Wheels and Tyres.

[Enoch]

I am a bit confused Nothing new there but I think some of you may be able to help.
I read in a post somewhere on here that you had to use 15 inch wheels as the standard Sierra wheels foul the rear upright assembly. This seems a bit strange as there does not seem to be any mention of this in the book.
Can anyone state categorically that the standard Sierra alloys will fit?
I have just bought a Sierra with an option on a second set of wheels but don't want to buy em if they wont fit.
Any inoput very much appreciated.
Enoch.

You need 15" wheels as the rear lower arms foul on 14's

[mark]

My chassis is rolling around on the original 14" steel wheels but the bolt in the bottom wishbone is extremely close to the inner of the rim.

They are on though without them catching but i wouldnt be comfortable driving with so little clearance.

Most people will want to fit 15" or larger alloys anyway.

[Enoch]

Hmm, that sounds bad. Does it look like anything could be modded to give extra clearance? Wheel spacers perhaps?
It's a serious bummer if I have to get rid of the 2 sets of wheels and buy a 3rd set
Enoch

Personally I hate wheel spacers as they play hell with wheel bearings, better to have the right wheels in the first place

[Enoch]

I am rather surprised that anybody would design a car that uses donor components but can't use the original wheels. It has to be possible to use the wheels on the hubs cos Ford did it . I am thinking I will have to have a look at it, seems a shame to have to change 5 nice alloys with brand new tyres if they can be made to fit. I take the point on spacers though - did you ever see some of the monstrosities they came up with on that Chop Shop Bloody 'ell, spacers of about 10 -11 inches. I can't imagine what sort of forces that put on the bearings etc. I would not have wanted to drive one of thier "creations"!!

[spud69]

I believe the book was based on using the original 14" steel wheels from the sierra, which do fit but are close. If you put alloys on the extra thickness of the rims does catch the nuts. You can pick a set of nice 15" alloys on ebay, which would look much better on your nice shiny new car.....

[deezee]

Originally Posted by Enoch

It has to be possible to use the wheels on the hubs cos Ford did it

The wheels fit the hub. What they don't clear is the haynes roadster suspension for the double wishbones. 14" steel wheels fit it, but the 14" alloys don't clear the lower wishbone mounting point on the fabricated upright. The spacer would need to be at least 50mm thick to clear the upright/wishbone.

Bear in mind if you just throw on some big wheel spacers you might need to make new arches to cover the extra 4 inches of track.

[flyerncle]

What about moving the lower pivot tube up a few mil's when making the rear upright.