Something I forgot to account for when upgrading brakes

IIGood · Dec 19, 2009

About 2 years ago I upgraded the stock front brakes on my GT to Mach 1 brakes. 13" rotors and associated calipers, naturally.

The other night, the front passenger side tire blew out. I get over to the shoulder, break out the jack and spare, and go to town on starting to get it changed. I swapped it all over and once I got the donut on, it wouldn't turn.

Initially I thought I torqued the lugs down too tight so I backed them off a bit. Still wouldn't turn. WTF??

Then it hit me. The stock donut must've been scraping up against the caliper, preventing it from turning. Crap. I had to get it towed. So I guess I'll have to look for a Mach or Cobra spare now. Boo.

CobraRed_96_GT · Dec 19, 2009

Yup, common problem. The trick is to have 18x9's all the way around. Jack up rear wheel. Swap on spare. Jack up front wheel, put rear wheel on front, put popped tire in trunk.

40oz · Dec 19, 2009

the issue with running a spare donut on the rear axle is you can easily wear out your LSD if you don't get a new tire on right away. I had to wait a week before I could get a matching tire, and in that week my rear diff got so bad it needed to be rebuilt.

CobraRed_96_GT · Dec 19, 2009

Well that's a problem if you have after market brakes or not, if you pop a rear tire you need to put the spare on - it's really just to get home. Not for driving around for a week even if it was on the front. When I popped a tire, I drove it with the spare to my tire place and they patched it in half hour.
Of course is it's a sidewall tear or blow out this isnt a choice.

bdcardinal · Dec 19, 2009

i had always planned to get a 98 cobra wheel to make my spare. they were 17x8 and cleared the brembo calipers i was running. dont believe me, go look at a 2000 Cobra R in the trunk and you will see a 98 Cobra wheel for the spare.

40oz · Dec 19, 2009

CobraRed_96_GT said:
Well that's a problem if you have after market brakes or not, if you pop a rear tire you need to put the spare on - it's really just to get home. Not for driving around for a week even if it was on the front. When I popped a tire, I drove it with the spare to my tire place and they patched it in half hour.
Of course is it's a sidewall tear or blow out this isnt a choice.

Yeah, my point was that simply putting the spare on the rear isn't a good idea for more than a few miles. My car is my daily driver, and I just didn't think it would be an issue for a few days. I don't want someone else to make the same mistake.

CobraRed_96_GT · Dec 19, 2009

40oz said:
Yeah, my point was that simply putting the spare on the rear isn't a good idea for more than a few miles. My car is my daily driver, and I just didn't think it would be an issue for a few days. I don't want someone else to make the same mistake.

Agreed

SaleenGT2001 · Dec 19, 2009

i know this isnt the right way, but couldnt you flip the spare backwards (dually style) just to get it home?

i keep my 1" spacers in the trunk from my skinnies in case i need to run the spare

CobraRed_96_GT · Dec 19, 2009

SaleenGT2001 said:
i know this isnt the right way, but couldnt you flip the spare backwards (dually style) just to get it home?

i keep my 1" spacers in the trunk from my skinnies in case i need to run the spare

I'd imagine you'd be hitting the fender when you turn being that the further you put the edge of a wheel from the hub the wider the angle of motion gets?

SaleenGT2001 · Dec 19, 2009

i'll have to check that next time i have my front rims off.

my 15x3's are spaced out 1" and they dont scrub. maybe the backwards spare would work just to get you home. i wouldnt trust it much over 40 mph but it is better than being stranded

lang williams · Dec 19, 2009

My 97 cobra was missing the spare when I bought it. A salvage yard here sells the cobra mach spares for $75. I may just pick up a single 17" wheel/tire if its cheaper.

PULMEOVR · Dec 19, 2009

40oz said:
the issue with running a spare donut on the rear axle is you can easily wear out your LSD if you don't get a new tire on right away. I had to wait a week before I could get a matching tire, and in that week my rear diff got so bad it needed to be rebuilt.

EXACT same thing happened to me. I had the spare on the rear for a week while waiting for new tires to come in. My diff is totally shot, and I need a rebuild. It's very expensive too, costing about $700 w/labour and a 8.8" re-build kit from FRPP.

Mustang5L5 · Dec 19, 2009

I beleive the 05+ Mustangs come with a 17" spare tire and a 185/60/17 tire on them.

That tire size is EXACTLY the same od as the 245/45/17 on the sn95's. Both are 25.7" in diameter.

In retrospec, the 16" spare on the 99-04 GT's is a 145/80/16 tire and is 25.1" in diamter...and slightly shorter. So it may wear an LSD if you drive for a long time on the rear.

I have not bolted up a 05+ spare though...so unsure how well it clears the 13" brakes. I am in the same boat myself. 13" cobra brakes up front and no spare tire in the well.

d98gt · Dec 20, 2009

We do have a 17" spare (even though my car has 18s) and I can take some pictures with measurements in the morning if it'll help any of you guys out any. It's nothing fancy but sure will beat being stranded

Something I forgot to account for when upgrading brakes

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