Changed to 5-lug on my '89

Mustanganatic · Sep 17, 2011

I don't think there's a solution to my problem, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I changed over to 5-lug, used '94 spindles and the 5-lug hub. I'm using 17" x 9" '95 Cobra R wheels. Up front, I've got 235/45 tires. My problem is that the tire sticks out beyond the outside lip of the fender by 3/4". I've got lowering springs so it's an issue. It looks a little funky the way they stick out too. The hubs for '94-'03 are the same so a different hub isn't the answer. The only thing I can think of is different wheels with an offset that'll address this issue. Any other ideas?

Noobz347 · Sep 17, 2011

Pics?

LarsD · Sep 17, 2011

17X9 is kind of pushing it on a Fox. I would expect those to fit with 94 parts however. Can you make it better by pushing the struts in (I.E. more negative camber)? I hate to ask this, but are you sure you got 94 spindles?

Noobz347 · Sep 17, 2011

That's kinda what I was thinking. I don't recall there being a whole lot of problems with 17x9s and the 94/95 spindles.

Adams91LX · Sep 18, 2011

Whats the current offset of the wheels?

Mustanganatic · Sep 18, 2011

I had to go with 17" wheels, the whole reason for this deal is I'm putting Baer brakes on. I wanted R wheels and they only make 9". The offset is 24mm. As far as the spindle goes, I got them out of a bone yard, they took them off. I just picked them up at the counter. I believe '96 and up spindles are bigger. Changing the camber to fix this would make the tires run on the inside edge. The '93 Cobra uses the same hub, I'm wondering if '91+ fenders are wide enough. Flairing the fenders could be done too. I'm already beyond Pluto in spending on this project! Thanks for the input guys.

Mustanganatic · Sep 18, 2011

Noobz347 said:
That's kinda what I was thinking. I don't recall there being a whole lot of problems with 17x9s and the 94/95 spindles.

What did you use for hubs? I looked up hubs for a '94 and an '03, they're the same part no. The hubs are what is making the wheels stick out so much.

LarsD · Sep 18, 2011

Here is the difference:

Now which do you have on the car? Because there is like a 13mm difference between 94/95 units, and the 96+ ones. 17x9's do fit (with a reasonable tire of course) with 94/95 spindles. 96+ will not work with 9" wide rim. 24 mils on a 9" rim is pretty much standard afaik. This was the reason when I did my conversion I sold the 97 units I had, and bought some 95 GT spindles since I figured I might run 9" rims one day.

slow90coupe · Sep 18, 2011

mine looked almost like that when my suspension was stock. Then I did coilovers and C/C plates and turned the negative camber up some. Now I can actually tuck the tire if I want to.

Adams91LX · Sep 18, 2011

I would suggest maybe a wheels swap? There are plenty of 17x8 options, although hard to find in the 95 Cobra R style... Bullitt's and OEM Mustang Wheels are often 17x8... I like the 96-98 GT Split 5 spoke wheels the best... but its up to you.

MFE92 · Sep 18, 2011

Put the car on the ground and see what it looks like when the suspension settles and everything tucks the way it should. You should be able to fit 255's under there no problem, so your 235's aren't the issue, and 96+ spindles are only marginally "wider" than 94-95's, so if the tires still stick out when you're done, the problem is the offset on your wheels. Real "Cobra R" wheels have a different offset than aftermarket ones. And BTW you're going to want at least 1.25 negative camber and don't worry about the inside edges of the tires if your toe is set properly and the suspension bushings and tie rod ends are good.

ALMOST STOCK · Sep 18, 2011

Mustanganatic we have a fairly similar set up.

My 89 GT is lowered 1" and I went with 94/95 spindles, 17 X 9 SSR wheels with 28+ offset, 245 X 40 X 17 tires, Baer Brakes and run the stock alignment settings and looks nothing like the problem your having.

From the top looking straight down.
View attachment 172757

View attachment 172759

FastDriver · Sep 18, 2011

Gorgeous car, Almost Stock.

Chrome_Rust · Sep 18, 2011

swap wheels side to side and see if the problem is still there. And you didnt have this problem with the old 4lug stuff right?

Mustanganatic · Sep 18, 2011

Thanks Lars for the pictures of the spindles, I can now say for sure that I have '94/'95 spindles. One thing I haven't considered is that the car is still up on jacks, ergo the suspension is hanging on the opposite end of the suspension's travel arc. It may be resolved once the car is on the ground and the springs settle. What I believe the culprit for this issue is the hub. The picture below shows the hub I'm using, which is a Ford part used in '94 to at least '03. With the ABS exciter ring, it's so wide the wheel/tire stick out like that. Is that what everyone is using? Once again, thanks for all your input.

LarsD · Sep 18, 2011

Mustanganatic said:
Thanks Lars for the pictures of the spindles, I can now say for sure that I have '94/'95 spindles. One thing I haven't considered is that the car is still up on jacks, ergo the suspension is hanging on the opposite end of the suspension's travel arc. It may be resolved once the car is on the ground and the springs settle. What I believe the culprit for this issue is the hub. The picture below shows the hub I'm using, which is a Ford part used in '94 to at least '03. With the ABS exciter ring, it's so wide the wheel/tire stick out like that. Is that what everyone is using? Once again, thanks for all your input.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/6160976492_3d55ff5fb9_z.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

I still have the rings on mine, they do not affect the track width. Hold off on your concerns till you get it on the ground. That will make a huge difference. I didn't realize you hadn't put it on the floor yet.

MFE92 · Sep 18, 2011

The hubs without exciter rings are exactly the same dimensions. In fact, ALL the replacement '94-04 hubs come with exciter rings now whether you're spec'ing them out for an ABS car or not, it's cheaper for them to do that than it is to keep an entirely different part number in the parts pipeline for the few cars that didn't have ABS.

Mustanganatic · Sep 18, 2011

Fairly Stock, I forgot to mention, nice looking GT! I see you got a '95 Cobra R hood also! Mine's an LX with a Saleen body kit. I'll get some pictures of it posted once I get it back on the ground and cleaned up. I got the wrong rear caliper brackets with my Baer brake kit, so I got to wait till I get the right ones.

Mustanganatic · Sep 18, 2011

MFE92 said:
The hubs without exciter rings are exactly the same dimensions. In fact, ALL the replacement '94-04 hubs come with exciter rings now whether you're spec'ing them out for an ABS car or not, it's cheaper for them to do that than it is to keep an entirely different part number in the parts pipeline for the few cars that didn't have ABS.

Thanks MFE92, I just want to make sure others aren't using a different hub and I'm using the wrong one.

Mustanganatic · Sep 29, 2011

Finally got the car done! The dealer had it for 3 days. I had a leak on the back master cylinder line that I had to have a connector swapped for a female end. Figured it was just the wrong kind of flair on it, so I just trailered it up to the dealer since I had an appointment for a wheel alignment. After messing with the clusterf**k of tubing under there, I had an epiphany. Tear it all out and I'll get a Wilwood proportioning valve. The guys on the assembly line must have been sniffing glue that day, the lines out of the master cylinder was a can of worms. Anyways, it's behind me, although I'm doing heroin now! Thanks a whole bunch guys for all your input. Oh, MFE92, it's only got -0.2 degrees of camber and it seems to be OK so far. Here's some pictures:

Changed to 5-lug on my '89

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