i have a 98 sport SOHC 4x4. i want to put 17" cobra r rims on it. what do i need to know? do i want 8" or 9" width? will i need wheel spacers (i am really leaning against using wheel spacers)? can i use just a stock offset for a mustang or do i need a special offset to fit on my explorer?

also, what size tires should i get? i want the widest tires i can possibly get with NO rub at all.

you guys should probably know that i am toying with the idea of getting the explorer express lowering kit (which will only drop my truck like 1 3/4"), but this is not definate.

if theres anything else i need to know, but didnt ask, please fill me in.

thanks a ton in advance

Originally posted by tbomb
what do i need to know? do i want 8" or 9" width? The REAL Cobra R Rims only come 17x9.

Originally posted by tbomb
will i need wheel spacers (i am really leaning against using wheel spacers)? Spacers are NOT required. I am using the H&R spacers because I wanted my speedo to be accurate.

Originally posted by tbomb
can i use just a stock offset for a mustang or do i need a special offset to fit on my explorer? If you want the Cobra R Rims, you will need the one with he M58 in the part number from Ford Motorsport. (I can get you the exact Part Number later) Cobra R Rims are sold with two types of off-sets.

Originally posted by tbomb
also, what size tires should i get? i want the widest tires i can possibly get with NO rub at all. The tire you should get are the Pirelli Scorpion Zero 255/50VR17, (if you don't care about speedo accuracy.) Beware, these tires SUCK in the snow!

Originally posted by tbomb
you guys should probably know that i am toying with the idea of getting the explorer express lowering kit (which will only drop my truck like 1 3/4"), but this is not definite. Explorer Express is over priced! If you lower it, try cranking down the torsion bars and reversing the shackles.

Originally posted by tbomb
if theres anything else i need to know, but didn't ask, please fill me in.
Do you care about speedo accuracy?

Take a look at my website, I have the Cobra R's

-Willie

OK, from threads that I have read, both of you seem to know quite a bit about the Cobra R wheels. I am interested in getting a set of 17 x 9 wheels, but I am not interested in paying over a grand for them. I was looking on ebay and found these... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1805022275

Now it says that they are reproductions. Does that mean replica? I'm stupid - help me.

On this guys website, http://www.voodooperformance.com/sframe.html , they seem to be priced like a REAL set. The price on ebay seems too good to be true if they are REAL. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

yeah, i know more about cobra r's than i really care to know ;) but id be happy to help you out.

first of all, there IS a difference between real ones and replicas. REAL ones are made by ford and have the centercap with the cobra wrapped around the R. replicas look just like the real ones, but they arent made by ford, hence the cheaper price. you can tell the replicas by not having the correct centercap.

now, the first link you provided, it has a centercap with a cobra wrapped around a red R, BUT, they are NOT the REAL cobra r's - those are replicas like he stated. that centercap isnt a real cobra r centercap, its a fake one - this guy actually went and put fake centercaps on them(whenever i question anything like that, i ask my roommate who's a mustang guru, whos actually selling a set of brand new "in box" polished aluminum cobra r replicas if anyones interested - email me to talk to price - ill hook you up with his email.) also, a few years ago, you used to be able to buy replica wheels and go to ford to buy just the REAL cobra r decal for the centercap, but you cant do that anymore, they dont sell them anymore.

the second link you provided doesnt look like real cobra r's either - just look at the centercap.

there are a few things you should know. there are also wheels from a 98 cobra (NOT a cobra r) that look almost identical to cobra r's, but theyre not. theyre 17x8 instead of 17x9 and the spokes have more arc to them, and they have a different centercap. in real life, they look different.

personally, i wanted the real cobra r's just so if someone asked me, i could say they were real. i wasnt happy with my setup, so i ended up selling them a week later anyways, heh. if cost is an issue, i say get the replicas - if i could go back, i probably would have gotten the replicas, just because theyre cheaper and there arent many people who know the difference.

i got mine from gene evans ford for something like $640 or something like that, i dont really remember exactly - i think the website if www.gefracing.com - if you go there (or anywhere else for that matter) you want the 95 cobra r's. 99 cobra r's look different (but theyll fit the same way if you like them better than the ones from 95.)

i know thats a lot of information, but youll see what im talking about just from poking around a little. id be happy to answer any other questions you have.

Do you think $380 is a good deal? Hell, thats only $95 per wheel. These are a direct bolt on, right? I would need spacers in the front, correct? i think i read 3/8 somewhere. How much do those go for and do you know any decent places to pick them up? thanks

BTW, can you tell me what your roomate is asking?

yeah, 380 is a good deal.

yeah, theyre a direct bolt on.

actually the spacers are 3/16" and www.explorerexpress.com has them, but you dont NEED them. youll only need them for certain tire sizes - some guys use em and some dont. what size tires do you want?

my roommate is asking 500 plus shipping - theyre polished aluminum (dont tell him i told you, but i know that he'll settle for 460 ;) ) if you want pics, he has pics, or i could take some more pics of them - theyre in our living room right now, heh.

The cheapest I've seen for real R's is $175 each.
Diversifed Motorsports in Michigan. Less than that, and I worry that they are stolen.

275/55/17 is the correct size if you want to keep the speedo accurate. I happen to think that Pirellis are overpriced and over rated. The Bridgestone Duler HP is a more advanced tire.

No one mentions that unless your X has fender flares, the R rim + 3/16 spacer + tires 255 or wider will end up spraying road crap all over the side of your ride, because they stick out in the front. Also, the stock power steering pump has a helluva time hefting around the 275's at low speed. Mine shudders badly at low speed turning.

