What Spare Can Be Used With Wilwoods?

[Theorangetiger]

I got the Wilwood setup from Dale and am running them with a Courier MC and no booster and am very happy with the setup. Now I need to come up with a 15", maybe 14" spare that will fit under the trunk floor. It looks like there's actually about 6.5" between the bottom of the trunk and the underside of the false floor. I'm running 195 front tires which are close to 8" wide so getting one of those wouldn't work.
Is there a basic 15" rim that is narrow enough, with the correct stock bolt pattern that anyone is aware of?
I just want something that will fit in the trunk and will work as an emergency spare with the bigger brakes.

 

[hottigr]

I have 205/60-13's all around and the same as a spare. The tire is 8" wide and my platform just floats on top of the tire LOL! I didn't want a different size tire as a spare for a couple of reasons. Haven't had any issues with the trunk not closing or the platform moving around. Since your tires are also about 8" wide, I'll attach a pic so you can see what it looks like.

 

[michael-king]

I have 205/60-13's all around and the same as a spare. The tire is 8" wide and my platform just floats on top of the tire LOL! I didn't want a different size tire as a spare for a couple of reasons. Haven't had any issues with the trunk not closing or the platform moving around. Since your tires are also about 8" wide, I'll attach a pic so you can see what it looks like.

View attachment 18268

I think his issue is clearing the larger willwood brakes so likely a 15" wheel.

I'm not sure on the caliper depth clearance . But if you want a thin 15" wheel.. there are mustang Ii wheels and also Peugeot 206 and early Saab 900 and 9000 used 15" with a 4x108 PC's which had space saver wheels

 

[hottigr]

I think his issue is clearing the larger willwood brakes so likely a 15" wheel.

I'm not sure on the caliper depth clearance . But if you want a thin 15" wheel.. there are mustang Ii wheels and also Peugeot 206 and early Saab 900 and 9000 used 15" with a 4x108 PC's which had space saver wheels

Michael, my post was not in regards to what wheels will clear Wilwood brakes. His concern was the width of his tires, which at 8" wide would cause the trunk platform to float on top of the tire. I responded because my tires are also 8" in width and he would be able to see how the platform sits with a wider spare than original. That is all.

 

[woody6]

I have Dale's larger brake kit and faced the same issue. Ford Thunderbirds and some others in the 80s/90s came with a 15" aluminum space saver spare. Its not perfect, I carry some spacers because I think it needs a little additional clearance for the front. I think it would work on the rear without the spacers, but then I might have to swap two wheels in the event of a flat. It also leaves a little more room under the trunk floor. Ford used the 4x4.25 bolt pattern on a lot of cars, so finding a spare shouldn't be difficult.

 

[IvaTiger]

Foam fill the tires so you won’t get a flat. Then you won’t need a spare in the trunk and the platform will sit at its correct height

 

[Austin Healer]

Don't know about doing that, unless it's not a solidifying type of foam.... you might end up with all kinds of issues due the tire not having any flex/compliance in the sidewalls... not to mention an almighty bitch changing tires in the future. pls enlighten me with a description of this mystery "foam"!!

I have a client with a MK2 Tiger running Wilwood vented rotors and Wilwood calipers in front with a 13 x 6" Panasport wheel. I have no idea where the brakes were sourced. The factory steel wheel clears his brakes.... He has 205/13 tires on all 4 wheels (13 x 7 in the rear) I just have a 165/13 tire on the factory rim for a spare. I guess I don't understand the issue at hand....

 

[Theorangetiger]

Thanks for the replies. I should have been more specific and said I don't believe a 13" wheel will clear my brakes so I was looking for a 15" wheel with the correct bolt pattern, narrow enough to fit under the trunk floor. 175s seem to fit comfortably.

The Peugeot, Saab, Mustang II & T-bird wheels are all good suggestions that I will look into. The first thing I'll do though is test fit my original stock steel spare to see if it might actually clear the brakes, perhaps using a spacer which I am not opposed to for an emergency spare situation, provided there are still enough threads left.

 

[Austin Healer]

the 13" OE wheel seems to fit just fine on my client's car...

 

[michael-king]

the 13" OE wheel seems to fit just fine on my client's car...

