new edge axle longer than sn95?

[STR33TR]

I've got a friend from a local forum wanting to swap the stock axle (+$300) from his 02gt for the built rear in my 95gt.
1. My wheel/tire combo is already rubbing on the fender lip -is his rear longer than mine?
2. $300 worth it? I don't intend to drag race my car, and the factory 5.0 is no bruiser. The rear was built by the previous owner so I have no idea what a built rear is worth.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Depends how it is built. Some people say its built but only have a oem rebuild kit and gears, what is in yours? Yes, the new edge axles are longer than yours and so are 96-98 axles, but not as long as new edge. I think it would be best for you to either cut that lip out (leave only about a 1/4 inch), or roll the fenders. You are looking at a decent performance loss if you go from a geared rear end to a stock rear.

 

[STR33TR]

a. thanks for the quick response!
b. love your sig -car looks LOW.
c. I'm pro'lly the only GT owner on the planet that doesn't really care a/b the performance of my car. I like the rumble of the V8 and the styling of the mustang. I didn't buy a mustang to race. I do like that it moves quickly thru traffic, but other than that i don't care much for go-fast parts.
You mentioned the buildup of the rear: as I understand it, there's a performace diff (don't remember the brand, but I recognized it from the mustang mags and interwebz discussions), 4:10 gears and explorer 31 spline axles(?). Has a trickflow diff cover. The kid I bought it from said everything was upgraded, except he didn't go to c-clip eliminators.

re: fender rolling. I've already rolled the fenders (did that before I put the 315s/cobras on it back in Feb). I've talked to some local guys a/b pulling the fenders to get some extra clearance -I've seen their work and they're good.

So it is definitely wider? how much difference in length are we talking a/b?
I'd talked to a guy w/ IRS a/b doing a swap but decided against it b/c his rear is 3/4" longer (as I remember). Should I have stuck w/ the IRS idea?

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Yes you should have went with the IRS but thats from a performance and ride-quality standpoint. I cant give you exact dimensions as far as 95 axle V.S. 03 Axle, maybe google will have the answers? If your fenders have already been rolled, I dont know if you haveing a wider track out back will do any good for you. The problem will have to be the offset of the wheels and sidewall height of the tires. Maybe your best bet after all of this will be to keep what you have and try going with a lower profile tire? (not saying go with an actual low profile tire, just something slightly smaller than what you currently have)

 

[STR33TR]

not a lot of options <$150 for wide tires on 15" wheels. 295/50-15s are the best sized wheel for my look. Wheels/tires are perfect, and is exactly what I picked out after months of math and research. I'm super happy with how they turned out, even if they do rub a bit everynow and then.
looks like this will have to hang on whether or not I can get my fenders pulled enough to cover added width of axle...

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Very true, I remember your thread when you puth them on and you stated how much you wanted the look, just thought that maybe a 40 series tire might not rub. OOOHHH (Light bulb) lol, didnt you have a set of OEM fender flares? I cant remember if it was you or not. Anway, you could have a body shop extend your wheel wells higher and it would be hidden with the flares. Or go back to your original plan and get them pulled out a bit, becasue I'm pretty sure putting in longer axles will not help your problem at all.

 

[STR33TR]

Very true, I remember your thread when you puth them on and you stated how much you wanted the look, just thought that maybe a 40 series tire might not rub. OOOHHH (Light bulb) lol, didnt you have a set of OEM fender flares? I cant remember if it was you or not. Anway, you could have a body shop extend your wheel wells higher and it would be hidden with the flares. Or go back to your original plan and get them pulled out a bit, ...

I've not been able to find any 295/40-15s, but even if I did I'd wanna LOWER the car more. I hate fender gap.
And, yes, I'm the guy w/ the flares:

Downside of the flare idea is that they mount to the lip inside the wheelwell (which I've already rolled). I think that it might be possible to mount them to (the outside of) the fender, but they would have to be trimmed so that the part that is intended to mount to the fender lip doesn't come into contact w/ the tires.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

I'm sure a body shop could find a solution to that problem....rivets, screws anywhere they could, even mold it into the quarterpanel. Might be a bit pricey but body work dont come cheap. If you have time I would stop by your shop of choice and talked to the owner or most experienced tech there and see what they think.

