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Why 9.5" wheels??


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Posted
How did the AI cars end up on 9.5" instead of 10"??

 

Not sure on the exact reasoning, but it's the recommended size for mounting a 275 Toyo, the stock size of a lot of GM wheels, and a size that has aftermarket sizing available.

Posted

The reason he is asking is that track wheels for the S197 Mustang are all in 10" wide.

In order to get 9.5 wide wheels that are light enough to be competitive he basically has to custom order them.

 

The 275 tire, though, asks for a 10" wheel. The Grand Am Continental, the Hoosier R6, the Kumho 710, the BFG R1 and even the Toyo R888. The Toyo RA1 is the most narrow of all the tires.

 

The Mustang Challenge cars use the street 18x9 GT500 wheels in their series and they run 245 wide tires

Posted
How did the AI cars end up on 9.5" instead of 10"??

 

Not sure on the exact reasoning, but it's the recommended size for mounting a 275 Toyo, the stock size of a lot of GM wheels, and a size that has aftermarket sizing available.

 

That was the exact reasoning, we started with 9" but changed to 9.5" just to have a better fit for the 275 Toyo.

 

Cheers

Posted

I'll take a stab at this one. Here's the unofficial answer...

 

Remember our roots...

In the early days of AI, 17x9 Cobra R wheels where the mag du jour. Camaro guys could upgrade to the Corvette 17x9.5 C4 wheels and others.

Over time (after many years), the 17" wheel became a bit constrictive as factory GT cars started to come with 18"'s and bigger.

As Factory brake packages also got bigger and bigger...18" wheels were allowed into AI in order to accomodate newer brake & suspension packages, but the 9.5" width remained.

(Remember 18" is the max...it's not the requirement....contact patch of a 18 x 9 is relatively the same as a 17 x9 wheel)

Many Ford & GM performance wheel offerings are available in 18x9.5

A 9.5' wide wheel is about about the max most AI cars can have and remain "square" (same size all around), which helps with tire rotations, wear, cost & use.

 

-=- Todd

Posted
The reason he is asking is that track wheels for the S197 Mustang are all in 10" wide.

In order to get 9.5 wide wheels that are light enough to be competitive he basically has to custom order them.

 

The 275 tire, though, asks for a 10" wheel. The Grand Am Continental, the Hoosier R6, the Kumho 710, the BFG R1 and even the Toyo R888. The Toyo RA1 is the most narrow of all the tires.

 

The Mustang Challenge cars use the street 18x9 GT500 wheels in their series and they run 245 wide tires

 

really, my wheels are $100 each 20 lbs and fit just fine with being a little creative. no need to spend big money to get a light wheel under a s197

Posted

What's a good tire and wheel size for a S197 running HPDE?

Is 245 a rule for AI?

Posted

245 is the Mustang Challenge series rule. The AI rule is 275. 275 is probably your best choice. The 245 anything but Toyo RA1 is probably enough.

  • 1 month later...
Posted
How did the AI cars end up on 9.5" instead of 10"??

 

One car did end-up w/10's......

I can't believe it!

 

......sorry bmac..couldn't help it!

Posted
A 9.5' wide wheel is about about the max most AI cars can have and remain "square" (same size all around), which helps with tire rotations, wear, cost & use.

 

-=- Todd

 

Fun fact...........

 

All 4th gen fbody's can bolt on 17x11 all around with 30min of fender rolling

 

We need a rule change!

Posted

 

Fun fact...........

 

All 4th gen fbody's can bolt on 17x11 all around with 30min of fender rolling

 

We need a rule change!

 

 

With steamrollers that big up front we'll be going thru hub assemblies in one session vs. one-two weekends.

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