Tire Rubbing.. Seeking suggestions..

[onefastmustang]

As you can see in the picture below my back wheels stick out a tad bit.. on a decent bump they bottom out into the fender oh so slightly.. I have a 93 Mustang GT rearend in there, Vintage wheels with a 4" offset and 295/50/15 tires. What would be suggested to be the easiest way to solve my rubbing issue??

[Mark Husar]

Take the tires off!!

[onefastmustang]

Hmmm.. Yah.. Lowrider..

[HI Cobra]

I had a similar problem with mine - I used a '85 Lincoln rearend and used
Halibrand wheels. It would almost bottom out on the right side on bridge
joints etc. Found out that shock was bad - but ended up getting some
coil over shocks from Don Scott and put those in - problem solved. I left
the original coil springs in too - the car rides fine for me. The shocks are
adjustible so you can put it where you want it.
Any problems with the front?, it looks close in the picture.
Good luck with it.

[RedBarchetta]

Do your Vintage wheel adapters use a spacer ring between the center adapter and the brake rotor? If yes, then eliminate the 1/2" spacer ring, cut down the wheel studs by the same amount and remount the wheel. You may have some minor clearance issues, which will necessitate machining the inner hubs a 1/4" around the circumference.

This mod works great on a Trigo set-up...look in my gallery and you can see what I'm talking about regarding the machining part. You gain an easy 1/2" this way and there should be enough meat on the inner hub of the wheel where the 1/4" less circumference won't matter and you won't be messing with the structural integrity of the rim. Measure twice and cut once. And of course, make sure you have 1/2" of clearance on the inside (wheel well, shocks, etc.). The SPFs have tons of room on the inside.

-Dean

[onefastmustang]

Originally Posted by HI Cobra

I had a similar problem with mine - I used a '85 Lincoln rearend and used
Halibrand wheels. It would almost bottom out on the right side on bridge
joints etc. Found out that shock was bad - but ended up getting some
coil over shocks from Don Scott and put those in - problem solved. I left
the original coil springs in too - the car rides fine for me. The shocks are
adjustible so you can put it where you want it.
Any problems with the front?, it looks close in the picture.
Good luck with it.

No problems in the front.. So you have the original springs plus the coilovers.. Thats interesting.. What weight springs are on the coilovers?? Are they pro-shocks?

[onefastmustang]

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

Do your Vintage wheel adapters use a spacer ring between the center adapter and the brake rotor? If yes, then eliminate the 1/2" spacer ring, cut down the wheel studs by the same amount and remount the wheel. You may have some minor clearance issues, which will necessitate machining the inner hubs a 1/4" around the circumference.

This mod works great on a Trigo set-up...look in my gallery and you can see what I'm talking about regarding the machining part. You gain an easy 1/2" this way and there should be enough meat on the inner hub of the wheel where the 1/4" less circumference won't matter and you won't be messing with the structural integrity of the rim. Measure twice and cut once. And of course, make sure you have 1/2" of clearance on the inside (wheel well, shocks, etc.). The SPFs have tons of room on the inside.

-Dean

No spacer ring on those.. But i did talk to vintage and they said I can safely have the wheel machined down a 1/4". I would need their shorter pins but that will increase the backspacing a bit.

[HI Cobra]

onefastmustang,
I just cleaned up the shock springs and shocks for our "Mustang Madness"
show here and they did say pro shocks (they are chromed) so I'm
guessing that is what they are. The bases are threaded and have a coller
that you can adjust the spring up or down. As far as rating - not sure. They
look similar to overloads that I had put on a pickup gave me an extra 500
lbs. The ride is firm but smooth and it doesn't bottom out ever. I also
have the heavy duty torsion bars too, so very little roll. Works for me.
I'm in Hawaii where they closed the only track so my driving is limited to
just cruising around Oahu, so at least I'm not breaking stuff!

[onefastmustang]

Originally Posted by HI Cobra

onefastmustang,
I just cleaned up the shock springs and shocks for our "Mustang Madness"
show here and they did say pro shocks (they are chromed) so I'm
guessing that is what they are. The bases are threaded and have a coller
that you can adjust the spring up or down. As far as rating - not sure. They
look similar to overloads that I had put on a pickup gave me an extra 500
lbs. The ride is firm but smooth and it doesn't bottom out ever. I also
have the heavy duty torsion bars too, so very little roll. Works for me.
I'm in Hawaii where they closed the only track so my driving is limited to
just cruising around Oahu, so at least I'm not breaking stuff!

Oh sure.. Rub it in... Hawaii.. hhehehe

Sounds like an idea.. how much space between the wheel arch and your tire??

[MaSnaka]

Hi Cobra,
I am about to install the coil overs from proshock. I noticed the spacers provided actually conflict with the top of the shock/spring housing. Did you have a similar situation with yours? I am also concerned with the existing shock mount now taking all the stress from the shock and spring. Leaving the old coil springs in place would help alleviate a lot of this extra stress, now I'm curious how running with two springs works. Is the shock now under rated for having two springs? I have also heard of the existing mounts bending. Thanks for your reply.
John

[HI Cobra]

I had a friend put them on (he actually built the car for me here) so I'm not
sure what he had to do. Looks to me like all he did was pull the old shocks
and put these on. I check everything for stuff bending, coming loose, etc.
so far no problems. I just talked to the builder - the pro-shocks on mine
just bolted right in. My CR was sent to me in '99 - don't think many changes
were made before Don Took it over. Hope this helps.

[tcrist]

MaSnaka,
I have the Pro Shocks that I got from Don. Mine have the spherical bearings on them. I had to put an 1/8 thick washer between the Alum spacer plate and the bearing to keep mine from touching. I also put an 1/8 thick spacer between the bolt head and the spherical bearing (I lasered them from 1/8 sst plate for a cleaner looking washer). I also changed the 5" to 6" bolt that came with the kit to a 3 1/2" bolt (for obvious reasons).

Terry

[MaSnaka]

Thanks Terry,
I will be diving into this project this weekend, hopefully. I was thinking of grinding a divot into the spacer to clear the shock body. It's round about 2" x 2" with tapered sides. I will look into the washer idea, and for sure the correct bolt lengths.
John

[cobraduke]

I've got an Excalibur with same frame and rear suspension as CR. I got the coil overs from Don and did the install. One important point for checking and modifying to eliminate any clearance issues between the mount spacers, axle and spring perches: check completely through the rear axle travel. The four link changes the pinion angle (rotates the axle) as it moves upward from it's unloaded hanging on a lift position to full compression. This causes the interference issues to become more of an issue, especially at the bottom. It also moves the axle forward slightly, which can cause less clearance or interference at the top. I thought I had plenty of clearance (checking at full extension, hanging) and almost destroyed the shocks due to side loading them when the lower perch/spring collar was hitting the axle housing on compression. You can check it by doing the install without the springs and using a jack to lift the axle with the car properly supported (on a lift or jack stands). Hope this helps you avoid any problems.

Mike