So...my new wheels dont fit..

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Apr 8, 2001

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North Atlanta

Dec 12, 2003

#1

• Dec 12, 2003

• #1

Finally moved the car today to get it into the garage.

Front has 225/45/17" wheels on it with 4.75" backspacing. Front suspension has NEW 620 coil springs and shelby control arm drop.

The upper ball joint on my upper a arm digs into the lip of my wheel when they are turned all the way to the right or left.

The caster/camber has not been adjusted whatsoever since I have done the control arm drop and the 620 springs.

ALso there is hardly any weight on the front end at all right now. (no fenders, no hood, no front end, etc.

I sure am hoping that once I get it aligned, and get the caster/camber and toe adjusted that they dont rub on the AARM anymore. Maybe the new suspension needs to settle a little too. May have to grind a little bit on the upper aarm to get it to fit right for now. Nothing is ever easy

I coudl have sworn that a 17x8" wheel with 4.75" backspacing would fit with a shelby AARM drop. BOTH sides have the same problem

Any words of wisdom?

 

G

gp001

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Jun 30, 2001

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Dec 12, 2003

#2

• Dec 12, 2003

• #2

I run 17x8, 4.75 bs, 1" drop, 620 coils with no problems. Are you sure those wheel spacers + wheels give you a true 4.75" bs? Sounds like it might be more.

 

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Dec 12, 2003

#3

• Dec 12, 2003

• #3

gp001 said:

I run 17x8, 4.75 bs, 1" drop, 620 coils with no problems. Are you sure those wheel spacers + wheels give you a true 4.75" bs? Sounds like it might be more.

Click to expand...

Yeah ,im going to bust out the ruler and straight edge tomorrow to see what the backspacing is. I just thought the upper AARM would be a lot lower than what it is. I mean, thats why i got 17" wheels, so they would clear the AARM. I really think that the camber/caster of the wheels is the culprit. People say that when they see the car that "the tops of the wheels are angled in"

Shane

 

BC_Ace

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Aug 18, 2003

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Vancouver

Dec 12, 2003

#4

• Dec 12, 2003

• #4

Did you put the shims back in when you dropped the control arms? These will get adjusted when you get an alignment but if they're not there, it could be causing your problem.

 

coolblue65

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Jul 26, 1999

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Algonquin, IL

Dec 12, 2003

#5

• Dec 12, 2003

• #5

Is the motor & trans in the car? or are you just missing body parts?

Either way there is definately a significant amount of weight that is not on the front springs right now (especially if the motor is out). When I had my motor out a long time ago, I remember that the front end rose up a few inches from the stock ride height. This is also going to cause the angle of the control arms to increase. And we all know that up front 4.75 is just about all you can squeeze in there. So that increase in angle may be enough to cause the problem you are experiencing.

 

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Dec 12, 2003

#6

• Dec 12, 2003

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The engine is in, but it has an aluminum intake and a lot of other stuff has been stripped out of the engine bay. The body parts that are off of it probably weigh well over 200?lbs.

I am going to add some shims tomorrow. I may have taken too many out when I performed the shelby drop. I took about 1/4" out. I only need about 1/8" clearance. Everything should work out. I knew it was gonna be TIGHT!!! Just not mad tight yo! lol

 

imshaggy2000

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Oct 30, 2002

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Orange, CA

Dec 13, 2003

#7

• Dec 13, 2003

• #7

Are you sure the wheels you got where 5.5" backspacing? Most all bullitt wheels I've seen are 29mm offset, which is closer to 5.7" backspacing.

 

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Apr 8, 2001

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Dec 13, 2003

#8

• Dec 13, 2003

• #8

imshaggy2000 said:

Are you sure the wheels you got where 5.5" backspacing? Most all bullitt wheels I've seen are 29mm offset, which is closer to 5.7" backspacing.

Click to expand...

I was told that they only came in 4.5 and 5.5 from this company. Two different representatives told me that from two different locations. However, I am going to measure today.

Shane

 

6

67efivert

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Jan 26, 2003

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lincolnton nc

Dec 13, 2003

#9

• Dec 13, 2003

• #9

do u have 3 bolt ball joints or 4 bolt the 3 bolt give u bout a 3/16 of an inch more room also shimming the arm aint gonna change anything the ball joint is bolted to the spindle wich is bolted to the wheel hence the adjustment has to be made there good luck

 

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Dec 13, 2003

#10

• Dec 13, 2003

• #10

Well...

i measured my wheels....

VERDICT:

WRONG BACKSPACING!!! THEY SENT ME THE WRONG BACKAPSCING!!

The rear wheels actually fit really well with a total of 5" backspacing.

The fronts, however, rub on the ball joints. Im going to call tomorrow and see if they will exchange them or if they will refund me some of my moula!!!

Just an update.

Shane