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HybridZ

03 Cobra Wheels Mounted... kinda..


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What an idiot I am. I worried too much about width and everything, that I totally forgot about th lug pattern. I THOUGHT a mustang pattern was the same as my jeep, 4x4.5, but theyre 4X4.25 :weird:

 

Heres some pictures of the wheels kinda sitting on the studs, they wont go all the way on obviously.

 

Time for adapters and fender flares :D

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Trust me on this one, as I've been down this path a time or three... Don't compromise or cut corners. You'll end up redoing it yet again... Ask me how many brake setups I've had on my car? Go ahead, ask... :roll:

 

Seriously, I'd unload them and buy the right wheel that doesn't require the adapters...It'll take a little more time, but you'll have a better solution in the end, especially with a 6.0 project.

 

Mike

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Im going to run fender flares, so adapters should set the wheels out almost where I need them.

 

Restocking fee and shipping out of my pocket does definitely not seem worth the money at this time. I would much rather make due with what I have, considering tires will be here Tuesday.

 

Probably wont have enough money for better brakes for quite a while, an I will probably just do the toyota caliper setup. Just going to be a DD, no road courses or auto-x around here :(

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Trying to find a way to do that without powdercoating.. I dont really want to spend a billion dollars trying to black out the trim..

 

Scuff the trim with sand paper, not too course, clean with laquer thinner and use some decent rattel can paint. I've got drip rails that I did like that 20 years ago and they still look decent.

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Scuff the trim with sand paper, not too course, clean with laquer thinner and use some decent rattel can paint. I've got drip rails that I did like that 20 years ago and they still look decent.

 

Awesome, I didnt know how rattle can would work with the trim being stainless and all. Guess I can add 1 more to my to do list :cool:

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I second doing the 5 Lug swap. Sell your wheels and buy some 5 luggers. You are going to have to spend extra money on adapters anyway, might as well do it better. Its not hard at all, Im doing the 5 lug swap right now on my Z.

 

You have a sharp looking car there, dont cut corners now :nono:

Im painting my Z white also :D

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What way are you guys talking about swapping it to 5 lug, with the arizonazcars kit? I dont know if I would even have near that much extra money to spend. I would like this car to at least run and drive by spring.

 

Im getting kinda hungry too :/ All my money is going into this damn car :P Guess thats the good life.

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texis30Othere is no need to switch to 5 lug. Just buy some wheels that fit correctly.......NO SHIMS, OR ADAPTORS.....speaking from experience.....

 

Wowee.. I get to run CCW's, sportmax's, Rewinds, or on eof the other 3 wheels that work... sounds like fun. I am pretty specific on the wheels I want, which were flat faced thick spoke 5 spoke wheels, with no dish. I got what I got, no sense in wasting money to send them back when theyre what I want. I dont understand the big boo hoo on using 1" thick adapters and fender flares..

 

Has anyone ever seen a Black white theme ZG flared car on black 5 spoke wheels? Nope. LQ4? Nope. I see people running spacers/adapters on high hp cars all day long without a single problem.

 

Sparks280ztWhy not order them in the old 6 cylinder mustang lug? Its the same as the Z

 

Because they dont make black 03 Cobra reps for that.

 

 

 

And what if I wanted to run ZG flares anyways? Custom wheels, spacers, or bust I guess.

 

 

 

:icon56: Im 18, sorry my haggardness when ive spent almost 7K in the past 3 months, cant compare to you guys' perfect methods of having a driving running car :rolleyes:

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I dont understand the big boo hoo on using 1" thick adapters and fender flares..

 

You'll understand if one of those adapters comes loose and suddenly you're flying off the road with no control over your car. Ask me how I know.

 

It's scary as hell, and psychologically damaging. I could never daily drive a car with adapters again. Any slight noise or vibration and I had to pull over and double check all my wheels. (I had very little warning when my wheel came off.) I was a nervous wreck until the new tires I ordered came in and I put the old wheels on a shelf (where they remain to this day.)

 

And of course you can't check the lugnuts on the adapters without taking the wheels off.

 

If you decide to use them, use a lot of the green loctite. Be extremely careful centering the adapters over the hubs and making sure they are torqued down evenly and are perfectly flush. Don't listen to music while you're driving. If you hear any strange noise, pull over and check your wheels.

 

I feel I was very careful installing and using the adapters I had, and it wasn't enough. We're just trying to save your life, so don't take it the wrong way. Best of luck.

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I think the above case is a bit of an exaggeration. My Z caught fire while I was driving and nearly burned to the ground, but I'm not afraid of the car or driving or fire.

 

I've had a bad experience with spacer before too. I broke a stud off of Ross's adapters. It happens. I didn't even know it, I was working on my car and notice a missing lug nut.

 

I see guys drift on 1" 1.5" and somtimes larger spacers all day long, all season long and you know what breaks? The differentials, CV's, transmissions, motors, etc. I think your car is going to look sick man, don't worry about the naysayers. Get your wheels balanced and enjoy your car. Post pics up when finished too!!!

 

-Ed

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I promise I wasn't exaggerating anything, and I'm not the only person that has happened to. Do you know why your car caught on fire? Do you have a way to change your behavior so that you can be reasonably sure it won't happen again?

 

The problem is that you CAN'T check the lugnuts on the adapters without taking the wheels off. If one of the adapters is not 100% perfectly flush (which can easily happen when placing them over wheels hubs, depending on design), it will get bound up when you are torquing it down. Your torque wrench will show everything being fine, and then the first time you hit a bump and it is unbound, it will loosen very slightly. It might be days or weeks until the nuts work themselves off, but you won't have much warning.

 

Guys who "drift" while using spacers are probably changing their wheels that day. They (hopefully) check their spacer lugs every time the car goes out on the track. There is a big difference between track cars and daily driven cars as I was very careful to specify earlier.

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