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265+ width tires on boxes?

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    265+ width tires on boxes?

    In the quest for greater cornering and braking, I think it's time to discuss wider than 255 section tires front and rear. Walk me though exactly what has to go on here. I'm not interested in '03+ frame swaps; Ebyt's frame is straight and solid. I know that suspension clearance under full lock is going to be an issue- the guys that did my alignment said that 255 is about as wide as I can safely run on Ebyt without needing to widen the wheels and limit steering angle. Rubbing under full compression is not an issue, likely due to the ground clearance these cars have even when slightly lowered like Ebyt is.

    I'm thinking to allow for wider tires (ideally 285/45/R17 at all four corners), we need to somehow move the wheels outboard from their mounting points without weakening anything. I'm not interested in spacers or adapters. We also really can't change the offset and/or backspacing of the wheels because then they won't fit the big brake spindles, much less the rest of the rest of the surface. Basically do what Ford did in '03 but do so the hard way. I know of a couple high end chassis shops that make custom full frames for the more typical pro touring cars (Camaro, Mustang, Challenger) that I'm sure could help but I'd rather not venture too far away from my immediate area. Plus the whole logistics of shipping a car/airfare back to town in order to not miss work, etc. etc.

    In other words, could a dedicated race shop that does custom roll cages and the like handle this? Or is this something requiring a specialist? Because money isn't a huge object here. I'm looking to spend some $6500 on upgrading Ebyt next year and it's either going to be an experimental wider wheel/tire combo or chassis bracing & roll cage. Believe me, I know you have to pay to play once you've exhausted bolt ons and parts bin robbery. Shit, a full set 285/40/R17 max performance summer tires are $900 on tire rack! (Yes the profile is a bit low for my liking but if it means not shelling out for custom tires I'd seriously consider it; I have a similar issue with there not being any readily available tires that fit my needs that fit on 16 inch wheels).

    Thoughts? Anybody go this far with wheels and tires?
    '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
    '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
    '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

    #2
    Probably the most cost effective would be to see exactly what can be fit if you absolutely maximize the currently available space with a perfect rim diameter, width, backspacing/offset, and tire size.

    There is an adjustable wheel mock up kit you can buy, but I think I’d start with an aftermarket wheel of the desired diameter with a large offset like the modern era Mustang, and mount your desired tire size on there (probably get a really used one cheap from a tire shop). Then play with spacer assortments. The you can see what’s there, and maybe order a custom wheel with the perfect setup.

    As far as the steering angle, IMO you can limit that to help. Compared to a fox chassis, these cars turn on a dime. Losing some of that angle would make parking a bit more plan ahead, but still 100% fine for driving.

    If the desired results can’t be accomplished with the above, I think you’d need to look into a custom frame job.
    1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
    1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

    GMN Box Panther History
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      #3
      Shoot, 20mm+ wider doesn't seem like that huge of hurdle when you put it that way. Best to do some exploratory surgery before diving in getting custom control arms, spindles, etc. If we don't need to go that far down the rabbit hole. And there's other ways to save some money. Shit, I may even be able to have my 16s widened depending on results of the exploration. And the idea to check clearance with a junk tire of comparable width is awesome; I guarantee the speed shop that does cages has some 265+/xx/R16or17 tires on hand for checking clearance on cars. I'm confident they can do the exploratory surgery at the bare minimum- considering they'll be all up inside Ebyt (lewd!) for the cage next summer it wouldn't be a huge addition to the bottom line to have them do tire research. Thanks mang!

      Can't help but think of broader scale and concepts since we're here. There's got to be a reason behind why you don't see cars running 16x11 or 17x10/17x11 at all four corners commonly. Is it really just down to ease of cost amortization by OEM and/or aftermarket? I know money matters but sheesh considering how much better these cars drive with 245/255s at all four corners I'm shocked OEMs didn't pursue this more aggressively during the production run or at least offer it as an option.
      Last edited by Hearsesrock427; 08-09-2020, 10:58 AM.
      '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
      '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
      '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

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        #4
        I'm pretty happy with the way my turd drives on the 255/50/17s all around but with the 347 going in soon, i've been toying with getting a set of 9.5" wide wheels for the rear. Only problem is that there's really no good option for a 27" tall tire that's wider but will still fit. Super annoying.

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