69 mach1 Wheel and tire size

[ThePoose 40]

This chart might help. I found it somewhere a while ago. Probably on this forum.

tirefitmentguide69-70.pdf

[Brian Conway 272]

Stock suspension, PDB/Drums rear, Shelby/Arning 1" drop, stock 14x6 wheels w/4.25" BS, 215/70/14.  Brian

[rwcstang 208]

On 3/11/2021 at 6:02 AM, 69RavenConv said:

It's a great idea - Dodgestang tried for years and finally gave up. Seems like the next guy always has a different wheel/tire/suspension setup than the last guy so it never ends.

agreed, I tried to base my wheel setup on this chart when I started to pick out wheels and tire combos, but soo many ppl had different set ups, its hard to collect that much data as every year a new kit would appear. 

Im happy with my setup 18x9/10 245/40 275/40 with SOT Front Coil Overs and Grab-A-Track 4.5 Mid Eye leafs with Vintage Venom's brake kit: 

 

 

[Brian Conway 272]

As back spacing is an important part of the equation it should be included with the spec's ?  Brian

[RPM 1,247]

10 hours ago, Brian Conway said:

As back spacing is an important part of the equation it should be included with the spec's ?  Brian

Yep, absolutely. 

[TexasEd 200]

I don't think I ever posted in this thread.

Wheels and Tires:

Coker Magnum 500 15x7 front, 15x8 rear

Cooper Cobra P235/60 R15 in front, P245/60 R15 in rear

Suspension Mods Sourced from Opentrackerracing :

1" UCA drop, 560 1" drop coil springs, 1/4" Poly coil spring insulators, 1 1/8" front sway bar kit, Roller spring perches, Standard Upper arms, Standard Lower arms, New Strut rod bushings, KYB Front shocks, Grab-A-Track rear shocks, 4.5 Mid eye 1" drop leaf springs with new U-Bolt, front eye bolt and rear shackle kit

[Kyle T 19]

   

I agonized over which wheels to buy for over a year when I realized I would  have to upgrade to fit rear disks.  Finally pulled the trigger.  17x8 in the front and 17x9.5 in the back with 

Front 17X8 245/45 4.5" BS  

Rear 17X9 285/40 5.5" BS

No fit issues and I love the new look.

Kyle 

 

[Brian Conway 272]

The wheel back space is pretty important info with the tire wheel combo you selected.   Did not think a 285 tire would fit.  Now I know.  Thanks for the post.  Brian

[RPM 1,247]

Your car looks great Kyle.

[jjstang 55]

Kyle. Can you post some more views of your car/wheels. It looks like what I’ve been thinking about but haven’t seen many examples. 

On 6/20/2021 at 5:29 AM, Kyle T said:

   

I agonized over which wheels to buy for over a year when I realized I would  have to upgrade to fit rear disks.  Finally pulled the trigger.  17x8 in the front and 17x9.5 in the back with 

Front 17X8 245/45 4.5" BS  

Rear 17X9 285/40 5.5" BS

No fit issues and I love the new look.

Kyle 

 

 

[Kyle T 19]

On 6/24/2021 at 1:23 AM, jjstang said:

Kyle. Can you post some more views of your car/wheels. It looks like what I’ve been thinking about but haven’t seen many examples. 

 

Well, ok but, I'm in Orlando and it may be a while before we get a break in the rain. 

The wheels are American Racing VN427P polished Shelby Cobra wheels.  They came at a premium but I decided I would only be buying once and I might as well buy exactly what I wanted.  I didn't want to be second guessing later because I cheapened out.  I think I made the right decision for a change.  :-)  

They are essentially Halibrand replica licensed by Shelby.  So period correct.  My car originally had the chrome sport wheels like Brian's (see above) and I wanted to keep the chrome look.  I don't think I ever saw polished Halibrand wheels until I saw the VN427P wheels.  I really like them.

Kyle T

[Kyle T 19]

[jjstang 55]

Oh ya that’s spot on. The sizes are perfect and polished is a must. Now I have to wrestle between those wheels or a traditional crager  look. That should give my silver jade the pop it needs. 

[lalojamesliz 56]

On 3/12/2021 at 8:05 AM, rwcstang said:

agreed, I tried to base my wheel setup on this chart when I started to pick out wheels and tire combos, but soo many ppl had different set ups, its hard to collect that much data as every year a new kit would appear. 

Im happy with my setup 18x9/10 245/40 275/40 with SOT Front Coil Overs and Grab-A-Track 4.5 Mid Eye leafs with Vintage Venom's brake kit: 

 

 

I'm really loving the look you have on your 69. I have the same car. Are you running spacers? Do you remember the backspacing and offset and whatever else I need to know to order the same wheels?

[rwcstang 208]

15 hours ago, lalojamesliz said:

I'm really loving the look you have on your 69. I have the same car. Are you running spacers? Do you remember the backspacing and offset and whatever else I need to know to order the same wheels?

this is the current set up I have:

Brakes: I have an old brake kit called Vintage Venom 13" Cobra front and rear, they are no longer in business. however, running modern wheels you will need to run a spacer but that varies depending on if your brake setup retains the original track width. I've seen ppl use 1" - 1.5"  spacers for the front and 1/2 spacers for the rear. again, I would take measurements before pulling the trigger. 

