Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralGuy  Hey all, I just started autocrossing with my mustang! It's pretty awesome stuff, but I've got a bit of a problem with my wheel/tires.
Previous owner of the car decided they liked 16'' pony wheels more than the 15s it probably came with stock. When they did this though, they did not adjust the tire aspect ratio or what have you at all, so I have 225/60 16 tires when it was ment to come with 225/60 15 tires. So, my tires are too large, and rub alot, have a tendency to roll on the sidewall even after added pressure, and are made of the hardest compound known to man.
I don't really want to get rid of them, as their larger size is probably accounting for some of my reasonable fuel economy, plus they have loads of tread left. So the plan is to get a spare set of rims and some high performance tires. However, I do not want to spend silly amounts on rims seeing as how I plan to do a 5 lug conversion on it at some point, probably next year.
So, to the question: What is a good set of cheap wheels to get? Junkyard seemed to have some "10 hole" rims from a similar year mustang, but wanted about 50-70 bucks a pop for them. Does this seem like alot per wheel from a junkyard, or is it reasonable? Should I buy new, and if so, what can I get for a 4 lug mustang? Last question would be does anyone know of some good sticky rubber? Im not looking for autocross only tires (id like to retain streetability should emergency call for it), but good high performance tires would be nice.
Thanks in advance for any advice, even just the lug pattern on Foxbodys would be nice! |
Check into new rims. I have seen rims on Discount Tire that are hardly over $100. Just go to Discount Tires web site and follow the instuction on how to see wheels. You can even see what they look like on your car.
If you are looking for some sticky rubber that won't be scary in the rain and have decent long life (you won't be getting 50K out of them, thats for sure).
I like the BFG Comp TA KDW's, The "W" is for water. The standard KD's don't cut through the watter as well. That being said I am running the regular KD's and they have been holding up great.
I have not tried but I have read and been told that the Nitto Roadrace rubber (I can't remember the tires name, but they only have a few tires and most of them are drag radials, shouldn't be too hard to find them)
Set some coin aside for brakes. You don't need to go crazy with them. You could run the stock ones with good Hawk pads, good fluid and remove the heat shields. The next step in brake performance would be to get discs in the rear and put some Cobra calipers and rotors on the front. They are not terribly expensive.
And on a side note completely gut your car. I had a $hitpile of a 83 5.0 that I got for $1500 with 69 302 heads, decent cam, dual plane manifold, good Holly carb, full length headders, etc, etc, etc. On top of that I removed every bit of the car that didn't make it drive down the road. I was cutting bolts short, I stripped all of the carpet, weather stripping, undercoating, ac and heat vents behind the dash, heater core, and much much more. The car was so light it was silly. I won a lot of races with that car because it was so light. I doubt it made more than 250rwhp. I put a set of slicks on it once and launched it for the first time side stepping the clutch pedal. The car hooked up so well I almost forgot to grab second. I ended up running a 12.50 or close to it at 108-110mph. And to top it all off my buddies got a picture of it pulling both wheels on launch.
I don't think I spent more than $500 and the money for the NOS kit I put on it in the three years I had it. That car and my 03 Cobra have a special place in my heart
1989 Mustang GT, just started autocrossing, got some tire tech questions 
