In search of the perfect stance

I was wondering how tire sizing affects the stance of a Maverick or Comet. I went through the accumulation of data on tires sizes from data from the garage.

There are 13 cars that reported the size of both the front and rear tires. I made a list of them and then I recorded the height of the tires. None of this takes into the account anything about the leaf springs or front coil springs which also affects stance. I just took the difference in height of back wheels to the front wheels.

The difference varied from 0.2 to 4.5 inches, but the majority ( 6 out of 13) varied from 2.1 to 2.6 inches with an average of 2.2 inches. There were 2 at 2.1 inches, 1 at 2.3 inches, 1 at 2.4 inches and 2 at 2.6 inches. I can’t comment on what looks best, and I suppose it’s up to individual taste, but it seems most of the folks settled for a tire height difference of 2.1 to 2.6 inches. Of course for the actual effect on the height of the fender, you need to divide by 2 since the height change is only from the ground to the wheel bearing, not the entire tire height.

Of the 13 cars, 6 had a rear tire measuring 275/60/R15, 3 were 265/60/R15 and the remainder were tires on 17, and 18 inch rims.

Hope you enjoy the data. Any other ideas or comments? MD

 

Ride height is also an important factor regarding "stance". My Maverick has the perfect stance (not bragging; just a fact), even better than the pics that have been posted on here -- I really need to take some more current pics. Front coils are cut, rear has new leafs with 1-inch lowering blocks. Front tires are 225/45R-17 on 17x7" wheels with 4" back-space. Rear tires are 255/45R-17 on 17x8" wheels with 4-3/4" back-space (Granada rear end, which is wider than the Maverick rear. A 4" back-space would be needed for a Maverick rear). Front tires are 25" diameter, rears are 26". A 225/50R-17 would be the same diameter as the 255/45R-17...

 

Another way to define the current stance is to measure down from the underside of the wheel wells to the ground for the front and real wheel wells. Once you have that and the height of the tires, the stance is pretty much defined. A person could try mimic that with cut coils and custom leaf spring combinations or luck out and have just the right amount of sag in the old suspension components. LOL

 

One thing I found is that the backspace of the front wheels make a difference, too. When I changed from stock wheels to wheels with a lot of backspace ( 6" wide with 4" backspace) the car sat higher in the front. I figure it puts less leverage on the control arm/spring.

 

Wheel back-space has nothing to do with ride height...

 

Here is a stance I like. I posted it because I see the owner has an adjustable shackle at the back.

 

Well, to each his own. That car sits like a 4x4, and those shackles just make me shake my head...

 

Heres's some pics with the 245s on the back (it has 255s on it now).
I'm not saying people need to make their car sit like mine. Just sharing for reference...

 

I believe what may be happening is the the center of the rim might be moving inward or outward while also changing the back spacing. Moving the center of the tire outward would change the length of the distance to the pivot point of the control arm and theoretically this would cause the spring to compress a bit more lowering the front end a bit.

 

I like it. How much did you cut the front coils?

 

One full coil. I may install some coil-overs from Total Control Products...

 

Exactly the point I was trying to convey (evidently unsuccessfully). With no other changes the car sat higher in the front with the new wheels.

 

Say NO to rear shackles. They cause more damage than they help.

 

And say NO to air shocks - the upper bracket gets pushed into the trunk. From first hand experience.

Bruce