Wheels: 99-04 18x9/10 Fr500s from Americanmuscle.com 

18x9: https://www.americanmuscle.com/mustang-fr500-style-solid-black-wheel-18x9-28474g94.html

18x10: https://www.americanmuscle.com/mustang-fr500-style-solid-black-wheel-18x10-rear-only-28477.html

Tires: Bfgoodrich sport comp2 245/40/18 (Front) 275/40/18 - they are quite robust and might rub, so you might need to roll your fenders, after I did this it never gave me an issue.

Since im going with more power with the 408w, ill be changing tires and going with Michelins SS or Falken azenis rt615k+ to get a little more grip. 

Good Luck with your build! 

 

[Vicfreg 791]

Front: 17" x 8" Foose Knuckle,  4.5" Backspace - 245/45R17 - BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2

Rear: 18" x 9.5" Foose Knuckle, 5.5" Backspace - 275/40-18 - BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2

 

[Len69Coupe 33]

Front 17X8 245/45 0° offset 

Rear 17X9.5 275/40 0° offset

Stock suspension with no rubbing anywhere. Edit: I did roll the fenders.

Got it back on the road last Friday after a 9 year resto.

[rwcstang 208]

Very nice, @Len69Coupe congrats on the completion.

Hoping to get mine back on the road again. awaiting an engine to be delivered.

[Rich Ackermann 174]

Just adding my two cents to this thread...

I found that modern tire design and brands, such Nitto do not make many,  if any performance tires below 17 inch diameter. On my 70 Mach 1 M-code, I went with 17 US Mags Bandit rims and Nitto NT555 G2s. I have factory height big block constant 640 lbs rated coil springs up front with Global West suspension and a 1" Shelby drop (upper Arm Control). Global West Plus 3 upper arms have 3 degrees of positive caster built into them. This will eliminate the need to pull the lower arm so far forward in order to get the optimal alignment.

In the rear I have stock height 138 lbs rated/Competition Handling Eaton rear springs and an aftermarket 1" rear sway bar. The US Mags Bandit front 17x 8 with a 1 Offset and 4.54 backspace with Nitto NT555 G2 245 x 45 tires. The rear US Mags Bandit front 17x 9 with a 8 Offset and 5.31 backspace with a big Nitto NT555 G2 275 x 50 tires.

I prefer the look of a larger width and height rear tire. I did have to roll my rear fender lips. I also lightly rolled the front fender lips too, but I don't think I needed to.

[69RavenConv 305]

Our cars were designed for 14" and 15" rims and in my opinion it's hard to make modern rims look "right" on our cars. The wheel wells and rocker height aren't "right" for bigger wheels. Len69Coupe and Rich Ackerman pulled it off really well.

[dbmac 22]

I went with 18x8.5 front with 245/45, and 18x10 rear with 275x40. The diameter is the same on both so the sidewall heights are equal. It is dead flat. I think it comes down to whether you like historic/stock or updated/modern. Both are fine, just pick what you like. Lots of the TV customizations go with bigger wheels and really thin tires, I always thought the thinner stuff like 35xs didn't look right on classic muscle. Plus they ride like skateboard wheels, hard as a rock. The 18's clear the upper and lower ball joint in the front so you can run a little more back spacing. I rolled the fenders all the way around to avoid shredding tires. They don't rub on most stuff in and out of driveways, etc.  Post a pic of what you end up with !

Oh yeah its dropped 2" in back and 1.5 in front. I don't like "air" between the fender and tires. ;-)

 

[Blue70coupe 2]

What offset are you all running? I'm having an issue, as i have the 17x7 with 0 offset American Racing Torque Thrust rims with 2 spacers on the rear wheels. Long story short, my car shakes like the wheels are off balance anytime I go over 60 mph. I took the my coupe to a local tire shop who told me that my wheels are balanced, that its the spacers that are causing the shaking/vibration I feel. Has anyone else ha this issue or any solutions?

[RPM 1,247]

With stock suspension I think you want at least 4½" back space on the front, not sure on rear, but you can run much more. I don't have stock suspension, so...

[aslanefe 346]

On 8/25/2022 at 12:50 PM, Blue70coupe said:

What offset are you all running? I'm having an issue, as i have the 17x7 with 0 offset American Racing Torque Thrust rims with 2 spacers on the rear wheels. Long story short, my car shakes like the wheels are off balance anytime I go over 60 mph. I took the my coupe to a local tire shop who told me that my wheels are balanced, that its the spacers that are causing the shaking/vibration I feel. Has anyone else ha this issue or any solutions?

Are your spacers and wheels hub centric? Tire may be balanced when put on the balance machine but if it does not sit hub centric on the axle, it can crate vibration.

[foot 1]

I have 18x9 torq thrust 5 bs 285/35/18 rear.  18x8 4.5 bs front 255/35/18 front.