Fordnatics List Archive

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Mail From: (email redacted) (DAVID S ZECKHAUSEN)

Scott,

I got my name on the waiting list yesterday for the SVO M-2300-K brake kit.
The price is $1100. Thanks for saving me a hell of a lot of money.
Now I can afford to do it right and get a set of 17" wheels.

A local (but big) wheel distributer can get me a set of take-off 17"
1993 Cobra wheels. Are these wheels exceptional in any way or should
I be looking for different 17" wheels? I plan to use the Cobra wheels
on the street and get something wider (and lighter?) for the track.
Any idea what a good price would be for Cobra wheels?
Do you know what tire size came stock on the 1993 Cobra?

Dave Zeckhausen
(email redacted)
(201) 761-8743

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Mail From: "Jeff Kinnard" <(email redacted)>

Dave,

You won't be able to use the 1993 Cobra wheels, they are 4 lug.
You could use 1993 Cobra R wheels, they are the same wheel as
the 6 spoke 17" wheel on the '94-'95 mustang, which are all 5 lug.

Jeff


On Feb 28, 7:04am, DAVID S ZECKHAUSEN wrote:
> Subject: 1993 Cobra wheels
> Scott,
>
> I got my name on the waiting list yesterday for the SVO M-2300-K brake kit.
> The price is $1100. Thanks for saving me a hell of a lot of money.
> Now I can afford to do it right and get a set of 17" wheels.
>
> A local (but big) wheel distributer can get me a set of take-off 17"
> 1993 Cobra wheels. Are these wheels exceptional in any way or should
> I be looking for different 17" wheels? I plan to use the Cobra wheels
> on the street and get something wider (and lighter?) for the track.
> Any idea what a good price would be for Cobra wheels?
> Do you know what tire size came stock on the 1993 Cobra?
>
> Dave Zeckhausen
> (email redacted)
> (201) 761-8743
>-- End of excerpt from DAVID S ZECKHAUSEN

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Eugene Y C Chu <(email redacted)>

Dave Zeckhausen asked:

>A local (but big) wheel distributer can get me a set of take-off 17"
>1993 Cobra wheels. Are these wheels exceptional in any way or should
>I be looking for different 17" wheels? I plan to use the Cobra wheels
>on the street and get something wider (and lighter?) for the track.
>Any idea what a good price would be for Cobra wheels?
>Do you know what tire size came stock on the 1993 Cobra?

The standard tires that came with the Cobras were 255/45/17, I think the
same size as the Corvette front tires. Kind of makes me wonder how they
managed to fit them under the fenders. My stock 225/60/15 Skatorbacks
already rub those plastic inner fender on turns. Just doing a first
order approximation, the Cobra tires would be about .4" taller and 1.2"
wider. Add the fact that the lower profile tires tend to have more
square profiles, further extending their reach into the body parts.
Do the 1994 Cobras have wider fenders than the 1993 and before models?

The benefits of the new brakes/wheel/tire change sounds like somethings
I might want on my car some day, but I hope I can work out the fitment
problems. I'm also curious as to the price of those take-off wheels.
I've checked a couple of tire and wheel sources, and you simply can't
get "plain" 17" wheels; they're all fancy alloys with fancy price tags.

eyc

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: (email redacted)

>should I be looking for different 17" wheels?
the brake kit is 5 lug, and the wheels are 4 lug. the '94-5 wheels should fit

>Any idea what a good price would be for Cobra wheels?
i have seen them advertised for $200 ea.

>Do you know what tire size came stock on the 1993 Cobra?
245 45 17. i think the wheels are 17x7.5

jim bixby
(email redacted)

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Mail From: (email redacted)

Dave Zeckhausen writes:

>>Do you know what tire size came stock on the 1993 Cobra?<<

P245 ZR45 17's.

-Tom Steele

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Mail From: (email redacted)

(email redacted) writes:

>>Any idea what a good price would be for Cobra wheels?
>i have seen them advertised for $200 ea.

Where - this is a good price - have you seen what ford gets for these wheels?
I am told $600-700 each.

-Tom

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Mail From: (email redacted)

Eugene Y C Chu writes:

>>The standard tires that came with the Cobras were 255/45/17, I think the
same size as the Corvette front tires.<<

This is incorrect - they are 245/45/17's. I have one.

