New shoes for an ASC

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:17 pm

Hi, I guess I'm the new guy on the block, I had no idea a site for ASC owners existed. This is great.

I have an '88 that is ready for a new set of tires. I can't complain, I got 12 years out of the michelin XGVs. However, I am contemplating getting some new rims to update the looks of the car. I will NOT be converting the car to 5 lug as I would like to be able to put the original rims back on it. I've seen a few ASCs with the Cobra Rs that look nice. My question is, what will fit??? I have been getting conflicting stories. However, none of the people I've talked to own ASC, and don't understand the differences between one and a regular GT. I would probably trust the people of this site moreso.

Anyway, I'm looking at Cobra R 4-Lug 17" x 8" with 235s in the front and 17"x9" in the rear with 255s (or should the rear be 17" x 8")

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 4:55 pm

Hey, long time no see, friend! New Rims, and we are leaving "STOCKville" ?? Ummm, you know how I feel 'bout that, right ?

Well..... Pretty much any Mustang GT rim will fit up until they went to the larger tire/wheel set up. I do not think COBRA rim will, however....but there are people on here with more tech knowledge than I ~ they'll be along soon.... Regardless, good to touch base again !

Sandy

Post by **negusm** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:11 pm

I'm with Sandy on keeping the rare and distinct asc wheels.

I think with an 88 you may get some rubbing. I think somewhere around 1990 (pretty sure 1988 is too early), they widened the front wheel wells for the 17" wheels so they wouldn't rub. There are various ways to fix this. I think you can use limiting clips on the rack and roll the fenders and rear quarters.

If I had your car and wanted to "update" to a newer style...I'd get a set of later 1990 ascMcLaren rims to put on it. I think those look great. Are those 1990 asc rims 5 lug or 4 lug?

-Mike

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:59 pm

I know.........I know,...........I know.

I've subscribed to the "stock original" stance for years, and I understand it completely.

Like I said, I'm keeping with the 4 bolt setup so I can throw on the ASC rims whenever I want (and I would never sell them). I think its hard to argue the fact that a chrome set of Cobra Rs look great on Mclarens, I've seen a few. Does anyone know any ASC owners on this forum who've done this wheel swap?

The modifications are very few to my car. I added some flowmaster mufflers, a K& N filtercharger setup, and updated the stereo with a new head unit, speakers, and amp. (NO cutting was done anywhere, again, I could go back to the stock radio and speakers whenever I want).

Considering the whole idea however, it is hard to remain true to stock. As all of you know, '88 5.0s were rated at 225 hp/300 lb/tq. While that was considered powerful and respectful in 1988, it ain't now. Hell, you could conceivably get your clock cleaned by a whole slew of foreign crap. Now, I'm not into slicks, blowers, and nitrous, but the first day comes along that a WRX STI or EVO embarrasses me, my engine bay will be sporting some new equipment right quick. Simple bolt ons can get you up into the 300-350 range pretty easy.

Anyway, I guess thats whats great about mustangs, you can have it your way.................... (or is that Burger King)

PS - sorry I ended up writing a book.........

Post by **negusm** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:33 pm

shelbyscarab wrote:Considering the whole idea however, it is hard to remain true to stock. As all of you know, '88 5.0s were rated at 225 hp/300 lb/tq. While that was considered powerful and respectful in 1988, it ain't now. Hell, you could conceivably get your clock cleaned by a whole slew of foreign crap. Now, I'm not into slicks, blowers, and nitrous, but the first day comes along that a WRX STI or EVO embarrasses me, my engine bay will be sporting some new equipment right quick. Simple bolt ons can get you up into the 300-350 range pretty easy.

asc didn't mean for your car to be fast. They meant it to be a sunny day weekend cruiser.

No WRX is going to be as suave as your car.

I hear you though. If power is what you want you have a good platform to start with.

-Mike

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:56 pm

I like the 93 cobra wheels myself. I have to admit, If my car wast the only one like it I would be hard pressed not to change a few things myself.

bryan · Post by **bryan** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:14 pm

IMO, stay stock. Spend those bucks on some bolt-on, easily removable performance mods. You'll need them not to get smoked by kids with WRX STIs, etc. Wish I had your anthracite wheels instead of my gold.

Losing the classic 80s look on these cars robs them of some of their personality, but I have to admit I've seen some "updated" ones that look great.

You'll need some type of mod if you go with any larger tire. Clearance is VERY close with the stock rims when you turn the wheel all the way to either side.

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:24 pm

That WRX / STi could also "embaress the pants off of a new Rolls Phaeton, but I really don't think the R.R. driver would care !

I know that I would'nt !

ASCMCLRN · Post by **ASCMCLRN** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:50 am

You sound exactly like I did with my '88. First I switched to Cobra R's chrome. The car is still in the shop so when I get a chance I will get you the tire size specifics. BTW the chrome does peel but they do look sweet. I am sure there must be a way to maintain them better. At one time they made the '94 Cobra wheel in 4 lug too. It looked incredible with the Pony center caps on it. Goto a few Mustang websites or cardomain.com and browse what other fox Stangs are wearing. In 90 they increased the fender length marginally to fit slightly larger tires in the front.

