TXblueSS

Mods please let me know if this is the wrong area for this.

Hi, I'm Tim.
I recently bought a 95 Mustang GT 5.0 5-speed (My first mustang), as a bit of a cheapish toy/project. I am throwing around the idea of trying out autocross, and will be setting the car up to handle a few curves.
I am keeping this fairly low budget if possible, but still want a nice driver when I finish. When I bought the car, it had some rough 16 inch rims with some rougher tires, as well as some severe lowering springs in the front. I decided 17s were the way to go for better handling, and bought a set of 03 Cobra 17s from a kid parting out his 03 GT. I didn't realize they all were 10 inchers, I thought the fronts were 8-9" until I got them home (don't ask, it was HOT!!! outside).
Question 1: Will the 17x10s work in the front without major rubbing? I have already ordered stock front springs, new struts, and poly bushings for the front to put it back to stock height. I picked up some shorty headers last night. Next order is for poly sway bar bushings and end links, and I definitely need an exhaust. Anything else I should look into handling-wise?
Question 2: any issues to watch out for in these cars, weak points, etc?
Thanks in advance

GT Nate

the fun part is the math... figuring out how deep the wheel goes back from the backspacing of the rim. If you know the back spacing of the OEM wheel you can determine how much additional length the 10" would be towards the engine bay.

I did it by drawing on some paper the OEM compared to the wheel I wanted... gives you a visual on how much deeper the new wheel will be. Keep in mind the tire sidewall budge might add an additional 1/2"

Good luck

TXblueSS

Thanks for the help. I feel kinda dumb, but I was measuring wrong. The wheels are all 17x9, and it looks like I'm in the clear as far as rubbing.

wbrockstar

Aftermarket 03-04 Cobra "STYLE" rims are oftentimes available in a 17×10 size,but the oem Cobra rims are indeed 17×9 in size.I believe the rims have a +26mm offset too.

JFYI-**If the rim has no tire and you are viewing it with the rim turned sideways (i.e.- you can only see the portion of the rim where the tire sits and not the front*street side* or rear*brake side* portion of the rim) offset refers to the location of the rims hub mounting surface.If the hub is in the middle/center of the rim,when viewing it from the side,it has a 0 offset.If it has a + offset,the hub will be located more to the street side of the rim.A - offset will put the hub more to the brake side of the rim. The following link details this.
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech...&affiliate=TX3

Offset is just as important as width,when trying to avoid tire rub against the body or suspension/ exhaust components.Glad you got the correct size.

TXblueSS

Thanks, That helps a lot.

drhoward

I have 9.5" 03-04 cobras on the front of my 94 with 245 wide tires and I've never had them rub, mine is lowered as well so you should be good.

99GTvert

I've got 03-04 Cobra wheels on the 99 with 275 on the front. When I'm at a full lock on the steering wheel (so all the way left or right), the tires do rub. I move slowly so to keep any damage at a minimum. What size are the tires on the new wheels?

TXblueSS

They are 275 40. I will need new tires soon, and was thinking 245 45 for the front to be safe.
Thanks again for the info.