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Wheels/tyres/suspension mk2 help needed


CryptoWesty

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Hey guys newbie here! I have just bought an escort mk2 zetec turbo and love it! 
the only thing I really am struggling with is the exhaust right at the bend coming off the turbo keeps hitting the floor hard when driving cambered roads or going over any declining slopes (as in tiny ones I’d never thought would be possible to scrub on)

I have already ripped the exhaust bracket that was made for it by the guy who built it already, It is currently on 13 inch rims with 175/50 tyres, lowered 2 inch all round on blocks and Capri springs 

I have bought a 1 inch lowering kit (same setup as it’s got but higher) problem is I’m now thinking the tyres on my wheels will look hideous as there will be much more space around them if lifted 1 inch, I am struggling to find anyone who has lowered their mk2 1 inch all round on 13s so if you have done so please show me! 
I’m now starting to think to leave suspension and up the tyre height by putting 175/60 tyres on? Will they go straight on as my car is with 2 inch lowered all round with no issues? 
also I am having a full custom stainless made from a place called dot worx so he can raise the exhaust a bit higher hopefully too 

do you guys have the same issues with exhaust hitting tiniest gradients? 
Any help/pics of your setups would be much appreciated 

westy 

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Top row of top pic is a 2" drop, bottom row is a 1" drop, both on the same 13" minilight rims. 

Car drives nicer at 1" and don't scrape exhaust so much now on speed bumps. 

The other pic is as it is now with 4 spoke 13" rims and at 1" drop. 

2 inch - 1 inch_compress50.jpg

IMG_20210502_092944.jpg

Edited by dt36
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A 2" drop plus the 50 profile tyres is a particular 'look' generally termed the 'South London' look and in my opinion a bit extreme for our current pot holed and speed bump infested roads and scraped undercarriage is virtually guaranteed. The std profile tyres with alloys would have been 175/70's with 205/60's being preferred on the 7 and 7.5" rims. Any significant drop usually requires rolled arches as rubbing will occur. Personally I prefer a max 1" drop paired with 60 profiles - 185/60 in my case, looks ok and rides bumps better IMO! 

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Guilty as charged also with the 2" drop with 175/50's

And yes, my exhaust catches everything, has done for years, speed bumps, camber in roads!!! I'm hoping to change the whole exhaust system including manifold in the new year to bring the manifold down pipe up a bit, if that makes sense.

A custom manifold/exhaust would certainly help, as mine only seems to catch from the down pipe to the mid section 

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2 minutes ago, Vista said:

The drop and tyres are your real problem. I'd fix that before you invest good money replacing an exhaust that may not need it.

175/50 profile tyres also have a fairly negative effect on your cruising ability 

Oh I don't know, mine drives fine and handles well. just sits too low, but I choose to run it that way.

A custom manifold and centre pipe run snugly along the floor should certainly help.

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52 minutes ago, katana said:

Maybe the reason race / rally cars choose to 'channel' the exhaust into the trans tunnel when slammed to the deck ?

Agreed. 
But I know I for one don't want to cut into my floor to solve this. I've been looking at various companies so far, Simpson Race exhausts, Powerflow and Redhill Classics. all make the manifold from scratch from the head back, so they can bend it to exactly follow the contour of the your bulkhead down and sit just off the floor to maximise ride height.

It's on my shopping list for the new year, I'm probably going to use these guys as local https://www.redhillclassics.co.uk/custom-exhausts.html  https://www.Retards Club.com/Redhill.Classics/

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On 25/11/2021 at 21:07, dt36 said:

Top row of top pic is a 2" drop, bottom row is a 1" drop, both on the same 13" minilight rims. 

Car drives nicer at 1" and don't scrape exhaust so much now on speed bumps. 

The other pic is as it is now with 4 spoke 13" rims and at 1" drop. 

2 inch - 1 inch_compress50.jpg

IMG_20210502_092944.jpg

Thankyou so much for this! I was debating wether to not raise it to 1 inch drop but now looking at yours I think it still looks great! 
what tyre profiles you running? 
thanks!

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On 25/11/2021 at 22:31, BaileyMex said:

Guilty as charged also with the 2" drop with 175/50's

And yes, my exhaust catches everything, has done for years, speed bumps, camber in roads!!! I'm hoping to change the whole exhaust system including manifold in the new year to bring the manifold down pipe up a bit, if that makes sense.

A custom manifold/exhaust would certainly help, as mine only seems to catch from the down pipe to the mid section 

I have just booked in for a full custom powerflow to be fabricated on the 20th dec! So what I’m going to do is leave the wheels and tyres as they are for now then get this new exhaust done first and see how much he can work his magic.. if it catches on the way home then I’ll be raising 1 inch and putting bigger tyres on to fill the arches! 

