S197 wheel fitment, IRS Questions...

[fox racer]

As some of you know, I'm swapping an IRS rear in my notch back. I thought everything was accounted for, but now I have differing opinions on wheels and offsets. What BS do I have to run to fit a 9" rim in the back? will 5.97" be enough? Or do I need over 6"? I want to run the 18x9 FR500s Front and Rear, but I'm worried the IRS will stick the wheels out too much.

If I decide to go SN197 wheels, I'm REALLY digging the 17x8 5 split spoke that comes on the GTs. They have a 6.2" BS, which will probably be perfect for the rear, but won't that mess with the front? Could I run 1/4" spacers up front to compensate for the bigger BS?

This is the LAST hurdle I have with the IRS, then it goes in, so ANY input would be appreciated...

 

[89gtstalker]

I have an IRS in my 93 gt, and I am running factory 03 GT/01 Cobra 17x9 wheels, and the IRS pushes them out right to the wheel wells, so what ever the factory backspacing on those whees are, that is what I would recommned. I also have both rear fender lips rolled, and with a 275 on the back , i have a slight rubbing issue, I think a 255 would clear, not without a rolled fender.

Also, when you go to install the rear bracket where the third shock mount is on the frame that you have to remove, the stock IRS braket will not line up with the holes in the frame, as you probably already know. There are directions on the web to drill through and bolt through the frame rail. If you want to install it correctly, I bought a modified set of brackets from a local performance shop that specializes in these swaps into fox bodies. They are professionally modified to fit up to the stock mounting locations. Let me know if you would be interested, and I can give you thier info.

For the connections through the bottom of the frame rail up, I believe some on the web show removing a small peice of the trunk sheet metal to access the inner frame rail and bolting it in. I was a little leary having a single thickness of frame rail holding the rear mounting brackets, what I ended up doing was drilling throught the framerail into the rear hatch area, and had two 1/4 # steel plates, about 6" x6" , or what ever it was to straddle the width of the frame rails, with two holes punched in them to align with the bolt holes on the rear frame bracket, and what that achieves is basically a sandwich between the bracket and the entire frame rail structure, if that makes any sense. It seems this would structurally tie in the bracket instead of having it supported on the bottom layer of metal of the rail. I can take pictures if your interested, let me know if you have any other specific questions on the swap. The brake lines will be the biggest hassle you will encounter.

 

[DEFWISH]

ive got the split 5's. theyre soooo sexy on a fox

 

[fox racer]

For the connections through the bottom of the frame rail up, I believe some on the web show removing a small peice of the trunk sheet metal to access the inner frame rail and bolting it in. I was a little leary having a single thickness of frame rail holding the rear mounting brackets, what I ended up doing was drilling throught the framerail into the rear hatch area, and had two 1/4 # steel plates, about 6" x6" , or what ever it was to straddle the width of the frame rails, with two holes punched in them to align with the bolt holes on the rear frame bracket, and what that achieves is basically a sandwich between the bracket and the entire frame rail structure, if that makes any sense. It seems this would structurally tie in the bracket instead of having it supported on the bottom layer of metal of the rail. I can take pictures if your interested, let me know if you have any other specific questions on the swap. The brake lines will be the biggest hassle you will encounter.

That's what I was going to do, I was going to run 5.5"x3.5" 1/8" steel plates to run the vertical bolts through, then weld the plate to the floor pan once project is in and done. Could you post up pics? I'd like to see what it looks like completed. How much were the brackets from the company? I really don't mind drilling one new bolt hole, so if they're that much I'll probably pass.

DEFWISH: You got any pics of the rims on your car? I'm not talking about the mid 90's split 5 spokes, I'm talking the 05+ Split 5 spokes, are those the ones your using?

 

[stykthyn]

I def wanna see pics on this too

 

[89gtstalker]

What specifically do you want to see? The attachments, or the before/after pics? It is amazing how much better the car rides with this suspension.

Heres a couple I have with me, side shot
View attachment 347698

View attachment 347700

during

View attachment 347702
Here is the wheels I started with, 17" Cobra R rims, offset was too much, had to go back to stock.
View attachment 347704


I will get some better ones of how I attached when I get home.

View attachment 347706

 

[bstrd86]

89gtstalker those wheels are 8" wide with 5.72 b.s. I have a 17x9" with 275/40-17 with 6.42 b.s.. I had to roll the crap out of the fenders, luckily my car's not painted. Here's a straight on shot from the rear: