Back to the steel vs aluminum.
I just went through some of my spares. I think the Gen 1 came with steel and the Gen 2 came with aluminum? I'm not sure because my green 94 has alum, and my CE has a steel. They may have been swapped at some point though.
The steel wheel weighs a LOT more than the alum wheel.
Here's a photo, the steel one has the holes in it, the aluminum does not.
Out of the 9 Mark VIII's (93-97) I've owned, they have all had the aluminum ones with holes. Hrmmm.....
my 93 came with an aluminium spare with out holes.Mine are both steel and have the holes. Hrmmmm. Thomas, did you check with a magnet to see if they were indeed aluminum?
If I could find two aluminum spares, that would be nice. And Steve, you're absolutely right. These tires came off of a modified Vic with aluminum mini spares and I could hold them up with one finger.
I'm pretty sure the two I have from Thunderbird SCs have holes in them...The aluminum wheels don't have holes in them.
True, the SuperCoupe aluminum spares have holes.I'm pretty sure the two I have from Thunderbird SCs have holes in them...
Black with holes>steelOH, so the Mark's aluminum spares are painted black? I'll have to take a look at mine, I have no clue what I have in there.
Tell it to the now-deceased drivers of Ford Explorers ridin' upon Firestones - lighthened at the behest of FoMoCo to "save" a few MPGs, sadly...., one the biggest area to gain weight was with the tires themselves.
MPGs?Tell it to the now-deceased drivers of Ford Explorers ridin' upon Firestones - lighthened at the behest of FoMoCo to "save" a few MPGs, sadly.
With the Explorer's 1990 production date approaching, Ford engineers listed four options for improving the stability of the SUV: widening the chassis by 2 in.; lowering the engine; or lowering the tire pressure and stiffening the springs. Ford chose the latter two fixes and recommended a tire pressure of 26 p.s.i.—rather than the 30-to-35 p.s.i. that Firestone normally used in its tires—to produce a more road-gripping ride. This created friction between Ford and Firestone after last year's recall, with Firestone insisting that the low pressure had increased the heat on the tires and caused the tread separations.
in fact, they even knew it would hurt the fuel economy.Ford's decision to increase the stability of the Explorer by lowering the tire pressure soon had unintended consequences. The mushier tires held the road better but worsened fuel economy. When Ford asked Firestone to fix the problem, Firestone reduced the weight of the tire about 3%.
What in the world are you talking about? That has nothing to do with this conversation (from 3 years ago).Tell it to the now-deceased drivers of Ford Explorers ridin' upon Firestones - lighthened at the behest of FoMoCo to "save" a few MPGs, sadly.