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On 25/11/2021 at 21:22, katana said:

A 2" drop plus the 50 profile tyres is a particular 'look' generally termed the 'South London' look and in my opinion a bit extreme for our current pot holed and speed bump infested roads and scraped undercarriage is virtually guaranteed. The std profile tyres with alloys would have been 175/70's with 205/60's being preferred on the 7 and 7.5" rims. Any significant drop usually requires rolled arches as rubbing will occur. Personally I prefer a max 1" drop paired with 60 profiles - 185/60 in my case, looks ok and rides bumps better IMO! 

Also I have found with running 175/50 tyres 70mph sounds/feels like 170 mph on the long journeye! 
 

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On 25/11/2021 at 21:22, katana said:

A 2" drop plus the 50 profile tyres is a particular 'look' generally termed the 'South London' look and in my opinion a bit extreme for our current pot holed and speed bump infested roads and scraped undercarriage is virtually guaranteed. The std profile tyres with alloys would have been 175/70's with 205/60's being preferred on the 7 and 7.5" rims. Any significant drop usually requires rolled arches as rubbing will occur. Personally I prefer a max 1" drop paired with 60 profiles - 185/60 in my case, looks ok and rides bumps better IMO! 

Do you have any pics of this setup? Thanks !

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7 hours ago, CryptoWesty said:

I have just booked in for a full custom powerflow to be fabricated on the 20th dec! So what I’m going to do is leave the wheels and tyres as they are for now then get this new exhaust done first and see how much he can work his magic.. if it catches on the way home then I’ll be raising 1 inch and putting bigger tyres on to fill the arches! 

Be good to hear the results of the exhaust build. 

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8 hours ago, CryptoWesty said:

Thankyou so much for this! I was debating wether to not raise it to 1 inch drop but now looking at yours I think it still looks great! 
what tyre profiles you running? 
thanks!

175/60/13

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-175-60-13-77H-Yokohama-A539-Performance-Car-Tyres-1756013-/142483075817?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

 

Edited by dt36
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14 minutes ago, dt36 said:

Cheers mate! You have solved my problems! 
what’s the handling like? With the tyres less stretched would that mean the handling isn’t as good? 
It feels like it’s on rails at the moment

have you ever tried the 185/60 ? 

what’s cruising like in terms of revs with your tyres? Does it feel like it needs another gear at 70?

Edited by CryptoWesty
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1 hour ago, CryptoWesty said:

Cheers mate! You have solved my problems! 
what’s the handling like? With the tyres less stretched would that mean the handling isn’t as good? 
It feels like it’s on rails at the moment

have you ever tried the 185/60 ? 

what’s cruising like in terms of revs with your tyres? Does it feel like it needs another gear at 70?

I messed up. Mine are actually 185s 😂

I had those in my watching in ebay, ready for when I get another 4 spoke rim for a spare. 

My car handles way better now since I raised my suspension. However, I did a few other suspension swaps on the rear at the same time, because my car was too harsh and firm. 

I think my best choice was taking the Bilstien shocks off and fitting adjustable AVOs. 

Bit of a read for you:

 

 

Edited by dt36
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6 hours ago, CryptoWesty said:

Cheers mate! You have solved my problems! 
what’s the handling like? With the tyres less stretched would that mean the handling isn’t as good? 
It feels like it’s on rails at the moment

have you ever tried the 185/60 ? 

what’s cruising like in terms of revs with your tyres? Does it feel like it needs another gear at 70?

That's another issue to consider. Are you judging 70 from your speedo reading or from a satnav? If the former, changing from standard tyre size to 175/50/13 also drastically affects the accuracy of your speedo. When it's reading 70 you'll actually only be doing 61mph.

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4 hours ago, Vista said:

That's another issue to consider. Are you judging 70 from your speedo reading or from a satnav? If the former, changing from standard tyre size to 175/50/13 also drastically affects the accuracy of your speedo. When it's reading 70 you'll actually only be doing 61mph.

No I know my Speedo is 10pm out over 50mph, when my dials are at 80 I’m talking about 👍🏻 Thanks 

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  • 10 months later...
On 25/11/2021 at 21:07, DT36 said:

Top row of top pic is a 2" drop, bottom row is a 1" drop, both on the same 13" minilight rims. 

Car drives nicer at 1" and don't scrape exhaust so much now on speed bumps. 

The other pic is as it is now with 4 spoke 13" rims and at 1" drop. 

2 inch - 1 inch_compress50.jpg

IMG_20210502_092944.jpg

Is that a 1" drop with 185/60's on 7" rims in the bottom picture?

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Thanks for the reply

The reason I ask is that I contacted JBW and enquired about purchasing a set of 7" Superlites -7ET along with 185/60's, the response was that they could but normally supply those width wheels with 175/50's due them sitting close to the arches so that left me thinking that would 185/60's on 7"s -7ET fit under the arches of a standard or lowered 1" 1600 Sport?

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