It's often been said that the wheels make the car. This isn't really true, since even the most expensive billet rollers can't save a ride that has a funky stance. But what makes a good stance is hard to define. When you see it done right, it's like the gates of heaven are open and spilling light down on the car in front of you.The PHR mailbox is stuffed with pictures of cars that are killer, except for a bad stance. The money is already spent, but the look isn't there yet.
When we talk about stance, we're really talking about two things: rake and track. Rake is the angle of the car relative to the ground. When buying wheels, tires, and suspension parts, most guys realize that rake needs to be built into the attitude of the car, with the front being lower than the rear. What's ignored is that the gap between the rim and the fender, which is more important as a visual cue than the angle between the chassis and the ground. Virtually every car built since the '30s has a taller wheelhouse in the front. In most cases, the visual beltline of the car is interrupted by the front wheel arch, but not the rear. To solve this visually, you must compare the space between the top of the rim and the bottom of the fender-as well as the angle of the chassis relative to the ground.
Track is the width between two tires on the same axle. From a visual standpoint, this looks best when the track is maximized and the outside of the tire is just inside the fender. A tire that is recessed too far into the fender looks goofy, and may even have a negative impact on cornering. Of course, the same can be said for too much track-you don't want so much dish on a front wheel that it negatively impacts scrub radius.
If you're running different diameter wheels in the front and rear (for example, 16s up front and 18s in the rear), it's really important to pay attention to sidewall height. Even if the 18s have a taller inflated diameter, it could still have a shorter sidewall compared to the 16s, due to differences in the aspect ratio. This creates the illusion that the front tires are taller. Most tire companies have this size information on their Web site. If you don't know the sidewall height, it's easy to calculate. For example, in a P-metric tire size, the first number (the "275" in a 275/40-17, for instance) is the width in millimeters at its widest point (275 mm in our example). The second number is the aspect ratio of width to height, so to find sidewall height, all you have to do is multiply the width by the aspect ratio (275 x .40 in our example). The result will be in millimeters, so you'll need to divide it by 25.4 to get inches (110 mm / 25.4 = 4.33 inches).
When all the rules are followed, the reward is a car that just sits right and looks like it's hauling ass even when sitting perfectly still. Best of all, getting the right stance doesn't have to drain your bank account. Here's how we did it on our new '70 Ford Fairlane 500 project car.
 You can see what we had to...  You can see what we had to work with in the before shot. The 14x7 factory wheels would look small on any car, but on a gunboat like the Fairlane, they look insignificant. Even though the car has some rake relative to the ground, the larger front tire gap makes the car look like it's in a perpetual state of launching. We didn't change the rear height of the car at all, as seen in the after shot. We got the rake we wanted by bringing the front of the car down. |
 Just right-sinister, yet drivable!...  Just right-sinister, yet drivable! Compare the gap between the fender and the rim to check the rake. |
 After consulting with fellow...  After consulting with fellow Fairlane/Torino owner Martin Pond [see "Track Star," March '06], we came up with 255/40R17s and 285/40R17s, and verified our selection against the NT 555 tire spec chart at Nitto's Web site (www.nittotire.com). In this case, the fronts are almost an inch shorter in diameter (25.08 inches versus 25.95 inches). This helps add to the rake by dropping the front. We like the classic look of Vintage Wheel Works V60 wheels, and ordered 17x8s (4.5-inch backspace) and 17x9s (5-inch backspace) per Martin's suggestion. The best short-cut to finding out what works is to ask someone who's done it. We also got some good fitment tips at www.torinocobra.com. |
 We noticed the front gap between...  We noticed the front gap between the tire and fender was still too big with the new V60 wheels and Nitto NT 555 tires installed. There are several ways to drop the front of your car to fix a big gap. The most expensive is a coilover system or some air springs. A less expensive option is a set of performance aftermarket springs designed to lower the car. The cheapest way is hacking off a coil from the existing spring. We opted for low-buck, since it only cost us a 12-pack. Here, Rick Galloway of Don Lee Auto (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) slices off a coil. |
 Cutting off one coil was perfect,...  Cutting off one coil was perfect, and ended up dropping the front almost 2 inches. Notice how the top of the tire just barely disappears behind the fender. |
 You can see how the proper...  You can see how the proper backspacing put the rear tire about one finger width from the edge of the quarter-panel. Now the Fairlane has a wider track when seen from the rear, but enough clearance for the tire to compress into the wheelwell when going over bumps. |
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