CryptoWesty Posted November 25, 2021 Report Share Posted November 25, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT36 Posted November 25, 2021 Report Share Posted November 25, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited November 25, 2021 by dt36 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana Posted November 25, 2021 Report Share Posted November 25, 2021 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! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted November 25, 2021 Report Share Posted November 25, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 Maybe the reason race / rally cars choose to 'channel' the exhaust into the trans tunnel when slammed to the deck ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 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/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda1978 Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 I had 175 50 13 on mine and on std ride height it looked pants. 185 60 fit better as did 185 55 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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. 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 6 hours ago, CryptoWesty said: Also I have found with running 175/50 tyres 70mph sounds/feels like 170 mph on the long journeye! That's because the 175/50 tyres change the rolling radius and circumference of your wheels and in effect, alters your final drive gearing ratio 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT36 Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 (edited) 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 November 27, 2021 by dt36 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, dt36 said: 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 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 November 27, 2021 by CryptoWesty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monza Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 Been running 185-60-13 Yoko's on my mk1 for last 4 years. Drives great, handles, cruises motorways....does it all for me Sent from my Hammer_Energy_18x9 using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT36 Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 (edited) 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 November 27, 2021 by dt36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vista Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaileyMex Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 Agreed, my speedo is about 10 mph out at motorway speed GPS on phone helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CryptoWesty Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige65 Posted September 29, 2022 Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 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. Is that a 1" drop with 185/60's on 7" rims in the bottom picture? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT36 Posted September 29, 2022 Report Share Posted September 29, 2022 Yes, the 4 spoke picture are 185/60/13. 7" wide rims. 1" lowering block on single leaf, normal curve. Shocks are AVO adjustable. Much better ride than when it was a 2" lowering block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige65 Posted September 30, 2022 Report Share Posted September 30, 2022 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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