Which Willowood kit? Can imagine it's the 11 or 12" rotor kit.

 

[Austin Healer]

Which Willowood kit? Can imagine it's the 11 or 12" rotor kit.

that I do not know. the car is 250 miles away, and my client is in hawaii...

 

[michael-king]

Should have read "can't imagine" .. I tried to fit the stock steel wheels on my Tiger that had one of Dales 10.5 vented rotor 4 piston Willowood kits and the wheels fouled the calliper.. not sure if the new Willwood kits have different mounting brackets etc... But iirc the 12" required 15" wheels

that I do not know. the car is 250 miles away, and my client is in hawaii...

 

[woody6]

Here is Dale's larger brake kit with a 15" wheel, you can see there is not a lot of room to spare. On the 15" Ford alloy spare, it is the dropped center portion of the rim (required in order to mount a tire) that runs into the caliper and necessitates the spacer. On a 6-7 inch wide wheel that dropped center is far enough outboard to not be a problem, but of course it is a problem with a wheel that is probably only 4-4.5" wide. That could be an issue with any narrow, 15" space saver spare.

I remember now too, the spacers I carry have a second purpose, which is to help retain the spare. The space saver is so narrow that the regular spare tire bolt won't clamp it to the floor.

 

[Theorangetiger]

I just tried my old original spare over the Wilwoods and it wasn't even close. Time to look for one of the other options.

After a little searching, I found this one at Summit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...--853yZbt2TqNVpObCcKCU-18qwmKffcaAkyOEALw_wcB

I like that it's 5" wide so it will fit in the trunk no problem. I also like that the look is generic and somewhat close to the original Tiger steel wheels. Even though it's a 15" wheel, there's no guarantee that it will clear the calipers. I'll contact Summit tomorrow to see if I can get that info.

 

[woody6]

I just tried my old original spare over the Wilwoods and it wasn't even close. Time to look for one of the other options.

After a little searching, I found this one at Summit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...--853yZbt2TqNVpObCcKCU-18qwmKffcaAkyOEALw_wcB

I like that it's 5" wide so it will fit in the trunk no problem. I also like that the look is generic and somewhat close to the original Tiger steel wheels. Even though it's a 15" wheel, there's no guarantee that it will clear the calipers. I'll contact Summit tomorrow to see if I can get that info.

I like that, and looking at the pic of the back side of the wheel, I think it looks promising for clearing the caliper. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Theorangetiger]

Summit could not provide any measurements regarding clearance so I ordered one and will try it out. Fingers crossed.

Wilwood does have great detail on clearance dimensions. If only the same existed for the wheel.

 

[Theorangetiger]

The wheel from Summit is going to work fine. It fits front and rear with at least 1/4" clearance of the calipers. I can use the same lug nuts and they still have enough thread to tighten down. No spacers needed. A 165 65 15 tire, which does exist will fit the rim and is 6 1/2" wide and will fit under the false floor. The diameter of that tire is actually right in between my 195 fronts and 205 rears, perfect. because of the backspacing of this rim, the trunk hold down bolt won't reach the threads. I'll fabricate one that does.
Photos aren't the greatest but there is clearance.

 

[michael-king]

@Theorangetiger you dont need to fabricate a new hold down bolt, get one from a wire wheel sunbeam alpine. They had a deeper bolt to accommodate the splined wheel... try @65sunbeam

 

[tiger430]

The wheel from Summit is going to work fine. It fits front and rear with at least 1/4" clearance of the calipers. I can use the same lug nuts and they still have enough thread to tighten down. No spacers needed. A 165 65 15 tire, which does exist will fit the rim and be 6 1/2" wide and fit under the false floor. The diameter of that tire is actually right in between my 195 fronts and 205 rears, Perfect. because of the backspacing of this rim, the trunk hold down bolt won't reach the threads. I'll fabricate one that does.
Photos aren't the greatest but there is clearance.

View attachment 18282View attachment 18283View attachment 18284View attachment 18285

165 65 15

which brand of tire did you buy?

 

[Theorangetiger]

Continental. It's a pretty obscure size so there aren't a lot of choices but it is a spare, after all.