Next I went with a Powerdyne Supercharger for some extra hp. I chose this as it was in the Ford catalog, required no oil lines tapped, was very quiet, and maintained stock appearance of intake vs a roots type blower. BTW hp is very addicting and easy to get with these cars so one thing surely leads to another. If you want a quick fix bump the timing, k&N Air filter, remove the air box from the passenger side fender (very restrictive), and put on some pulleys (but watch your alternators performance). That may help you otherwise do like I did with the bolt on s/c you can always take it off.

Nick

Post by **negusm** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:03 am

IMHO, I think the two most played out wheels are ponies or those cobra wheels.

Everybody and their brother has them, has done them or is going to put them on their car.

Next on the list are bullets but those haven't seem to have made people go quite as ga ga as the other wheels. I think the four eyed fox cars look tuff with those on....but not the later aero cars.

I like those later asc "swirl" wheels....they remind me of my factory Chrome Probe GT wheels. They seemed to match well with the smooth lines of the car's styling.

I think those mesh wheels do look out of place on the aero asc cars. The mesh looks fine, you don't see it everyday but they really fit the style of the older 84-86 cars. When the body style changed, they should have changed the wheels at the same time.

What killed the mesh style for many people and why I think you don't see the original wheels on many asc cars is that everybody, GM, Jeep, ARE, Enkei, Saleen, etc etc etc etc had some mesh wheels at some point on their cars back then....so for a while I guess even those mesh wheels were played out. Fast Forward to today and they don't seem quite that way anymore.

Somehow I don't think my midnight blue an popsicle orange wheels will ever be played out though

-Mike

ASCMCLRN · Post by **ASCMCLRN** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:41 am

negusm wrote:IMHO, I think the two most played out wheels are ponies or those cobra wheels.

Everybody and their brother has them, has done them or is going to put them on their car.

Next on the list are bullets but those haven't seem to have made people go quite as ga ga as the other wheels. I think the four eyed fox cars look tuff with those on....but not the later aero cars.

I like those later asc "swirl" wheels....they remind me of my factory Chrome Probe GT wheels. They seemed to match well with the smooth lines of the car's styling.

I think those mesh wheels do look out of place on the aero asc cars. The mesh looks fine, you don't see it everyday but they really fit the style of the older 84-86 cars. When the body style changed, they should have changed the wheels at the same time.

What killed the mesh style for many people and why I think you don't see the original wheels on many asc cars is that everybody, GM, Jeep, ARE, Enkei, Saleen, etc etc etc etc had some mesh wheels at some point on their cars back then....so for a while I guess even those mesh wheels were played out. Fast Forward to today and they don't seem quite that way anymore.

Somehow I don't think my midnight blue an popsicle orange wheels will ever be played out though

The one wheel that seems to catch my attention are "STERN'S". Those wheels seem to be pretty uncommon but really good looking.

-Mike

IMO the bottomline is what you like period. If you really like a wheel should you get rid of it cause everyone else chose the same thing? Sooner or later it will be played out then people who really enjoyed them from the beginning that were not on a faddish bandwagon will have them. I remember ROH's were rare and then became so popular on Stang's it would make you sick. I rarely see them around anymore that when I do I appreciate them. I agree mesh doesnt look so wonderful on these cars, they were the flavor of the 80's. Remember the BBS wheels too? The Mark VII, Trans Am, BMW, and more expensive cars sported them. The '89-90 ASC wheels are nice but are no different in size then the mesh wheels. So aside of appearance you wont gain any performance as you would going with a larger rim or wider tire. Unfortunately being stuck with 4 lug limits the choices greatly too.

Nick

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:54 pm

ASCMCLRN wrote:You sound exactly like I did with my '88. First I switched to Cobra R's chrome. The car is still in the shop so when I get a chance I will get you the tire size specifics. BTW the chrome does peel but they do look sweet. I am sure there must be a way to maintain them better. At one time they made the '94 Cobra wheel in 4 lug too. It looked incredible with the Pony center caps on it. Goto a few Mustang websites or cardomain.com and browse what other fox Stangs are wearing. In 90 they increased the fender length marginally to fit slightly larger tires in the front.

Next I went with a Powerdyne Supercharger for some extra hp. I chose this as it was in the Ford catalog, required no oil lines tapped, was very quiet, and maintained stock appearance of intake vs a roots type blower. BTW hp is very addicting and easy to get with these cars so one thing surely leads to another. If you want a quick fix bump the timing, k&N Air filter, remove the air box from the passenger side fender (very restrictive), and put on some pulleys (but watch your alternators performance). That may help you otherwise do like I did with the bolt on s/c you can always take it off.

Nick

Thanks for all the input all of you.