-Tom

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Mail From: "Jeff Kinnard" <(email redacted)>

On Feb 28, 12:40pm, murpda00 wrote:
> Subject: Re: 1993 Cobra wheels
> Why are these wheels 4 lug? I was always told that the higher-torque
> engines required more strength in the wheel setup, hence the 65 Stangs
> with sixes only having 4 lug wheels and the 289's had 5 lugs. Also a lot
> (I dare say all) econoboxes have 4 lug wheels because they're four
> cylinders and don't need that support. So back to my point, why would a
> hi-po car like the Cobra have a 4 lug wheel with a 250+ lb-ft V-8?
> Dan
>-- End of excerpt from murpda00

Good question......

Ford has been skimping on the lugs for quite a while now. I guess
it started in 1979 when the fox-bodied mustang first appeared. With
a 120-odd hp (gasp) 302, 4 lugs were enough. The problem is, through
the years the 302 grew some horsepower, hence the Cobra having the
most HPs of them all, but it is still a version of that 1979 mustang.
Ford never spent the money to put 5 lugs on the original fox mustang.
They have since fitted the 94-95 mustangs with them, which I'm sure
you know. I guess it is just an example of how a car with a very
long production life can outgrow it's original intent. Luckily
SVO has provided us with some nice 5 lug big brake conversions over
the years.


Jeff

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Mail From: "Jeff Kinnard" <(email redacted)>

On Feb 28, 10:46am, Eugene Y C Chu wrote:
> Subject: Re: 1993 Cobra wheels
> Dave Zeckhausen asked:
>

(stuff deleted)

> Do the 1994 Cobras have wider fenders than the 1993 and before models?

Big time!!!! They can easily swallow up 275-17" front, and at least
285-17" in the rear, maybe 315s. The problem then becomes stressing
out the stock chassis/suspension. I would say some serious stiffening
of the chassis and susp. components would be in order.

>
> The benefits of the new brakes/wheel/tire change sounds like somethings
> I might want on my car some day, but I hope I can work out the fitment
> problems. I'm also curious as to the price of those take-off wheels.
> I've checked a couple of tire and wheel sources, and you simply can't
> get "plain" 17" wheels; they're all fancy alloys with fancy price tags.

The stock 17" wheels off any 94-95 mustang will fit on a 93-older mustang
with a 5 lug conversion kit. The 93 Cobra R is a perfect example.


Jeff

>
> eyc
>-- End of excerpt from Eugene Y C Chu

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Mail From: (email redacted) (Brian Kelley)


Eugene Chu writes:

> The standard tires that came with the Cobras were 255/45/17, I think the
> same size as the Corvette front tires.

They downsized the 'vette front tires a couple of years ago. The performance
handling package still has the 270-40-17 on 17x9.5" wheels.

> Kind of makes me wonder how they
> managed to fit them under the fenders. My stock 225/60/15 Skatorbacks
> already rub those plastic inner fender on turns.

Plastic liner? Not! Maybe if I was running a mud bog event..

> Just doing a first
> order approximation, the Cobra tires would be about .4" taller and 1.2"
> wider. Add the fact that the lower profile tires tend to have more
> square profiles, further extending their reach into the body parts.
> Do the 1994 Cobras have wider fenders than the 1993 and before models?

The '94 and later Mustangs do have more clearance, but that doesn't
prevent you from running the larger wheels on earlier cars.

For example, the '95 Cobra R wheels fit quite nicely on a '88 (though
a slightly different offset is required). Those are 17x9's with
270-40-17's. You have to tuck the inner fender lips and you may have
to pull the fender just a little, but it shouldn't even be noticable.

I think you can even fit them with the plastic liner, assuming you
backoff when you hear it rubbing while parking. The Mustang has a
lousy turning radius, even in stock form. Of course I couldn't care
less, but my priorities may be different. Surprisingly, my F-150 does
Much better.

Because there are so many competition 'vettes, plenty of good quality,
affordable used tires are available in that 270-40-17 size. The
smaller 255-45-17 and 245-40-17 are much less common.

Brian


- ---
(email redacted)