87 Fox Wheel/Brake Setup

**50Dro** · 06-22-2010, 11:16 AM

I have been reading some info on here and other places on the net concerning 5 lug swap and 18" wheel fitment, but I wanted to ask some very pointed questions based on my specific scenario...Here's what I'm looking to do...

Basically a stock 87 GT suspension with Motorsport (now Ford Racing) lowering springs...nothing too slammed.

The wheels I plan to go with (I basically already have them)

Front: 18x9 http://www.americanmuscle.com/verde-...set-94-04.html

Rear: 18x10 http://www.americanmuscle.com/black-...ort-18x10.html

Rear setup: I was going to simply go with 28 spline axles (used) and get new 9" drums from a Ranger.

I've seen people use 285/35 tires on these wheels (295 max) on a Fox. Good tire size? Will I need to remove or flip my quadra-shocks? Roll the quarters? Message the inner wells?

Also...What options do I have if I want to go with a rear disk setup later?

Front setup: I've seen this done a few different ways...

Lincoln Mk VII rotors and need to use 1/4-1/2" spacers. How do these spacers affect fitment in the well?
Use 94-95 SN95 setup. This seems to be the favorite option with no need for spacers etc.
Use 96+ setup. I've heard that there are restrictions here due to an 8mm wider track. Will I still be able to fit the 9" wheels in there if I use this setup? Especially considering the smaller wheel opening of the 87...

Also...I haven't heard much on the difference in performance on the 3 stock front brake system choices...Any pros & cons there?

Tire wise...I've seen anywhere from 255's to 275's on the 9" wheel...Thoughts there?

Tie rods: I've seen some discussion on the need for bumpsteer kits, but some say they're not needed...

Sorry for the long post! I'm hoping some of you could shed some light on my situation after having gone through it yourself?

Thanks!

**50Dro** · 06-23-2010, 09:22 AM

Anyone have light to shed here or links to further info that might help me?

**wick** · 06-23-2010, 11:49 AM

You will never fit a 10 on it with being lowered. 9 in the front is a stretch and will rub. Your rear lips will need rolled for sure. The best bet here is to find a salvage yard car and get the rear axles and brake set up and the same for the front. With a stock k member you don't have to get a bumpsteer kit. You will never really notice it. You can buy the rear cables from summit too.

**wick** · 06-23-2010, 11:54 AM

Oh, you need a 94-95 car too.

**jaa55** · 06-23-2010, 12:11 PM

we are running a 10 inch on a lowered fox with with fox length axles. Id have to measure the backspacing but I can tell you it does fit and doesnt rub.
its a 17" saleen replica wheel. the fronts are 17x9s

**jaa55** · 06-23-2010, 12:16 PM

and its worth mentioning the quad shocks are still on the car

**50Dro** · 06-23-2010, 12:56 PM

Thanks guys!

Looking at the Saleen wheels at American Muscle, it looks like the fronts have the same offset but the rears are slightly different (looked at the 18" versions though...). I have located a 94-95 front setup and some axles so I should be good with some lip rolling? I've seen lots of foxes lowered and on 18's...I'm not sure why it couldn't be done with the right setup (offset, backspacing, track width, etc)? Let me know if I'm missing something...

**Martin0660** · 06-23-2010, 01:19 PM

The simple answer is that a 275 is about the widest tire the easily fits on the rear of a Fox. Once you go past that, you start to get into little variances in the cars that fender lips, quad shocks, and tail pipes all COULD become issues.

As was said, many guys get more tire under there, but most of them have some nuance to them, and I've seen wider fall right on, while some guys have issues with anything wider than a 275.

**50Dro** · 06-23-2010, 02:37 PM

Jaa55: What size tire are you running on the rear? Are your wheels 17x10 or 17x10.5? For some reason, it appears that the 17's (at least the ones I looked at) go straight to 10.5...

**jaa55** · 06-23-2010, 09:36 PM

They are a 10 inch wheel, they might have been discontinued, they were from american muscle but i know when i ordered center caps for the fronts they were larger, the customer rep said the older wheels had smaller center caps which they did. They are MT ET Streets and they are a 275/40

**50Dro** · 10-11-2010, 03:37 PM

Well...It worked!! The front is definitely tight but after rolling it should be OK. Tight turns coupled with abrupt bumps could get tricky. I couldn't be happier with the look! Here's some pics:

DSCF8445.jpg

DSCF8446.jpg

DSCF8448.jpg

DSCF8449.jpg

**venom** · 10-11-2010, 04:26 PM

Awesome. I'm going with the same size, so its cool to see it work for someone locally.

**50Dro** · 10-11-2010, 04:31 PM

Thanks! I'd be glad to show it to you in person if you think it would help? How local are you? Are you doing this to the 93 Cobra in the pic? if so, the rear could be an issue as the track is different on them by around .75" on each side. I think the front rotors are different too (track-wise). Just do your homework and you'll be OK. There's lots of info out there. Let me know if I can help!

**venom** · 10-11-2010, 04:52 PM

I'll have to hit you up sometime...it would just be cool just to check it out. I'm in Robinson. I'll be swapping everything on my cobra.

**50Dro** · 10-11-2010, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by venom

I'll have to hit you up sometime...it would just be cool just to check it out. I'm in Robinson. I'll be swapping everything on my cobra.

Sure...Let me know...We're not too far away from each-other...At least you wont have to change the booster, M/C (depending on what front setup you go with), and e-brake cables...This project has filled my skull with a bunch of useless (kidding of course) knowledge.

If you go with 94-95 spindles with 13" Cobra setup up front you'll be golden. The rears you could go with the M-2300m kit but you'll have a wider track than me so you'd have to adjust the offset accordingly. What wheels were you considering? I may have axles for you if you're keeping the wider track width?