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Track wheel and tire + suspesnion setup

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31
30
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Bay Area CA
Hello all, finally got to take my car to my first track day last weekend at Thunderhill with Norcal Shelby Club and had such a great time. Im very happy with how the car performed however the nt05s that I am running on the brembo wheels overheated and became greasy after a few laps and I also plan on doing a lot less street driving now and many more track days. I am looking at getting nt01 tires but they dont come in many sizes for 19" wheels but I believe the best way to go for track tires is 18" wheels. I am looking at Apex EC40 et7s in 18x10 or 18x11 and then wrapping them in either 275/40s or 315s but my question is how would I make these fit for square setups? The apex fitment guide says to use offset coilovers and lots of spacers. I dont know anything about offset coilovers but I assume they mean camber plates? My current shocks are koni yellows and they have a large collar at the bottom so I dont know if these will make clearing big tires more difficult. I know its a long post but thanks for any help.
 
6,362
8,185
Try 295 or 305s, 315s are really hard to fit under the front of a relatively stock S197. I'm not sure what the offsets of the 9.5 2007 Shelby Gt500 wheel is, but that's your gold standard.
You can also got to the TMO supporting vendors and look up Apex wheels, they have a pretty good write up in there.
 
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APEX recommends a 25mm spacer at the front for the 18x11 wheels, or offset coilovers can help keep the wheel from contacting the front strut. Cortex has a short article on how offset coilovers can help. You should plan on -2° (or more) of camber at the front, which likely means you'll need camber plates, too. Additionally, you may need to relocate the rear bump stop to prevent the wheel from hitting it a full droop, too. Some cars don't have a problem, but some do. See https://vorshlag-store.com/collecti...ts/s197-mustang-axle-bump-stop-relocation-kit for more details.

Congrats on getting out to the track!
 
60
48
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Reno, NV
I have 18x10.5 45mm offset and no spacers. I do have JRI shocks so probably reason no spacers needed.
 
31
30
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Bay Area CA
APEX recommends a 25mm spacer at the front for the 18x11 wheels, or offset coilovers can help keep the wheel from contacting the front strut. Cortex has a short article on how offset coilovers can help. You should plan on -2° (or more) of camber at the front, which likely means you'll need camber plates, too. Additionally, you may need to relocate the rear bump stop to prevent the wheel from hitting it a full droop, too. Some cars don't have a problem, but some do. See https://vorshlag-store.com/collecti...ts/s197-mustang-axle-bump-stop-relocation-kit for more details.

Congrats on getting out to the track!
Thanks, are there any downsides to the spacers performance-wise? If not I think that is the route I will go it seems that there are lots of tire options for 18x11.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,354
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Capaldi Racing had some longer studs, which are extremely hard to find at present. Not sure if they still have any, but great place to check for many things because they deal with Ford Performance and many Ford racers every day.
 

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