Advice On 18's And Suspension On Saleen

[utemachine]

I am going to put 94, 18" Saleen replica wheels on my 89 Saleen. I am also going to put new springs and struts on it. I am concerned about fitment and rubbing. What tire size and back spacing do you recommend? What spring and strut/shock combo?

This is for weekend cruising, no track plans for me. I was looking at H&R's with Koni's. Right now the Saleen suspension has my car on the ground and stiff as a board.

 

[liljoe07]

9" or 10" in the rear?

 

[utemachine]

I have read that 10's are a long shot with 18's so I was going to go 9's all the way around.

 

[utemachine]

This is the look I am going for.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Even 9" will be tricky due to the wider disk brake setup on the rear. Saleens basically run SVO rear brakes, which are 1.25" wider each side. Do you know the specs of the wheels you want to run?

Really, you should be thinking s197 offsets here.

Then these the issue of the dust cap on the front SVO style rotor.

Above car is wearing SN95 brakes. Is that a consideration?

 

[Dan02gt]

If you're planning on using the H&R sport springs and Koni SRT.T struts and shocks you will be very happy with the ride. I knew a guy that had a '88 Saleen and that was literally the worst riding vehicle I have ever been in. It was like being in a 20' boat in 2' chop all the time.

 

[A5literMan]

I recommend contacting maximum Motorsport and asking them. Detail what you want out of the vehicle and then get your wallet out lol. They can give you anywhere from track to street ideas. I believe they used to setup some of the saleen track cars in the past. Obviously the more aggressive you want the worsening of ride quality.

Any desire for a front coilover setup? I really like an adj strut and am running strange engineering 10 way adj struts and shocks with mm front coilovers. The strange units are fairly cheap compared to some others. I have a 150# spring(way light if you want a handling setup). I'd think a 225# spring would be perfect if you want to carve corners. Mine is more street/strip but rides very nice on the street. I just set the struts/shocks in the middle(5). The great thing,about such a setup, is the myriad settings. Also do you have frame connectors installed? I'm not very familiar with saleen setups.

Not sure on wheels. Not familiar with the offsets needed because of the more "unique" factor of the rear brakes,etc.

 

[utemachine]

I want to keep the Saleen brake set up. These are the wheels I am looking at:

 

[Mustang5L5]

I want to say you'll need more BS out back.

Best guess is to research 18" wheels on an 84-86 SVO as they wear the same brakes and an unique offset situation

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?90120-18-quot-Wheels-on-SVO-Stang

 

[2000xp8]

There is no 94-98 replica of the lemans wheel.
The offset on the real ones are 10 and 30mm. 8.5 wide.
Those would likely be your best bet, but you will probably need 4 of the same offset and even worse 4 identical wheels (while they look alike, there are 4 versions)

IMO, change the axles and the brake brackets.
I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's not.

 

[90sickfox]

Order a Percy's wheel right tool. Measure your current ride height at the top of the wheel openings. Put the car on four jack stands. Remove the current wheels and springs- reinstall the front strut bolts to original location. Bolt on Percy tool....jack up on control arm until ride height is reached. ( measured from bottom of tool to top of wheel opening ). Set tool to rim size and width. Spin tool on hub turning steering wheel lock to lock. Simulate loaded suspension by jacking control arm higher.

The tool will measure how big and how wide of a wheel you can fit on your car. It'll also measure the backspacing that you need.

Its a lot of work but its worth it.