Zodiac Wheels

The threads both got dumped. The group purchase thread was in the "Parts For Sale" catagory and Nate Weber's measuring information was here in the "Technical Advice & Questions" section.

The measurement worksheet is on the Kodiak website. http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/ The contact information is there, also. Talk to Daryle. He is familiar with the Pantera group purchase 20% discount. Hurry. They will start production in a few days.

I am going to be out of town for a few days so contact Mike Mooso if you need more information. mmooso@aol.com

Hi Coz,

All of the material for the run is arriving today. We will have the
programming done next week. I don't want to promise but I might be able to
push the delivery up a week. That would mean the second or early in the
third week of Feb.

Daryle
Kodiak Motorsports

Let me know if you need anything else Don.
Miami ?, I may be mving to W. Palm Beach in April.
Coz
cozland@cox.net

Here is some of it.

This information will be posted with pictures on the Pantera Forum shortly (most likely tomorrow).

I have completed measuring the wheel clearances on my stock bodied non-flared 71 Pre-L Pantera. (NOTE: Front and rear fender lips have been rolled and all measurements reflect this configuration.)



I measured each of these areas on the front and rear, left and right, fully compressed, fully extended, and with front wheels turned from lock to lock. I gathered tire information from the internet (Tire Rack website) regarding tire diameters and section widths. Using my current tire sidewall to tread transition shape as a guide, I created from cardboard, an adjustable tire cross sectional profile and placed it on a ruler to emulate tire diameter, width and offset, all of which could be adjusted. I attached this tire/wheel template to the hub so that I could spin it and determine areas of concern. The car was put on jack stands on all 4 corners and to ease suspension travel I removed the springs from the shocks as well as disconnected the sway bars. This allowed me to easily run the suspension to full compression until it hit the bump stop on the shock, as well as let it fall to full droop until the shock was fully extended.



A few things need to be clarified regarding areas of concern when discussing clearance. Clearance can be broken down into three areas. 1.) The fender lip, 2.) The inner fender and shields, 3.) Suspension & brake components. Fender lip and inner fender clearances are dependant upon tire diameter (not rim diameter) as well as front and rear spacing. Suspension & brake component clearance are more related to wheel diameter and dimensions.



Front:

From my measurement and fitting, I found that the front can handle a tire of 25.2” in diameter and 9.25” in total section width on a rim with an offset of 3/8” (on 8” wide rim, backspace is 4 3/8”). I am fairly sure that this will result in no contact throughout all ranges of the front suspension. Limiting factor on going wider on the front was tire contact with the lower A-arm (leading edge) at full droop and full turn.



I personally am going wider as I feel this scenario of full droop, full wheel turn will almost never happen. I am going with a 10.25” tire section width on 25.2” diameter and a rim of 7/8” offset (on 9” wide rim, backspace is 5 3/8”). This size tire results in slight rubbing on the back inner most fender well at full wheel turn. Again I find the scenario to occur on a minimal basis and of minimal consequences. BUT REMEMBER! Considerable contact WILL occur at the leading edge of the lower a-arm at full droop and full wheel lock.



The front spacing of the rim at 3 5/8” (3.625”) will result in no tire contact with the fender lip as long as the tire section width is not more than 1.25” greater than the rim width. i.e. 10.25” wide tire section on a 9.0” rim. Rim width and back spacing can be adjusted accordingly to an individuals desires and it will not affect the front clearance as long as the front spacing does not change, as seen in the example in the two above paragraphs with the 9.25” section tire on an 8” rim vs. the 10.25 section tire on the 9” rim.



Rear:

I measured a maximum tire size still allowing clearance at, 13.25” tire section width and 26.1” in diameter with a rim offset of ½” (on a 12” wide rim with 6.5” backspacing). This results in a front spacing of 5.5” and as long as the distance from the hub face to the tire sidewall is not greater than 6 1/8” (6.125”) there should be no contact with the fender lip. Likewise, the allowable backspacing of 6.5”of rim plus 5/8” of tire width totaling 7 1/8” (7.125”) clears all inner fender wells on my car.



For my selection I chose to go with a tire up to 26.1” in diameter and has a max of 12-13” tire section width. I will use an 11.5” rim that has a backspacing of 6.0”. No tire contact should occur at all with my inner or outer fenders. Mufflers may contact the inner tread of the wheel but I am changing them anyhow and will ensure it isn’t the case with whatever configuration I go with.



To rim to suspension issues occurred, but more measurements will be made to see how 17” rims fit all around.



Recap:

Clear all Front: 18X8 (4.375” Backspacing) 235/40-18

Limited Contact Front: 18X9 (5.375” Backspacing) 265/35-18 Yokahama AVS Sport

Rear 18X11.5 (6.0” Backspacing) 295/35-18 Yokahama AVS Sport

Nathan Weber