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cloud9 said:
The 285s require a 9.5-11.0" rim per Nittos specs so that 18 x 9 rim is too narrow to work effectively. You could probably mount the tire but I don't think it's that effective (or necessarily safe) to run tires on rims smaller than the mfr suggests. The tire will just bulge and your actual contact patch gets reduced so you lose the benefit. The tire sidewall also won't be as stable. That said you could probably do it, but I personally wouldn't. To find out just mount the 255 tire on your car and check the clearance from the sidewall to the strut at its closest point. The width difference between the two tires is (555RII=11.22") - (555=10.16") = 1.06" so you will be .53" closer to the strut with that 285/35/18 tire. I know some people will go as low as 1/4" or less with a stiff sidewall tire, but I'm more comfortable at 3/8"-1/2" clearance.

Yea, I did not even think about the front rims, only 9 inch. Sorry without searching what rims and width you running the II's on? Outside of wider rims I guess you had no issues with the car itself, no special mods?

Edit, thanks for the post above. I was thinking about rubbing inside more then the fenders.
 
2012Boss said:
[Yea, I did not even think about the front rims, only 9 inch. Sorry without searching what rims and width you running the II's on? Outside of wider rims I guess you had no issues with the car itself, no special mods?
My rims are Enkei PF01 18 x 10.5 (38mm offset) and 18 x 9.5 (35mm offset)
 
cloud9 said:
2012Boss said:
[Yea, I did not even think about the front rims, only 9 inch. Sorry without searching what rims and width you running the II's on? Outside of wider rims I guess you had no issues with the car itself, no special mods?
My rims are Enkei PF01 18 x 10.5 (38mm offset) and 18 x 9.5 (35mm offset)

Cool, thanks again for all the good info, I'm still learning ;D. I have a night run coming up next weekend, same track as the first time out. I thought I would hit Sebring first but this came up. This will be nice since I can test out and feel the new stuff at the same place. It will also be nice since I will have no worry about using up the tires and brakes like I had with the factory setup.
 
cloud9 said:
Dean#4AI said:
How much more camber do you think you will need? Hate to go much more than 2 degrees and still drive it on the street.
I'd be curious to hear what MM thinks they can get you for total camber. When I read their product description it said 1.6 degrees of adjustment from factory. Not sure if that's in addition to the -0.95 we have stock?
Here is MM's response.
[quote author=MM]
The strut, upper spring perch, spring, strut mount and c/c plate situation for the 2010 and up Mustangs is very confusing. Ford changed the strut/spring/mount design in 2011, but FRPP parts and some of the Ford Mustang models (GT500, 2011 with FRPP factory handling pack, etc) continue to use the old design.

On your car, you need to use the newer c/c plate design, the Mm5CC-6.

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=309_339_346&products_id=1400

You can confirm this by looking at the height that the tip of the strut top pokes or doesn't poke through the strut tower. See the attached photos.

On second thought, we might need your car to do a "test fit" of the plates;)

Sincerely,
Jack Hidley
Maximum Motorsports Tech Support
[email protected]
www.maximummotorsports.com
[/quote]
2005-2010struttop.png
2011strutandmount.png
 
After looking at my struts, it appears they are somewhere between the 2. I sent him pictures of my struts so we'll see what he says. I also asked him his best estimate how much camber would be possible with his plates.

P6020052.png

P6020051.png
 
Here is Jack's response.
[quote author=MM]
Dean,

I suspect that the tip of the struts on your 302LS are artificially tall due to the adjusting mechanism at the top. Without this mechanism they would be 1/2" or so shorter.

The main thing that Ford changed in 2011 on the struts is the length of the stub on the top. See the installations instructions below for the 2011+ plates. Page 7, the photo below step 20.

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/install/pdf/front_susp/Mm5CC-6.pdf


I suspect that you have the shorter design. From the top, the way to tell is the vertical location of the nut that holds the strut mount on the top of the strut shaft. On the 2011+ struts it is about 1" lower.

(pause) I just got off of the phone with someone from Ford Racing. They confirmed that your car has the 2011+ strut design.

With respect to camber adjustment, our plates allow about 1.6 degrees. I believe that Steeda claims more than that, but the claim is impossible. Their design also uses a plate that moves around underneath the strut tower. This limits the range of adjustment to the be the same as ours. The Vorshlag plates have a different design that allows more range of adjustment in the plate itself, but the next limitation is the strut shaft sticking through the top of the strut tower. Our plate allows the shaft to get within about 1/8" of this through hole. From this standpoint, the Vorshlag plates might allow a tenth or two more camber adjustment. Without modifying the strut tower, it is impossible for them to allow much more than the MM design.

Sincerely,
Jack Hidley
Maximum Motorsports Tech Support
[email protected]
www.maximummotorsports.com
[/quote]
 
Thanks Dean. I'm "thinking" that if I added the plates, I would be able to get significantly more camber than I have now if I left the eccentric bolts in the lower struts. How much for sure, I guess I don't know, but potentially another 1.6 degrees. If the stock setup provides -0.95 degreees camber, would the MM plates take you to -2.65?
 
cloud9 said:
Thanks Dean. I'm "thinking" that if I added the plates, I would be able to get significantly more camber than I have now if I left the eccentric bolts in the lower struts. How much for sure, I guess I don't know, but potentially another 1.6 degrees. If the stock setup provides -0.95 degreees camber, would the MM plates take you to -2.65?

I asked them the same question and it appears so. Here is their response.
[quote author=MM]
Dean,

The 1.6 degree number is the range from the strut centered in the strut tower to the full negative adjustment range. A stock S197 has a nominal camber setting of 0 degrees. That means with the MM plates, you could get a camber setting of -1.6 degrees. If the car is lowered 1" from stock ride height, that will give it about -1 degree of static camber. If you then add the camber from the c/c plate, you end up with the camber setting at -2.6 degrees. Since your 302LS is lowered about 1" from Ford, I think the static camber is around -0.9 degrees.

If you need more than that, I think the best solution is to use the Steeda camber kit. It might be discontinued as I could no longer find it on their site. Here it is on the Jegs site:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Steeda/957/555-8096/10002/-1?parentProductId=946653

One thing to be careful of is that the S197 spindles are not that stiff or strong. In particular the ears that mount the struts are too flexible. A while ago, Ford started specifying fine thread metric bolts and a higher torque spec for this joint. That puts a higher clamping load between the two parts to keep the bolts from coming loose. Do not use regular camber bolts at this joint. You will loose clamp load and the spindle could fail in track use. The Steeda part is the only thing I've seen that looks reasonably safe. The one thing I don't like is that the doubler plate/shim holder in the kit is aluminum. It should be steel. Maybe they are redesigning it.

Sincerely,
Jack Hidley
Maximum Motorsports Tech Support
www.maximummotorsports.com
[/quote]
 
cloud9 said:
Thanks Dean. I'm "thinking" that if I added the plates, I would be able to get significantly more camber than I have now if I left the eccentric bolts in the lower struts. How much for sure, I guess I don't know, but potentially another 1.6 degrees. If the stock setup provides -0.95 degreees camber, would the MM plates take you to -2.65?

Wouldn't adding more negative camber at the front wheel and none at the rear only increase the over-steer tendency of your car? Have you done any across the tire temperature checks right after getting off the track? The inner edge should be between 5 to 10 degrees hotter than the outer edge.
 

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