local wheel work question - weld spacer to wheel

[Mowgli1647545497]

I've decided that the selection of wheels that support the goofy offset of the 03 Cobra's rear end is not going to grow any more and so I've made my choice of wheel - that of course has the wrong offset to clear the IRS bolt on my car...

 

So - I'm going the way of a spacer and need a place in town to help me do two things:

 

1- choose a correct and good quality spacer that WON'T be a "bolt rider", but that places the load on the central hub, hubcentric.

 

2- a shop that can properly weld the spacer to the wheel. I'm looking to alter the offset of the wheel itself by adding the spacer. I distrust spacers as a rule and so won't even consider one unless its hard welded to the wheel.

 

So I want a shop that can not only weld on the spacer, but can balance and check that the wheel spins true once the spacer is welded on.

 

Ideas?

[Guest powers]

i would just use a hubcentric bolt on spacer. You will have a far less chance of failure. H&R makes a nice set. There is a group buy i believe over on SVT Performance

 

Here is one place that sell them.

http://www.livermoreperformance.com/mustang_wheel_spacers.html

[Nitrousbird]

Have custom rims made with whatever offset you want (of course that is by far the most expensive option too).

 

I personally wouldn't feel all that safe with a welded on spacer.

[TurboTank]

dont weld it on. +1 for H&R

[BiG BeN]

if you're adamant about the welding part, then your best route would probably be through wheel medic. ask for brice and tell him what you want. he'll steer you in the right direction. will probably be a little expensive though. i don't think they'll touch a wheel for less than 80/per

[Berto]

Originally posted by Nitrousbird:

 

I personally wouldn't feel all that safe with a welded on spacer.

or a bolt on to that fact.

 

spacers are the devil.

[Mowgli1647545497]

Agreed RX - I cannot warm up to spacers. I was originally going to go with a set of custom made CCWs, but they've "ungrown" on me.

 

Finding "off the rack" wheels for the 03-04 Cobra that don't require a buttonhead bolt or shaving the head of the IRS bolt, and still get 10-11inch width is frigging hard. Finding one with a decent lip is nigh impossible.

 

Hence my frustration.

 

Read a blurb in the SVTOA about folks welding machined spacers to wheels to create customized offsets and got to wondering...

[Guest powers]

i don't understand your reason for not trusting spacers. You use those same bolts to hold on your wheels now. The weight is transfered to the hub not the bolts. Plus I would rather trust the shearing strenth of 5 bolts over a surface weld anyday. Many track cars use spaces without any ill effects.

 

Also what is so bad about using a button head bolt?

[Mowgli1647545497]

I don't trust spacers because I've read a fair amount of horror stories about them failing. Also, I had a friend who couldn't get rid of a high speed vibration using several sets of spacers from different makers no matter what he did to the wheels/alignment - he eventually removed them and cured the vibe. I also in 96 out in Sac,CA had the pleasure of watching a friend's front driver side wheel leave him at a Leguna track day, later blamed on the spacer. I beleive you when you say alot of people have success with them, I'm just not going to be one of them.

 

You may be right about the weld though, alot of negative feedback there I'm finding around the net. Back I go to custom wheels... ugh $$$.

 

As for the button head bolt replacement of the IRS bolt - I have a friend/mechanic who I trust telling me that with as much as I swing the ass around on this car I want to in fact swap the stock bolt out and use one he's trying to get me to put in thats even bigger than the curent stock unit - sort of going the other way, that. But mainly I just don't want to bother with that IRS bolt at all: I'd love to be able to just bolt on a set of wheels and go.

[Guest doggunracing]

What size/offset are you looking for? My wheels are 17x9 +15, and you can get up to 10" wide and +12. I'm guessing you already looked at Tire Rack? They have multiple wheels that fit the Cobras. SpeedStar SP1s look pretty sweet, but $$$. Cheaper than CCWs though.

[Mowgli1647545497]

Already tried most of the online wheel vendors. Tirerack included.

 

The stock Cobra wheels are already 9.5 wide.

 

Can't get wider than 10 inches without going up to a 18 or 19. 18 inches is pushing it for me, and I don't really want to go with that size wheel for ride and performance reasons. 19inches is out of the question.

 

I'm wanting an 11inch width so I can properly mount a 335. Preferably on a 17inch wheel. But I also need to *like* the wheel. I'm partial to wheels that have a decent polished lip on them, 1 inch or more.