Nick, thanks for the info on the wheel wells. I wasn't aware of that, and I thought I knew everything about 87-93 stangs.........guess I don't. I thought they were all the same other than very minor changes. I'll be VERY interested if you'll get back to me about the rims you had/have on yours. As far as some of the other hp ideas, the air box has been off for along time and won't be going back on anytime soon. I've wanted to put the typical pulley set on, but haven't for fear of the alternator issue that you mentioned (I do use my A/C, .......I have a wife

)

As far as some of the other comments about different wheels, here's my take. When they came out with the 89-90 style ASC wheels, I thought they were awesome......but, that was in 89-94, the pony wheels were a great addition when they came out in '91 but they even look tame now. I guess I don't see that many cars with the Cobra Rs, yea there are some. And, lets talk about the 4 Lug fact. WHY oh why did Ford use a 4 lug setup for those few years!!!! Talk about limiting your possibilities. Ford has alot of "Great Ideas" through the years, this wasn't one of them. (Along with the whole "take back the Mustang name" bullcr@p, that is going to do nothing but turn people away from Ford).

I can't believe that a 17x8 wouldn't fit in the front with a 235 tire width wise its not much larger than a 225 stock. (Thats the other thing, its even difficult to find a choice of tire in 225-60 R15 in a performance tire.)

Gotta go for now, but Nick, GET back to me with that info.

Thanks, Chris

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:21 am

You can run 16"s 225-55-16 fit my 85 perfect and a buddy runs 275-50-15 NITTO's on the rear of a 88 stang that has lowering springs. Will add pictures in album of both wheels on cars
'

knsstang · Post by **knsstang** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:23 am

I didn't want a wheel that I saw everyday, so I went with the Saleen 18inch wheel. front and rear are 9inches wide. I have 235/65 tires on all 4 and they don't rub at all. My car is also lowered quite a bit. But i must warn you that these tires are very expensive. I did have to convert to 5lug which took less than an hour, So if i have to put the stock back on I will have to convert back, but the look to me was worth it and it cost less than 100bucks. I have a pic of the car in my album.

ASCMCLRN · Post by **ASCMCLRN** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:48 pm

shelbyscarab wrote:
ASCMCLRN wrote:You sound exactly like I did with my '88. First I switched to Cobra R's chrome. The car is still in the shop so when I get a chance I will get you the tire size specifics. BTW the chrome does peel but they do look sweet. I am sure there must be a way to maintain them better. At one time they made the '94 Cobra wheel in 4 lug too. It looked incredible with the Pony center caps on it. Goto a few Mustang websites or cardomain.com and browse what other fox Stangs are wearing. In 90 they increased the fender length marginally to fit slightly larger tires in the front.

Next I went with a Powerdyne Supercharger for some extra hp. I chose this as it was in the Ford catalog, required no oil lines tapped, was very quiet, and maintained stock appearance of intake vs a roots type blower. BTW hp is very addicting and easy to get with these cars so one thing surely leads to another. If you want a quick fix bump the timing, k&N Air filter, remove the air box from the passenger side fender (very restrictive), and put on some pulleys (but watch your alternators performance). That may help you otherwise do like I did with the bolt on s/c you can always take it off.

Nick
Thanks for all the input all of you.

Nick, thanks for the info on the wheel wells. I wasn't aware of that, and I thought I knew everything about 87-93 stangs.........guess I don't. I thought they were all the same other than very minor changes. I'll be VERY interested if you'll get back to me about the rims you had/have on yours. As far as some of the other hp ideas, the air box has been off for along time and won't be going back on anytime soon. I've wanted to put the typical pulley set on, but haven't for fear of the alternator issue that you mentioned (I do use my A/C, .......I have a wife )

As far as some of the other comments about different wheels, here's my take. When they came out with the 89-90 style ASC wheels, I thought they were awesome......but, that was in 89-94, the pony wheels were a great addition when they came out in '91 but they even look tame now. I guess I don't see that many cars with the Cobra Rs, yea there are some. And, lets talk about the 4 Lug fact. WHY oh why did Ford use a 4 lug setup for those few years!!!! Talk about limiting your possibilities. Ford has alot of "Great Ideas" through the years, this wasn't one of them. (Along with the whole "take back the Mustang name" bullcr@p, that is going to do nothing but turn people away from Ford).

I can't believe that a 17x8 wouldn't fit in the front with a 235 tire width wise its not much larger than a 225 stock. (Thats the other thing, its even difficult to find a choice of tire in 225-60 R15 in a performance tire.)

Gotta go for now, but Nick, GET back to me with that info.

Thanks, Chris

Hi Chris sorry for the delay been pretty busy. I went down to the shop and took note of the size of the Cobra R's on my car. Get this I can't believe it myself they were 255/40/ R17x9 all around! I purchased them from AFS on Ebay some years ago. If the pics I took came out alright I will post them in my album. Oh also found a link (below) to better explain the difference in fenders on the Mustangs. Just keep in mind the person made a mistake on the years, it is 90-93 not 91-93 as described. Hope this helps.

Nick

http://www.1993cobra.com/ebay/fenderdiffce.JPG