 

[STR33TR]

I'm sure a body shop could find a solution to that problem.... body work dont come cheap.

yeah, this is the problem that I'm hitting against. I'm so broke that I'm having to downgrade performance parts -doesn't leave me much moolah to spend on bodywork!
I'll have to re-evaluate the flares, to determine if they can be mounted differently and work for my situation.

 

[DropTopPony]

The 99-04 have a .75" per side longer axle totaling 1.5" longer then the 94-98's.

 

[Passenger]

As Bob said, they're longer. Fox axles are shorter than 94-98 axles however

 

[STR33TR]

0 sh!t. 3/4" more is huge, especially when my tires already bulge out of the fenders!

 

[duff daddy]

lol good job getting some correct tech in here bob !!!



You need a SN95 specific axles. Not really that abundant in the performance world but they can be found.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

you could also buy some MM hd lower control arms and raise the car in the rear a little bit

 

[STR33TR]

The whole story is that we had already removed the axles from both cars (had to cut the $%#&'n lower control arm bolts out of his axle -I hate metal shavings from cutting wheel!) and had wheeled the axles over to each car, when he says "I wonder how this is going to look, since my axle is longer than yours."



WTF, yo.



We do all this work and NOW you tell me your's is longer than mine?
My tires already rub on my fenders and you wait until we're 9+hrs into this swap to spill this info?
That was tuesday nite, so I started this thread yesterday morning to find out how much longer his axle was.
Since we were so close last nite we went ahead and put all the bolts on finger-tight, pulled the jack stands and set her on the ground.

**3/4" per side is a/b right**

My car had gone from "delightfully tacky" to rediculously unrefined. I was going to have to adjust my knock-off weight-jackers all the way up to keep from bashing my poor defenseless sheet metal. Plus I'd have to figure out how to mount the flares and the tires would still bulge out past that.



It took us till midnite to get my axle back under my car and get it all buttoned up. Now I'm sleeping @ my desk. (8-5 ftl)

 

[JDwhite98gt]

lol good job getting some correct tech in here bob !!!



You need a SN95 specific axles. Not really that abundant in the performance world but they can be found.

What was incorrect about the info I gave? He wasn't swapping axles, he was swapping entire rears.

The whole story is that we had already removed the axles from both cars (had to cut the $%#&'n lower control arm bolts out of his axle -I hate metal shavings from cutting wheel!) and had wheeled the axles over to each car, when he says "I wonder how this is going to look, since my axle is longer than yours."



WTF, yo.



We do all this work and NOW you tell me your's is longer than mine?
My tires already rub on my fenders and you wait until we're 9+hrs into this swap to spill this info?
That was tuesday nite, so I started this thread yesterday morning to find out how much longer his axle was.
Since we were so close last nite we went ahead and put all the bolts on finger-tight, pulled the jack stands and set her on the ground.

**3/4" per side is a/b right**

My car had gone from "delightfully tacky" to rediculously unrefined. I was going to have to adjust my knock-off weight-jackers all the way up to keep from bashing my poor defenseless sheet metal. Plus I'd have to figure out how to mount the flares and the tires would still bulge out past that.



It took us till midnite to get my axle back under my car and get it all buttoned up. Now I'm sleeping @ my desk. (8-5 ftl)

wow I cant believe you guys did all that work when all you had to do was get the measuring tape out lol. It wouldn't of solved the axle problem but then you would have known how much wider ur buddy's was. I still think your best bet is to stick with what you have for now, until you find a better solution.

 

[snoball]

Sell the flares.. theres a solution as to what do with them. Get some stock wheels and tires and sell the ones you have, no more rubbing. Ta-da I helped.

 

[STR33TR]

...wonder how this is going to look, since my axle is longer than yours."
WTF, yo.
We do all this work and NOW you tell me your's is longer than mine?

wow I cant believe you guys did all that work when all you had to do was get the measuring tape out lol. It wouldn't of solved the axle problem but then you would have known how much wider ur buddy's was. I still think your best bet is to stick with what you have for now, until you find a better solution.

The problem is that I had no idea -it never crossed my mind- that there might be a difference in axle lengths. He knew but didn't say anything until like midnite on Tuesday, after we'd already dropped both rears and moved them into place under each other's cars. I didn't have a measuring tape handy, and so I just asked you guys so that we could get back to work on the cars after 5.

as for selling the flares and wheels -I've had a couple stock looking mustang, thanks. I'd rather have mine w/ some personality.