Wheels, Tires and Brakes FAQ Check Here FIRST!

[Rikenbomb]

Here are some answers to frequent questions in this forum.

My steering wheel shakes at certain speeds, what's wrong with them? - This is normally a balance issue. If you are experiencing this issue your wheels require balancing. If this doesn't solve the problem, an alignment may need to be performed. This is true for those driving on larger wheels.

Also when putting on new rims, you have to make sure the clips (square metal pieces on the studs) that the factory puts over the wheel studs to help secure the rotors are removed. These will cause issues with your rims, as they will prevent your rims from being mounted flush to the hub and also cause your wheels to be unbalanced. .

What are the Cougars bolt pattern? - The Cougars have the 4x108 mm or 4x4.25 inch. This means that there are 4 nuts bolting the wheel onto the studs (hub) and they are either 108mm or 4.25" of space between the studs (2.125" [2 1/8"] from the center).

Will other bolt pattern sizes fit such as 4x100 or 4x113? - NO, unless you are willing to custom drill your wheels to the correct bolt pattern. Another possibility is changing out the hub assemblies and modifying them to fit another bolt pattern. Either option is very expensive and NOT worth the money to do.

What is the factory wheel offset? - The Factory 16" wheel has a +40mm offset.
The accepted range of wheel offset can be anywhere from +35 to +45mm. The wider the wheel, usually the higher the offset.

Which size brake discs do I need to purchase for the front? - Do you have the sport or non-sport package? Sport package cougars have fog lights, 16" wheels and a raised speed limiter, along with more features. If you have the sport package, you will need the 278 mm size discs. If you have a non-sport package they are 260 mm in size.

I have drum brakes in the rear, can I convert to disc brakes? - Yes you can. This modification has been performed. Perform a search on rear disc brake conversion. Here is a link to the rear disc brake conversion by Jesse King.
Rear Disc Conversion How To

I need to replace rotors, what should I look for when purchasing a set of rotors? - You should look for a set of directionally vaned rotors in the front. This means that in the middle of a rotor should be a fan like blades separating the rotor braking surfaces. Directionally vaned rotors are optimal in heat management and dissipation for improved braking. Straight vaned rotors are not as efficient in heat dissipation. Tirerack.com offers Brembo OEM specc'd rotors for the Cougar.

Cross Drilled - This has been debated both for and against. I am personally against cross drilled rotors as they will tend to crack the rotor surface.

Gas slotted - Not really required either as a performance option however, these are better than cross drilled. Expect more dusting due to the fact that these clean away the pad every time the brakes are applied.

What are the factory tire sizes?
15 inch wheels - 205/60 15 inch tires
16 inch wheels - 215/50 16 inch tires
17 inch wheels - 215/50 17 inch tires

What are the acceptable wheel sizes? - Anywhere from 15"x6" to 20"x8".

Will 20 inch wheels fit my car? - Supposedly yes, however any changes to the factory suspension may probably negate this as the tire may come in contact with the suspension, or wheel well.

What do the numbers mean on the side of the tires? - These are tire sizes. There are a wide range of tire sizes for each size wheel (rim). Websites like The Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels can give you a better understanding.
1. The first 3 numbers (eg.215/50 16 inch tires) represent the width of the tire in mm, basically the tread.
2. The second set of numbers (eg 215/50 16 inch tires) represent the percentage of sidewall to tread. Using the example if it is a 215 mm wide tire the 50 indicates that the sidewall thickness is 50% of the tires width
3. The letters stand for various speed ratings based on the tire and its performance rating, basically the further down the alphabet you go, the better the speed rating.
4. The last set of numbers (eg. 215/50 16 inch tires) is the wheel's diameter using inches

What size wheels are my factory wheels? - See part 4 of the previous question.
15" wheels resemble fan blades.
16" wheels have 6 spokes, generally with either a cougar logo or the word "COUGAR" written on it.

Will 225/50/16 tires fit my stock 16" wheels? - Yes they will. This has been commonly done as it seems the 225/50/16 series tires are slightly cheaper and easier to find than the 215/50 series.

I'm looking to get larger rims, What size tires will I need to buy? - This is known as plus sizing.
For 17 inch wheels 225/45 17 inch tires or the factory 215/50 17 inch (based off of tirerack.com) tires are normally recommended.
For 18 inch wheels 225/40 18 inch tires or 215/40 18 inch tires are normally recommended.
For 19 inch wheels 225/35 19 inch tires is normally recommended.

Please note that these tire sizes are recommended for closest factory ratio, comfort and appearance. Going with a smaller sidewall ratio (the second series of numbers on the tire size) will greatly affect comfort.

For a better comparison and understanding, use this link from Miata.net or try 1010 tires.com.

What are hub centric rings? - These are generally plastic rings that are mounted onto the hub (part where the wheel mounts to). The Cougar's hub size is 63.4mm. Since most aftermarket wheels have a 73mm hub spacing, hub rings fill in the gap. This provides better balancing and distributes the weight evenly preventing premature stud failure. It is highly recommended to purchase a set as they are fairly cheap (20 dollars at most).

63.4mm sized hub rings are the most common. Discount Tire Direct offers metal hub rings specific to the cougar platform and offer them in the correct size needed for your wheel. This is probably the best source to purchase high quality hub rings and a great price.

Places to find Hub rings:

Discount Tire Direct: 1-800-589-6789 DiscountTireDirect.com

Tire Rack: 1-888-541-1777 TireRack.com

[Pouncing]

The wheel clip what does it look like?

[Rikenbomb]

Rear Disc conversion is now hosted and running.

[1phatxr7]

Could we get some more info on putting 20" wheels on?

[azbobbybooshay10]

For the record, Sport Package (278mm) rotors WILL fit under the 15" wheels. In order to put the bigger rotors on, you will need the caliper mounting brackets from either a Sport Cougar or Contour SVT (I just swapped on the entire SVT caliper assembly and SS brake lines from a local CEG'er).

[AngelSpirit]

Did someone ever try 10x18?

[BigBalledOX]

Ten inch wide wheels? Uh . . . I think thats gonna look just a tad funky, unless you're going for that mini-truck/lowrider look . . .

[AngelSpirit]

Originally Posted by BigBalledOX

Ten inch wide wheels? Uh . . . I think thats gonna look just a tad funky, unless you're going for that mini-truck/lowrider look . . .

Answer in a few months
But I think that 8.5x18 would be a nice choice...

[azbobbybooshay10]

Our stock wheels are what, 6.5" wide? I think if you could fit an 8 inch wheel under there, that would be sick looking. I would be throwing some 245mm wide BFG KDW2's under there...

[sonza68]

Stock is 6.5". 8" has been done, but I don't know what offset was used.