Hi Freddie,
Glad to contribute to the confusion, er, clear up a few points
The Capital Area Cobra Club meets at the Vienna Inn on Rte 123 near Tyson's Corner every Saturday at 8 AM - it is called the "grease-up" for reasons which are obvious after you've experienced their cuisine.
You are most welcome to join in if you happen to be around.
The web site for the DC area club is
Capital Area Cobra Club
and it has members from all over the DC/VA/MD area, including a temp from Louisiana and an NC deserter.
My wheels are:
Front: 17 x 9.5, 5.5" back spacing
Rear: 17 x 11, 4.75" backspacing
Bolt Circle: 5 on 4.75 (Jag or uh, Chevy)
The backspace can be a little bit misleading as it is entirely dependent on the dimensions of both the suspension
and the body.
Case in point: my front hubs are made by Baer specifically for their bigger brakes and are 0.3" narrower per side than the stock Mustang II pieces that are widely used. This translates directly into .3" less back space needed per side than the "norm".
The rear uses 3.8S/420G Jag wishbones and axles. These are wider than the XKE and narrower than the XJ. So if you have an XKE rear, you'd need different back spacing than I use.
Also, the seat buckets in the E-M body determine how far inward the tires can be placed, restricting tire width.
Having said all that ("all them caveats!"), I actually have two sets of wheels.
The ones in the photos in my gallery are Compomotives and are shod with Michelin Pilots, 275/40-17 front and 315/35-17 rear.
The other set which cost a
lot less and looks just as good
are identical in specification and will be used for the track. They are made by Team III Wheels, their model ACIII, and are shod with exactly the same size tires in Kumho brand Victoracer V700s ("stickies", not for extended street use, although they are DOT legal).
As to braking on the track or under emergency conditions, I'd surmise greater than 90% is done by the fronts. As a laugh (well a stressful laugh) when I really got on the brakes at the track, the rear shocks being too short tried to lift the rear end off the ground and very nearly succeeded
See if you can warn us, er, let us know if you can make the "grease-up". We'd enjoy your company I'm sure.
Regards,
Tom