Wheels-Tires 95 Cobra R Rims On 88 Fox Body Mustang

[Stroked88]

I've always had a soft spot for my 88 Mustang except for the ugly 4 lug wheels. I upgraded to some 16 inch Pony rims to cover up Ford's mistake but have been kicking myself for not going to 5 lug right away along with the bigger brakes.

I have some 95 front spindles already so I plan to go with a big brake kit from North Racecars on the front and rear. I like the look of the 95 Cobra R rims but I only find them in the 17x9" which is a little wide. Will these rims fit without rolling my fenders? I don't want to do that but am willing to add steering rack limiters if I need to, just no fender rolling. Also what is a good size tire to fit these rims on the front and back.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Going to depend on how lowered your car is, as well as the offset of the rims as there are a few available.

On a 17x9, guys typically run 275/40/17, but this will be right up front on an '88. A 255/45/17 might work, but a 245/45/17 would be the smallest you can really go on the 9" rim and clear, but I'd expect some rubbing - heavily if lowered.

 

[Onefine88]

Recently, I thought I'd try a different tire size up front on my 9" SVT Anniversary wheels to combat rubbing. These front tires are 245/40-17's. They're slightly lower profile than my previous 245/45's, but are still plenty wide enough to fill out the 9" rim. As you can see my car sits pretty low. No rubbing whatsoever on the tires. The wheels however do rub a little on the a-arm at full lock. No too bad though.
I'm running 275/40 drag radials on the back.
With 245/40's up front and 275/40's ut back it gives the vert stance a nice rake IMO.

Good Luck

 

[Stroked88]

My car isn't lowered and don't plan on lowering it. Still I was worried the 17x9 rims were too wide since I had some 15x8 wheels when I first bought the car and the rim was rubbing on the front a-arm. I'm currently running a 245/50/16 on the rear which is the same as the 245/45/17 except for the sidewall width. Thanks Onefine88 for posting the pic. Looks like those 275/40/17 fit the rear well. Since my car isn't lowered and after playing around with a tire calculator I'm thinking 245/45/17 on front and 275/40/17 rear. This would give me a 25.7 inch tire diameter on both ends. I still think the front tire is too wide but the rims are 9 inches wide and that limits tire width choice. I'm thinking if there is a tubular a-arm upgrade the will give more clearance on the front so I don't have to put in rack limiters to limit my travel. Thanks for the response guys you both have been helpful.

 

[a91what]

245 up front is fine. If not lowered you can even go wider.

I run 245 up front and a 275 out back with no issues and I'm lowered.

 

[mikestang63]

245/45/17 and 275/40/17 on 17 x 9 wheels with Steeda springs and no problems.Jsut got them installed and aligned yesterday.. LOVE the BFG comp 2's.

 

[Stroked88]

mikestang63, what rims are those? I was just going to verify the offsets. Looks good though. I guess I was worried for nothing. Can't wait to pop the clutch with some real meats on the back. That's over an inch wider that what I have right now.

 

[mikestang63]

17 x 9 ROH Cobra R's..