89mustang Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I would welcome any advice on tyre choice for my Mustang. Originally fitted with 225/60 15v, now on 17" rims, am considering 225/45, 235/45 or 245/40's. Would like something progressive not out and out grip, so that when they get to their limit I am not going as fast as super grippy tyres ( on trackdays, of course). Car is 1989 5.0 manual Mustang, Macpherson strut front, live rear axle 4 linked like the old mk3,4,5 cortina but with panhard rod added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Your best to keep the aspect ratio as low as possible to minimise the pneumatic slip but it will be a hard call to make them progressive with a live axle, at best pressure manipulation is your only tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89mustang Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Your best to keep the aspect ratio as low as possible to minimise the pneumatic slip but it will be a hard call to make them progressive with a live axle, at best pressure manipulation is your only tool. Any suggestion on brands to consider and which to avoid. Last ran it with 225/60 15 Goodyear Eagle F1 gsd2, which were very good but noisy. Tyre pressures are 30psi all round. These Mustangs are notoriously twitchy, on the limit. They seem to lean and suddenly unload one rear wheel, causing loss of control ( from my own experience) Would spherical bearings in one end of all rear suspension links help allowing more axle articulation rather than poly bushes which would bind sooner causing wheel lift as the body rolls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I would keep the axel as rigid as possible, the last thing you need is lateral float, same can be said for the tyres, extra load would be wise. You won't remove the Mustangs tendency's so you need them to be as predictable as possible..... Do you have adjustable castor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89mustang Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I would keep the axel as rigid as possible, the last thing you need is lateral float, same can be said for the tyres, extra load would be wise. You won't remove the Mustangs tendency's so you need them to be as predictable as possible..... Do you have adjustable castor? Yes (orange inner wing pic up at the top), and camber. Strut brace and subframe brace also. Lateral float? do you mean the car moving side to side over the axle? I was meaning to allow the axle to articulate to allow both wheels to stay in contact with the road as the body rolls rather than lifting a wheel as the bushes restrict articulation. Am I not getting it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I would keep the axel as rigid as possible, the last thing you need is lateral float, same can be said for the tyres, extra load would be wise. You won't remove the Mustangs tendency's so you need them to be as predictable as possible..... Do you have adjustable castor? Yes (orange inner wing pic up at the top), and camber. Strut brace and subframe brace also. Lateral float? do you mean the car moving side to side over the axle? I was meaning to allow the axle to articulate to allow both wheels to stay in contact with the road as the body rolls rather than lifting a wheel as the bushes restrict articulation. Am I not getting it? The axel needs minimal lateral movement, this is different from longitudinal where you might want to control squat (kinematics)... This has nothing to do with the body roll or weight transfer, purley how the axel reacts to the application of thrust. If the axel is allowed to move laterally this movement will be transported to the tyre sidewall greatly adding to the saturation grip limits, this unpredicted addition is something you need to avoid or at least reduce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIH Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Does the panhard rod effectily make it a 5 link ? Strange how these things work. My old Opel Manta GTE was 3 linked live axle and they were well known with nice, progressive oversteer. Same too of AE86 I believe ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.