How come you post questions and then answer yourself?

the difference between the 255 and the 275 tire height (about 1") will not even be noticable on the speedo. i dont know about on the 4x4, but on my 2x4 i had to grind the lip off of the lower control arm to keep the WHEEL not tire from rubbing. this was not necessary when i was stock height, only when i dropped 2". i have the 255's on front and 275's on back. i will have to agree, on a 2x4 this is the best setup.

do you guys think cobra r's would look good on an explorer with a billet grille? for some reason i dont think it would look right. does anyone have any pics of an explorer with both?

i think it would look fine. personally, i dont like the billet grills, unless the truck has a chrome grill already (some have body-matched grills, like mine), but im a bigger fan of painting everything to match ;) i dont see why the rims would offset the grill though.

I thought the wieght rating on the cobra wheels were not enough to handle the weight of the X...anyone know for sure?

i dont know exactly, but the X is 1000lbs heavier than the stang. so youve got 250lbs more on each wheel. i know the R's weight limit CANT be at the edge of what a stang weighs. there has to be some overlap in there. i do know many people (including me) have ran them for a while, and i have never heard of so much as a crack, let alone a severe failure. i know what some other 17" wheels ratings are (i dont see why the Cobra would be much different), and the X doesnt come close to max load.

i dont know exactly what the weight ratings are for the wheels, but my roommate has a 96 cobra "coupe" (that just means its not a convertible) and it weighs like 3600 lbs or so. granted a cobra r is a totally different car than a cobra, but im sure they probably weight about the same. now, obviously, explorers weight more, but i dont think a tremendous amount more. also, ive never heard of anyone actually crushing a cobra r wheel because of the weight of a vehicle, and theres a number of guys on here who use those rims offroad - thats a lot of punishment, heh.

edit: i didnt see james t's reply when i wrote all this, but its still all relevant.

I believe the weight difference is approx. 500 lbs., which won't be a problem for the wheels. A number of people have them, with no problems. I WOULD worry about the weight if you got replicas, but the geniune ones should be OK.

Does anyone know if the the Cobra R's will fit a '93 Mazda Navajo 4x4? I have been looking around for a nice set of wheels, and the Cobra R's are my top choice, if they will fit.

Thanks,

Adam G.

im pretty sure you will have to drill them out to get the hub through

Originally posted by 98FordX24
im pretty sure you will have to drill them out to get the hub through

yah, i think so, too. muddwhore is the only truck that comes to mind right now of people who put them on a first gen X. you might wanna send him a PM or email.

i would worry about the weight with the replicas...

its not gonna matter. the replicas are made by the same manufacturer the originals are. the weight rating is not gonna be different nor is the quality. factory wheels are NOT made by Ford/Chevy/Dodge or anyone else. they are made by aftermarket wheel makers. when you by the original FoMoCo R's, your paying extra to have an original equipment wheel and nothing more.

i was thinkin about pickin up a pair of the 17x8's. I guess they would be replicas...but theyre being sold fer $500 at this one site.
neways....i have 255's wrapping my stock rims right now...would i have to change tires to accomodate the larger wheel?

yeah. youd have to get new tires for the 17" rims. you can keep pretty much the same over all height with the new tires though. check out the the tire size convertor/calculator thing over at 4lo.com.

Can someone tell me if the COBRA R WHEEL '95 - NEW STYLE is the real thing or a replica.
Also, the COBRA WHEELS - 1998.

GEF Racing (http://www.gefracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GRPP&Category_Code=WHEELS)

i dont know for sure, but i wouuld assume that the 95 - new style rims are real if gefracing is selling them. the shots they show arent good enough to notice any small differences. the difference in price is enough to make me get them, if i was looking at them ;)

the 98 cobra wheels are real. theyre different than the 95 cobra r's, though. they look the same in the pic, but theyre slightly different (the spokes have more "arc" and the centercap is different, and the width and offset are both different.) the 98 cobra rims are just that; theyre the rims that came stock on a 98 cobra. (to fill you in, in case you dont know, a cobra is different than a cobra r - 2 totally different cars.)

ok, i just consulted my personal mustang consultant (my roommate), and i found out the difference between the 95 cobra r original wheels and the new style ones. if you look close enough, on the new style wheels, right in the middle, where the centercap is (the area between all the holes for the wheel studs), that part of the wheel is flatter than the original cobra r. its still a 95 cobra r, but that one little part is different, and theyre a lot cheaper. get those :)

Originally posted by tbomb
the difference between the 95 cobra r original wheels and the new style ones.


new style ones meaning the 98 cobra wheels? arent the 98's 17x8. you also said the offset is different. do you know if its less than 24mm. I really dont want any rub at all when running a 275/55 tire and I DONT want to use spacers. So, overall, you think I would be better off getting the 98 cobra wheels?

Oh wait! DUH!!! I just started using my brain. Ok, forget about my last post. Do you know what the offset of the 98 cobra wheels are?

Originally posted by 98FordX24
Oh wait! DUH!!! I just started using my brain. Ok, forget about my last post. Do you know what the offset of the 98 cobra wheels are?

um, off the top of my head, no. i think they might be something like 22mm instead of the 24mm on the cobra rs. theyre pretty close, though - they have to be able to fit on the same cars.

personally, i like the cobra r's better, and people run 275 55 r17's all the time with minimal rubbing on full wheel turn, which i think is tolerable, but its really up to you.