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Ok so I have 17 inch wheels on my car and the widths are 215 all around
The shop my car is at informed me that the reason my car wants to steer to the right and goes everywhere when i let go of the wheel is because my front wheels are too wide (at speeds of 50+ mph)
He said the only tires he found that would fix the wheel on the problem are an inch thinner and that they would not work out on the front wheels.
I am not sure the width of my wheels but I do know that the 215 on it still allows the actually wheel to hang over
What do you guys think on less width wheels being my only solution to the problem??
Because to be honest I rather find a cheaper solution then 2 new wheels and new tires
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It really sounds like they are hitting somewhere. Is it rubbing anywhere on the inner fender? During turns? If it is, there is a tool that is made to correct this by flairing out your wheel well walls out just a tad.. The tool is made so you can add tired just slightly larger than that intended for the mustang. If it is bottoming out against the top of the wheel well, then you need to adjust the ride height in order to keep the tires.
Look for scuff marks inside the wheel wells, inner walls where it could touch the inside of the outer fender. Also the inside roof of the wheel well. Check for clearance with the wheels turned (don't raise the car).. you may even want to "bounce" the front end of your car while the wheels are turned to check and see if they are touching anything.
If this is the problem then the tool is real simple, takes a few minutes with the tire off. There is actually a forum member who bought one recently for the same thing and posted earlier this week that he is renting it out to other Mustang owners or selling it cheaper than it cost him.
Most of all, ask the technician why it is doing this. It might not only damage your new tires(blowout), but the car as well and could be dangerous to you. You need to find the problem and fix it. I wouldn't be driving it at 50mph anywhere with that problem! Don't let this one go to save a buck.
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Ed - 64 Coupe I6 170ci
20 years late getting my dream car, but my son driving it to his high school is just as wonderful!
Make sure that the wheels are sitting flush against the mounting surface when bolted to the car. I have seen some that would hit the shoulder of the wheel studs that were sticking through a little bit not allowing the wheel to sit completely flush all the way around.
Another thought is to make sure they are balanced properly. A big imbalance will cause a big enough vibration for the front end to shimmy when you let go of the wheel.
Like 2+2GT said, that tire size won't make your car drive poorly. I run 225/45/17's up front and my car steers great.
My guess, is it's going to be due to the alignment. If you took it to a shop and had them do a stock alignment, the car will feel very twitchy and want to wonder a lot at highway speeds. If this sounds like what you are experiencing, go back and have the alignment set to the performance specifications:
The original stock alignment setting for '64 - '66 Mustangs are:
Caster: -0.5*
Camber: -0.5*
Toe-In: 9/32"
The Performance alignment settings for the "Shelby" drop are:
Caster: +1.5° to +2.5°
Camber: 0 to -.5°
Toe: 1/8"
The biggest difference being in the Caster setting. A positive Caster setting will help the car to track straighter and return to center more quickly after a corner. The easiest way to describe it would be to think of a bicycle and angle of the front wheel fork. If the fork that connects the handle bars to the front wheel were to be straight up and down (0 degrees Caster) you would constantly need to steer to keep the bike going in a straight line. Now if the front fork were installed at an angle (think chopper - Positive Caster), you could take your hands off of the handle bars and the bike would continue to track in a straight line.
The alignment is off. If they are unaware that cars built with bias ply tires had different specs than did cars with radial tires, then take it somewhere else. A 215 tire is not going to be that much of a problem. I have run 285s on the front and it doesnt do that. If they have the toe and camber set for bias ply tires, it is going to wander all over the place, because radials drive differently.
Aligning an old Mustang is a bit more involved than the newer cars that are toe and go, and just maybe the guy they have doing alignments is unaware of the adjustments on the older cars. Its like finding a guy who knows carbs, its a rare thing to find someone who actually knows how to fix and tune the old stuff.
The alignment is off. If they are unaware that cars built with bias ply tires had different specs than did cars with radial tires, then take it somewhere else. A 215 tire is not going to be that much of a problem. I have run 285s on the front and it doesnt do that. If they have the toe and camber set for bias ply tires, it is going to wander all over the place, because radials drive differently.
Aligning an old Mustang is a bit more involved than the newer cars that are toe and go, and just maybe the guy they have doing alignments is unaware of the adjustments on the older cars. Its like finding a guy who knows carbs, its a rare thing to find someone who actually knows how to fix and tune the old stuff.
All true. I have 205's on stock rims, on a 66. 215/15's would look stock on a 67-70.
Wheel alignment on a 64-66 is done with spacers on the upper arm. Lotta places don't even have one guy who knows how to do that, now. Then add radial tires and a 1" relocation of the upper arm, and they are really lost.
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Wheels causing car to jump all over
