1986 gt 17x9 saleen sc rims fitment?

caljrjr · Oct 27, 2021

Hey guys, Trying to run these on my 86 gt, not sure what i can get away with, with the least modification. I have to do strut/brake/spindle change up front
and maybe some rack limiters but hoping to keep it to that with the right tire setup...Thoughts?

caljrjr · Oct 27, 2021

I will probably do a slight drop with steeda sports/bilstein shock/struts to get it sitting better, had them on my 95' and was very happy with that setup.

eighty5fox · Oct 27, 2021

I had them my 85 gt and had to do nothing it was lowered on ford motorsport springs stock shocks and hotchkis camber caster plates. I ran and 245 tire and i also ran a 225 tire

caljrjr · Oct 27, 2021

ok thanks! ...so with your experience 225 up front 245 in back? what was the aspect ratio? and what do you think you could get away with
going wider or were you pretty much pushing it with those sizes?

eighty5fox · Oct 27, 2021

Most people can fit 275 out back with quad shocks removed and some messaging of the inner quarter panels. The fronts you can fit a 245 if you wanted

caljrjr · Oct 27, 2021

eighty5fox said:
Most people can fit 275 out back with quad shocks removed and some messaging of the inner quarter panels. The fronts you can fit a 245 if you wanted

i think im gonna go 255 up front 275 in back and just do what i gotta do to make them look good,i would like to avoid the fender roll but spacers, quad shock removal and better rear control arms should help, i would have prefered 17x8 up front but the sc's are not easy to come by these days so i just took what i could get.

Rdub6 · Oct 28, 2021

I have an ‘86 that had an aero nose conversion done on it. Not sure what that does to the front clearance, if anything, but I just put 17x9 Bullitt replicas on it.

275/40 fit on the rear with the quads flipped. I had no other fitment issues on the rear.

The fronts I’m running 245/45 and definitely have a little rubbing on full lock, so you may want to reconsider the 255. I do have a 94/95 spindle 5-lug conversion as well, so I realize we’re not talking apples to apples, but I thought maybe my info would help.

I’ll check the site to see what the backspacing is on my wheels. Got them from American Muscle.

Edit: here’s the specs on the wheels I used

caljrjr · Oct 29, 2021

Rdub6 said:
I have an ‘86 that had an aero nose conversion done on it. Not sure what that does to the front clearance, if anything, but I just put 17x9 Bullitt replicas on it.

275/40 fit on the rear with the quads flipped. I had no other fitment issues on the rear.

The fronts I’m running 245/45 and definitely have a little rubbing on full lock, so you may want to reconsider the 255. I do have a 94/95 spindle 5-lug conversion as well, so I realize we’re not talking apples to apples, but I thought maybe my info would help.

I’ll check the site to see what the backspacing is on my wheels. Got them from American Muscle.

Edit: here’s the specs on the wheels I used

Thanks for the info man!
yeah my offset is +20mm and backspace is 5.79
i had 275 on my 95 and 305 on my 94 ranger truck
looks good in the rear, definitely don't want to go smaller,
as for the front i'll let ya know how i make out!

Willybill32 · Oct 30, 2021

caljrjr said:
i think im gonna go 255 up front 275 in back and just do what i gotta do to make them look good,i would like to avoid the fender roll but spacers, quad shock removal and better rear control arms should help, i would have prefered 17x8 up front but the sc's are not easy to come by these days so i just took what i could get.

I have LMR 17” X 8/9 chrome ponies on my ‘86. Rears are 275/40X17 and fit with the quad shocks flipped. Front has 245/45X17 and no rubbing, but on 8” wide wheels.

caljrjr · Oct 30, 2021

Willybill32 said:
I have LMR 17” X 8/9 chrome ponies on my ‘86. Rears are 275/40X17 and fit with the quad shocks flipped. Front has 245/45X17 and no rubbing, but on 8” wide wheels.

thanks for the info!
the 17x9 ponies are the same specs as the sc's so rear will be exact, the 8 pony is 19mm and 5.25 so i'll see, also why the 45 and 40 aspect ratio, why not 40 and 40?

Rdub6 · Oct 30, 2021

caljrjr said:
thanks for the info!
the 17x9 ponies are the same specs as the sc's so rear will be exact, the 8 pony is 19mm and 5.25 so i'll see, also why the 45 and 40 aspect ratio, why not 40 and 40?

245/45,17 and 275/40,17 are the exact same height, that’s why they are a popular set for front and rear.

caljrjr · Oct 30, 2021

Rdub6 said:
245/45,17 and 275/40,17 are the exact same height, that’s why they are a popular set for front and rear.

haha yeah my math sucks, so to compensate for different widths, what about the 255's cause 245 is going to looked stretched on a 9?
It's my luck anyway, nobody carries these except lmr and they were out of stock forever so i assumed they were not coming back there as well. I would prefered the 9/8 set

Rdub6 · Oct 30, 2021

caljrjr said:
haha yeah my math sucks, so to compensate for different widths, what about the 255's cause 245 is going to looked stretched on a 9?
It's my luck anyway, nobody carries these except lmr and they were out of stock forever so i assumed they were not coming back there as well. I would prefered the 9/8 set

I’ll get you a pic of my 245 on my 9” wheels tomorrow. I think they look fine.
I was worried at first after all I had read, but after watching some videos, and seeing some pics, I went for it.

caljrjr · Oct 30, 2021

Rdub6 said:
I’ll get you a pic of my 245 on my 9” wheels tomorrow. I think they look fine.

that would be awesome, thanks man!

