65s, etc. Instead of doing weight jacking, you can dial corner weights in with tire aspect ratios.




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[Joe-Touring]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Again, with fixed caliper systems, using a wheel spacer means you need to also adjust the caliper.

Don't get me started on the whole 5x4.75/120.65 bolt patterns either. But generally, it's not an issue.

Why would a wheel spacer affect the caliper? I spose if you spaced the rotor out, but the wheel?

What’s the deal with imperial/metric? Isn’t that a direct conversion? I know that it’s sketchy to pop on 5x120 (ie BMW) wheels on there, but is there an issue with 4.75 vs 120.65?

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

But for the rear, options are limited for bearing packs.

A Ford type sealed bearing works, but side loads are not handled as easily/efficiently as is with a bearing pack.

I’ve been thinking about converting my 12 bolt to ford housing ends. I believe there are tapered bearings available to better handle side loading, would these also help with kickback?

[b-man]

Originally Posted by Joe-Touring

What’s the deal with imperial/metric? Isn’t that a direct conversion? I know that it’s sketchy to pop on 5x120 (ie BMW) wheels on there, but is there an issue with 4.75 vs 120.65?

4.75”

120.65mm

They’re the same.

I’m actually running BMW-spec 120mm O.Z. Racing 18x9” 6.57” backspace wheels on my Tempest. The Moser axles were custom made as well as my front wheel adapters to accept the 120mm rear Z4 roadster wheels. They’re fairly lightweight for a cast aluminum wheel at 20.8 pounds.

[Joe-Touring]

To throw my 2¢ in, I’m running Kore3 C5 brakes all the way around and am quite pleased with the performance. Wouldn’t go with the Hawk HPS pads again, too dusty. Gonna go with the Hawk ceramics next time. Thought about getting the front hubs machined to fit the rotors, but decided to go with the Kore3 aluminum hubs. Nice pieces.

Bit the bullet and purchased the Kore3 e-brake setup, pricey, but very nicely machined and works great.

Went to Control Cables inc for the custom e-brake cables, shipped fast and rather inexpensive.

And as far as wheel fitment, 17x8 4.5 BS Cragar Soft8’s needed a small spacer up front, the caliper brackets hit the inner wheel face. I used a 1/4” spacer.

Currently have Trans Am Race Engineering Superlites in the same specs. Perfect fitment with no spacer.

[Joe-Touring]

Originally Posted by b-man

I’m actually running BMW-spec 120mm O.Z. Racing 18x9” 6.57” backspace wheels on my Tempest. The Moser axles were custom made as well as my front wheel adapters to accept the 120mm rear Z4 roadster wheels. They’re fairly lightweight for a cast aluminum wheel at 20.8 pounds.

Cool! From what I can recall, 20# for a 18x9 is stellar. Those 17x8 Cragar Soft8’s are close to 50# a wheel! My 326 was much happier when I swapped over to the Superlites, which are also around 20#. Not to mention the handling benefit.

Seems like you really gotta plan out your wheel/tire package to make everything play nice together.