The rear track width on my street rod truck is 4" wider than the front track width . Will that make a difference on handling or alignment? Thanks in advance
I have not measured mine on the Studebaker but it is a few inches wider than the front and has no alignment issues and goes like it is on rails. It also rides on a spool so cornering is not high on the list . I think some OEM stuff the rear is a little narrower while some are a little wider . The most important thing is all four wheels are going in the same direction.
Pretty normal when running big and littles. Still I would have to believe that if 50 people answer, you will find out that there are a lot of different concepts about what "good handling" is. For me, a vehicle needs to track straight down a straight road without constant adjustment. Meaning that out on a straight flat road with the normal crown found in your home region it should be able to run down the road for a good distance hands of the wheel and stay on track, It should also return to center after making a turn pretty well on it's own, It should steer through curves and around traffic circles at legal speed without a fight. Simply meaning that if you come on a traffic circle with a 20 mph speed limit you should be able to cruise through it at 20 traffic flow allowing and not have to slow down below that to avoid hassles with the steering. I used to have a buddy with a T bucket with skinny tires on the front and huge tires on the back and probably a front end that could have been set up a lot better that you backed off about three extra car lengths from when you came up to a tight turn when following him as that rig was horrible about going around tight corners. Mostly it wanted to slide the front tires. That would be my main concern with a big difference in tire width on a street driven rig, how it did at what speeds in turns or curves. Know the limits and stay within them. That might call for finding a big empty parking lot and going out and playing a bit to see how it reacts if you haven't already.
I don't see any real issues, as long as alignment is correct. I've built several rods with wider rear tracks and no issues. Extreme case in point: AA/FDs run 330 MPH with significant rear track differences.
Yeah not having to fight the front end in turns is a key point. As well as not having to fight it back straight
A lot of early 50's cars had a wider track width in the rear. My 54 Chrysler New Yorker was that way. You could even see that the rear fenders stuck out compared to the front.
Reversed wheels on the rear like we used to have, could make 1-1/2 to 2" inches difference, per side. I don't remember it changing the handling.
Depends - If...you will be pushing in corners, driving hard, then yes. The front should be a little wider than the rear. Any chassis / handling book will confirm this. As for the alignment, "no", there should be no problem. Driving - As noted above. A lowered truck, wide tires, hard driving, incorners, on and off freeway on-off ramps, mountain driving, then yes, not so good for handling. BUT, if you are just...driving around like a normal truck, you'll probably not notice any problems. Mike
When I was doing the frame on a 46 Cadillac, I noticed that the rear was 4 inches wider than the front. I widened the frame 4 inches in front and liked the look better but found out that I couldn't turn the wheels. A friend had the same problem and he went to a smaller tire up front which I didn't care for. I've heard rumors that formula 1 cars handle ok with wider rear tracks but I've never driven one to find out.
Those trucks the post office has had for 30 years have very disparate track widths. They are driven by lots of different people and seem to not have any issues.
No. It won't. Or it will? The answer is it depends. You're not very good at supplying information to get the correct answers about anything you ask. No one can tell or answer if you're not going to at least post a picture of your setup so we can see where the 4" comes from I'm thinking it's a bot or an AI account
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