Willybill32 · Oct 31, 2021

caljrjr said:
haha yeah my math sucks, so to compensate for different widths, what about the 255's cause 245 is going to looked stretched on a 9?
It's my luck anyway, nobody carries these except lmr and they were out of stock forever so i assumed they were not coming back there as well. I would prefered the 9/8 set

For what it’s worth, the set I got were out of stock forever and I just kept checking back and one day they were in stock and I ordered them.

Rdub6 · Oct 31, 2021

I’m at work, but here’s a pic I have on my phone. Not the best pic, but it gives you an idea of how the look.

caljrjr · Oct 31, 2021

rdub6 thank you, much appreciated man! I think they look fine. i like when the tires are flush and not sunken in the well, your rim is a little different
but if my math is right which it may not be , you are correct, the 255 will be 3/4" wider than the 245's give an 1/8" for backspace difference, still to much.....so it's this or get 17x8

anyway, i still have to change the front spindles before i try it, i'll let ya know how it goes.
here's a pic of my ranger and 95gt i wish i still had.

KRUISR · Oct 31, 2021

Something not specifically mentioned but talked all around. The thing you will want to do if you want a 255 front is shorten the overall tire height. What do I mean...

My previous tires were 16s. I ran 245/50/16 in the front 255/50/16 in the rear. The 245s were the same overall tire height as the stock 225/60/15 yours and mine were born with. I would get rubbing in both directions. Most guys run 245/45/17 in front for the same reason.

My current set up is 18s (same spindles and suspension as with the 16s) and I run a 255/35/18 on 18x9 rims (+30 offfset) with a 5/16 spacer (for rim clearance). Wider tire, no rubbing (maybe its the spacer). My belief and why I went with that tire is it is shorter overall (25.14" vs stock 25.8). I think if you went a shorter tire as well it would help. So for 255s on 17s, I would go 255/40/17 (25.16" tall).

What are the tires on the front of your 95?

caljrjr · Oct 31, 2021

KRUISR said:
Something not specifically mentioned but talked all around. The thing you will want to do if you want a 255 front is shorten the overall tire height. What do I mean...

My previous tires were 16s. I ran 245/50/16 in the front 255/50/16 in the rear. The 245s were the same overall tire height as the stock 225/60/15 yours and mine were born with. I would get rubbing in both directions. Most guys run 245/45/17 in front for the same reason.

My current set up is 18s (same spindles and suspension as with the 16s) and I run a 255/35/18 on 18x9 rims (+30 offfset) with a 5/16 spacer (for rim clearance). Wider tire, no rubbing (maybe its the spacer). My belief and why I went with that tire is it is shorter overall (25.14" vs stock 25.8). I think if you went a shorter tire as well it would help. So for 255s on 17s, I would go 255/40/17 (25.16" tall).

What are the tires on the front of your 95?

thanks for the info, i want to say i ran 255/35 on 18's as well but can't remember, not sure what spindle setup would be best as im keeping 4 lug going? Also, lmr has a 4 eye pictured on their 17x9/10 black sc's wrapped with 255/40 and 275/40 and im like ok how'd you get those on there? most likely just an example pic and not actual tires
anyway, i was going to flip the quads or remove and change the control arms for the rear.

KRUISR · Oct 31, 2021

Here's an option for 4 lug and upgrading brakes...

Convert to SN95 spindle - either 94/95 or 96-04 (I used 96-04). Source a new hub for an 89 Thunderbird (V6 or V8 doesn't matter - but it needs to have a smooth back, see pic below). Knock out 4 of the 5 wheel studs. Use your rear drum as a template and center over hub using the remaining wheel stud. Re-drill the remaining 3 holes and reinstall 3 studs.

Here was my 4 lug hub on spindle...

Now I used rotors and calipers from a Lincoln LS (thicker 11.8" rotor and dual piston caliper - but required 16" rim minimum) and re-drilled the rotors just like I did for the hubs. Lincoln LS/Jaguar S-type are 5x108 and our Foxes are 4x108 (same bolt circle), so one stud can be kept and used to center and align new bolt pattern.

If you wanted to keep 15" wheels and still use 99-04 PBR dual piston calipers, get rotors from a 94 Thunderbird (make sure you ask for this year specifically as earlier ones are slightly different) and re-drill for 4 lug. These rotors are essentially clones of the standard 10.86" SN front rotor but with a 5x108 bolt pattern instead of 5x114.3. So since SN 10.86" rotor was used with 15" rims, in theory you should be able to take advantage of SN spindles and calipers and still use OEM fox 15" rims if you wanted to.

The best part is, some day when you want to change to 5 lug, just change your hubs and rotors (calipers if you are further upgrading) and you are all set in the front.

1986 gt 17x9 saleen sc rims fitment?

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