Widest rear wheels & tires with skirts?

fast Ed · Post by **fast Ed** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 12:32 am

Wondering if any of you guys with modded car with wider aftermarket wheels & tires are still running the rear skirts. Am I limited to something like a 7", or will 8 or 9" fit in there, assuming that I get enough backspacing to tuck it as close to the inside as possible?

Tried looking back in this forum, but didn't see any definitive answers that mentioned the skirts.

thanks,
Ed

cdhowell · Post by **cdhowell** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 3:24 pm

I am running a p235 60 15 on 15 x 8 rear wheels. I do not have the skirts on but there is room for them. fronts are 205's on 15 x 6

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WC145 · Post by **WC145** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:43 am

I have 17x8 (4.5" back space) wheels and 235/50 tires on my '66, I haven't tried putting the skirts back on but it looks like they'd be tight, if they fit at all. This pic will give you an idea of what kind of clearance I have.

This '66 that has 18x9 (5.5" back space) wheels in the back and 275/40 tires. He said he was able to get his skirts on with what he called "minor trimming".

I don't know what kind of wheels you intend to run but I prefer the skirtless look with most aftermarket rims.

fast Ed · Post by **fast Ed** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:54 pm

Thanks guys, that's what I was looking for. I hadn't seen the pic of that aqua 66 with the skirts on, and I like it!

thx,
Ed

fast Ed · Post by **fast Ed** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:43 pm

Scott, along the same subject, do you think anything wider would fit in the front, or is an 8" wheel about it? One of the wheels I'm looking at comes in an 8-1/2" rather than 8".

thanks,
Ed

WC145 · Post by **WC145** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:35 am

I don't know for sure, mine are 8", so are the front ones on the blue car, I don't have any contact issues even at full lock left or right. I don't know how much clsarance there is, though, they could be right at the limit.

What kind of wheels are you looking at? You have to keep in mind that if your car is a 65 or 66 you have contend with the incredibly large brake calipers and there are very few wheels out there that will clear them. I had to grind a bit off the ridge on the outside of the calipers for my wheels to clear, just over 1/16".

fast Ed · Post by **fast Ed** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 11:46 pm

Right now I'm all over the map as far as what style I want to go with ... I've got a friend that who is going to some Photoshops with my top 5 to help me narrow down. And yes, I am aware of the potential for caliper clearance issues. The chrome smoothie wheels that came on my car when I bought it have spacers that are roughly 3/8" thick behind them on the front wheels for clearance. I tried test-fitting a Cragar 500 wheel, and it was going to need pretty much a full inch of spacer to clear!

I have a set of 17x8-1/2" Saleen wheels for my 89 Mustang project, I can do some trial fitting on those, mocking them up with spacers behind to get a better idea before I order anything.

thanks again,
Ed