Staggered Wheels, + Lowering

Bill9000

Member
Oct 15, 2004
182
0
16
#1
Hi y'all, I'm getting ready to get my '04 GT looking better, and I want to lower it as much as possible, and also have the staggered look with as wide of tires as I can get on the back, (I'm assuming 315's? or could I get 335's?) -

if I do this, what wheel size (17, 18?) can I get away with and also still lower the car? and can I get the 2" lowering springs and still do this?

these are the wheels I am looking at: (but don't know what size/width to get!)
http://www.nicheroadwheels.com/targa-m131-w-5336.htm

basically, when I buy the wheels, trying to figure out what specifically to buy!
thank you!
 
#4
Trail and error my friend, trail and error. Get the right offset wheels, ditch the quad shocks and give it a try. can even upgrade to coil overs to give you better flexibility. If you go that low though, get the corrected ball joints for the front, caster/camber plates and the offset steering rack bushings.
 
#5
On a 17" wheel you can do 315-40-17 no problem.
On an 18" wheel you can do 295-30-18 no problem.
335 are possible, but they may stick out past the wheel fender which may not be good on a lowered ride. you would have to roll your fenders in.

Im on 18" and 295 in the rear. using maximum motorsports starter kit for shocks/struts/springs. That will drop you an inch. then I got lower adjustable control arms, and that lowered me another inch.. I am also using iso covers. I got rid of the quad shocks and moved to a torque arm setup. and I have a panhard bar. the fronts need a coil over for me to go any lower, which I will attempt to do later in the spring. pics for reference. http://i.imgur.com/qe9kEwr.jpg
 
#6
thank you very much for the info, that is definitely helpful!
so 315/40 - that sounds great!!!
thank you.
 
#7
Bill9000 said:
thank you very much for the info, that is definitely helpful!
so 315/40 - that sounds great!!!
thank you.
Click to expand...

you will have to be careful with that drop though.inner wheel may rub if you are too low. a set of lower adjustable control arms can dial that in, if you gets a 2" drop and you find its too low.
you cant just buy a massive drop kit like that w/o getting the supporting hardware.
 
#8

ok.... I had not thought of anything besides the lowering springs and an alignment...
I didn't think 2" was very much?
are you referring to something like this:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/whiteline-adj-lca-7904.html
 
#9
A 2" drop is perfectly fine on stock wheels. if you are gonna put fat tires on the back and have an extreme drop. There is a chance that the inside tire wall will rub on the inner tire well.
lower adjustable control arms will raise the suspension height so the tires wont rub.

I do not know much about the brand in your link, but yes that is what you want. As for brand name/reliabilty, I can tell you Maximum Motorsports makes the best suspension stuff the 99-04 cars. the make 100% mustang only parts.
you dont have to believe me, do a search on google and see for yourself. If you are on stock struts and shocks, its prolly time to replace them. Especially on a high milage car.

If I was you this is what I would do. cheapest method
295-40-18 tire on the back
265-45-18 tire on the front
drop the car 2" with springs

if you want to do it better, get this drop kit
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/1994-98-Mustang-1999-04-GT-Starter-Box-P185.aspx
295-40-18 tire on the back
265-45-18 tire on the front

if you want to do it better but get more of a drop
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/1994-98-Mustang-1999-04-GT-Starter-Box-P185.aspx call them and ask for lower springs. they are good for customizing a package
295-40-18 tire on the back
265-45-18 tire on the front

if you want to do it with fat tires and the drop with proper springs / adjustability - most expensive!
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/1994-98-Mustang-1999-04-GT-Starter-Box-P185.aspx
and
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/S...-Rear-Lower-Control-Arms-1999-2004-P1493.aspx
OR
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/H...g-Rear-Lower-Control-Arms-1999-2004-P524.aspx
and
315-40-17 tire on the back
265-45-17 tire on the front

before you make your car look cool, you got to make sure it can perform!

if you on a budget, I would get the fat tires this year and keep the stock height. Then next year, you can spend about $1.5k to drop it properly.
 
#10
thank you for the information that's definitely very helpful and what I was looking for.

OK, so you say that there's a chance it could rub, I presume that would depend on the offset of the wheels.

I'll look at that starter box deal and see what I can get figured out...
 
#11
stock ride height very very little chance of rubs. if you hit a bump hard or something, thats a different story.
I also neglected to mention. that you could do wheel spacers. I am not a fan of it as its just another point for failure.
if the tires rub on an extreme drop you can add a wheel spacer to your wheels. it may make your car look wierd.
 
#12

yea I definitely wouldn't want spacers

I like low, but I guess the real goal for me (for looks) is not to have a huge gap from the fenders to the tire like they do stock... mine looks kinda 4x4-ish, lol....
I actually really like this look tire size, etc a lot, and the fenders hug the tires pretty close, which looks great to me.

 
#14
I like the ride height of yours from the other pic you sent (my car is same color too)

the red cobra tires appear wider to me - I brightened the pic a little to see it better: (maybe it's just the angle that makes it look that way?)
I'm not afraid to push limits, I just want literally the widest I can fit without sticking out like you mentioned.

 
#17
On my 04. I ran a staggered 18"(front 9", rear 10.5" typical setup from American Muscle or LMR) wheel setup. The front tires were 275/35/18 and the rears were 295/35/18. I was using FRPP C springs. The moderate drop combined with the bigger tire looked pretty good and did not rub the wells. Kept it slow over the speed bumps and I never had any issues.
 
#20
Hi idk if I'm read jacking but I have an 88 I got the rear lower control arms and the sport line lowering springs along with the kyb gas a just quad shocks.. My rear wheels rub and I don't even have tires on them. I have the 10th ani cobras 17x10 rear and 17x9 fronts. Fronts work fine. Any help? Could I ditch the putter shock on either side or is that bad? I'm so new to all this lol
 
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