My Buddies Say That These Won't Fit My Car!
You can fit 1993 Cobra rims on your 1979-1993 Fox Ford with less trouble than most people believe. I ran them for 4 years and 20,000 miles on my 1990 coupe. My car has the stock springs and I was running 245-45 Goodyear Eagle tires. There have been several subtle suspension changes in the Fox platform over the years,and there are production tolerances to be considered, so please keep this in mind.
The Rims Are What Size?
The 1993 Cobra rim is 17 x 7.5 inches and four lug. There are two different directional rims for the left and right side. You can use all "rights" or all "lefts" with no problem. Only someone who is really into 93 Cobras will probably notice. Both sides use the same center cap F3ZZ-1130-A that is available from your Ford dealer. The rims were finished in Argent. Aftermarket firms have chromed them.
What Size Tires Do I Need?
I was running 245's on my car. I wouldn't mess with 275's on a 7.5" rim and 225's are too narrow.
What Is Up With The Front Rotors?
On the front of the car you can either purchase the correct 1993 Cobra specific rotors or run them with your stockers. The real Cobra rotors have a thicker hat area to make up for the backspacing. If you run the stock rotors you will find that you rub the lower control arm at full lock. Ford sells rack limiting clips that you can insert to eliminate this. The part number is N802714S and they come in packs of ten. I just learned to live with it rubbing as I bought the rack clips but I never found the time to put them in.
What About The Rear End?
The rear of the car will have a few small issues to address due to the wheels sitting in just a bit more than your other rims. The quad shocks may rub the tire. The options here are to flip them around or to remove them. I went to a Lakewood LCA and just took the quad shocks off. There is a metal seam is the back of the wheel well that may rub the tire. Five minutes with a hammer and a bit of black spray paint will fix this. Nobody will ever see it. My tires contacted the tailpipes on steep driveways, so I dinged them with the same hammer and I was good to go. The modified tailpipe is hidden by the tire, so you have no visible evidence of tweaking. If your car has dumps, you won't have the tailpipes to deal with and you are probably deaf, so you'll never hear the rubbing anyway...
Can I Use Spacers?
I tried a set of .250" thick spacer on the front and the rear. They buy you a bit of room, but I ended up not using them when I figured out I could get by without. The spooky part about wheel spacers is that the wheels studs just go through the lugnuts. There weren't any "extra" threads protruding through. If you do choose to try the spacers I would go to ARP or Moroso hardend studs. They don't cost that much and would be well worth your safety and peace of mind.
That is about all you need to know. I received a lot of compliments when I ran these rims and I know you will too. Just don't buy into the Urban Legend stuff about you not being able to use them.
