rims and tires

[Jack21]

Used 17's on mine. Since the factory 15" wheels were 15 x 8 w/ 4" backspacing, and it fit OK, used is as a starting point for 17's.

Compomotive had 17's at $500 apiece. TeamIII had just introduced their 17" at $300 apiece, but I had to wait for them. Ordered in November '00, got them in April '01. Initial production problems. But the wheels are fine.

Fronts. Using 11" Grenada rotor. Went with Team III 17"x8" w/ 4" backspacing. The original fronts were 235/60R15, went +2 with 235/45ZR17 tire. Only the wheel diameter changes, the tire diameter remains 25" - 26". You get a little more treadwidth, and a lot less sidewall bulge. The 17" tire is actually smaller across the middle than the 15, so there's more fenderwell clearance.

Initial reluctance to put what looked like forklift tires on car, but did it anyway. (Virtually everything I read on performance tires said go with 17") Looks very natural. What looks odd now though are the diminutive 11" brakes. Car stops on a dime, and they are the largest you can put behind a 15" wheel, but can go 13" brakes with the 17's.

One more brake upgrade I used was the Stainless Steel Brakes 4 piston caliper instead of the mid sized '78 -'83 GM. These are the same calipers used on '66 - '67 Mustang GT's and (I think) Shelby GT350's. Copies of Kelsey-Hayes calipers. The brakes work well. SSB Tech Support had a really bad attitude when it came to helping with Cobra specific problems. The unused lower bleeder screw pad hits the strut rod and limits total steering travel. In use, it isn't enough to be concerned about. To do over, I'd look at Baer 13" front & 12" rear that will fit 17's, but not 15's.

What would really look nice, would be the late Mustang Cobra R brakes used on 17" wheel late Mustangs that say COBRA on the side of the caliper.

Rears. Used SVO M-2300-C '79 up Mustang rear disk brake conversion kit. This is the '87-'89 T-Bird Turbo Coupe setup. Has single piston calipers, 10" rotors, doesn't change the rear wheel location, and includes a 4wdb master cylinder that bolts right up to the MII power brake booster, and brings the brake lines out on the engine side. (Although those 10 inch rotors look really small behind the 17" wheel.) TeamIII 9 1/2" w/ 5" backspacing. (Could have just centered the offset witth 4 3/4" too).

Tires are 275/40ZR17. Used Falken FK451's all around. (vulcantires.com, $495 for the set, including shipping) Runner up was Bridgestone RE730. (tirerack.com, $650 for the set).

Afterthoughts with a little over 3000 miles on them? Originality? No, but you wouldn't be building a CR if dead nutz originality was a concern. They do look like they belong there. They ride a little firmer than the 15's. But traction and handling is a whole nuther ballgame. Like night & day. You'll have to get on them a whole lot harder to make 'em smoke. There's no squealing in corners, car just goes where you point it. And if it starts to rain, you just keep on driving. I wouldn't put 15's back on after this.