Wheel fitment question--1994 SHO

[slothman6]

Quick question out there.

Will a 14 inch steel wheel fit on a 1994 Taurus SHO? Sounds like a stupid question, but I need to know.

I race this car on a 1/4 mile track and currently have 15 inch steel wheels with 205/70/15 tires on it. I would like to try a 14 inch tire, something in the 175/70/14 or 185/70/14, to get the RPM's up on the car. It's a 94 SHO with an auto trans. I run in 2nd gear and get up in the 55-60 mph range. I'm getting killed in the corners...rpm's are too low!

BTW...the competition are all running RWD v-8's.

[shorod]

What type of tire are you running? I think you'd be better off running a more sport-oriented, softer tire compound tire than going to the smaller tire. You'll lose traction with the smaller tire and you'll have a hard time finding a high performance tire. With a stickier tire, you'll be able to maintain more speed into the corner without pushing. I was pretty impressed with Kuhmo Ecsta MX max performance summer only tires. I would drive on them to the track, then run the road course with them. It took most of a lap to get enough heat in them to get them good and sticky, but once they were up to temp, they gripped well. Good for 1.06 G lateral in my twin turbo Dodge Stealth. My friend with a Z06 on Hoosiers had a 1.31 G lateral.

Also, if I recall correctly, your '94 SHO came with 16 inch wheels standard. I suspect that you'll have clearance issues between the brake calipers and a 14 inch wheel, but I don't know that for sure.

-Rod