{"id":47815,"date":"2017-12-28T12:45:46","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T20:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=47815"},"modified":"2017-12-28T12:45:46","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T20:45:46","slug":"how-to-figure-out-the-axle-housing-width-for-your-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/how-to-figure-out-the-axle-housing-width-for-your-car\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"jetpack-slideshow-noscript robots-nocontent\">This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p><div id=\"gallery-47815-1-slideshow\" class=\"jetpack-slideshow-window jetpack-slideshow jetpack-slideshow-black\" data-trans=\"fade\" data-autostart=\"1\" data-gallery=\"[{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-1-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47816&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Click Here to Begin Slideshow\\n\\nPoll any drag race chassis shop and they\\u2019ll quickly tell you a car should be built around the wheels and tires (particularly the back ones). Sure, a good number of home built cars are constructed that way too, but plenty aren\\u2019t. If the business end of the car isn\\u2019t built around the rear rolling stock, there\\u2019s a pretty good chance the wheel fit, along with the ride height, will never be right. Get the ride height wrong and you\\u2019re definintely asking for suspension grief. Ditto with the wheel fit. The bottom line here is to measure everything multiple times over and then order your parts.\\n\\nFair enough, but where do you begin? The place to start is the rear end housing. Each car is different; that shouldn\\u2019t be a surprise. But if you have the back wheels and tires in hand (mounted), that\\u2019s the only piece of the puzzle, aside from the car, that you\\u2019ll need. In a few cases, it\\u2019s simply a matter of jamming the wheel and tire combination up inside the existing wheel well, squaring the works up in the chassis and measuring between the respective wheel mount flanges. You\\u2019re pretty much done.\\n\\nBut that\\u2019s the easy route. What if you have to chop the floor up, cut out the wheels tubs, narrow or fab the frame before anything fits? And what if you don\\u2019t want to cut anything up before you have a new frame or frame segment to slide under the car? After all, for some cars the floor is one of the few structural pieces that hold the body together. If you drag out the Sawzall too soon, then you have to deal with a flexing, flopping carcass. In turn, that can make a simple job like moving the body around the shop rather difficult.\\n \\nTo figure out the rear width, you\\u2019ll need some simple tools. Included in the mix are a couple of plumb bobs, a tape measure and a carpenter\\u2019s square, along with a straightedge. You\\u2019ll also find that a wee bit of tape, a sharpie marker and a hand calculator come in handy too. Housing calculus isn\\u2019t tough. Here\\u2019s how to do it.\\n\\nFirst things first: See the scribbles on the tape? One of the things we\\u2019ve done is figure out the centerline of the rear axle in relation to the body. In truth, in stock form, some cars don\\u2019t really have the back axle centered in the wheel well. It\\u2019s not really difficult to nail down the the axle centerline either: Assuming everything is square, just measure between the leading and trailing edges of the lower fender and split the difference. That\\u2019s the \\u201cC\\\/L,\\u201d or \\u201ccenter line,\\u201d mark on the fender.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-2-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47817&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 1&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Drop a plumb bob down from the axle centerline on the outside edge of each fender. You can use an inexpensive carpenter\\u2019s plumb, as shown in the next photo. Or you can simply use a heavy nut strung through with some string. Run a tape measure from one plumb line to the other (on each side of the car).&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-3-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47818&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 2&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Overall, our Nova measures 72.40 inches wide. And if you\\u2019re wondering why we didn\\u2019t measure from the inside wheel lip on each side, its because we\\u2019ll take clearance measurements into account later.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-4-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47819&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 3&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;As pointed out in the text, the rolling stock plays a pivotal role in determining the width of the rear end housing. You really can\\u2019t determine anything unless you have the exact wheel and tire combination in your hands. Here, we have a set of 16X10 wheels wrapped with a set of P285\\\/60R16 tires. This setup is relatively wide and definitely tall. And no, the package won\\u2019t fit inside the stock Nova wheel well. More on sizing in the next photos:&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-5-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47820&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 4&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;It\\u2019s a good idea to hang a square over the tire to determine overall width. It\\u2019s pretty easy on a square-shouldered radial like this, but the same process works on a bias-ply tire too (you might need a second set of hands). The mounted tire is just over 12 inches in width (sidewall bulge dimension). When this figure is compared to the tire company dimensional data, the numbers prove to be a long ways off (they claim 11.4 inches for the section width).\\n\\nThere\\u2019s a catch: The tire specs assume the tire is mounted on an 8.5-inch wide wheel. These wheels are 10.00 inches wide. The extra inch and a half in wheel width stretch the tire out a bit more. The point is, you really can\\u2019t use printed tire dimensional data when it comes to rear end housing measurements. Instead, measure the rolling stock you intend to use.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-6-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47822&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 5&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Next up, you have to get the dimension from the wheel mounting surface to the tire bulge on the curb or outboard side of the wheel-tire. There are two methods you can use to check the wheel face dimension. The first photo shows the tape measure stretched from the wheel mount flange (the part where the brake drum or the disc brake hat meets the wheel) to the bulge, using a carpenter\\u2019s square.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-6B-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47821&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 6&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;This photo shows another way to do it: Simply place a straight edge over the tire bulge and measure down to the wheel mount flange. Write down the number (in this case, it\\u2019s actually 7-3\\\/16 inch).&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Illustration-7-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47826&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 7&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;(Image credit: Mark Williams Enterprises) The next thing you need to figure out is the brake \\u201cStand Out\\u201d dimension for disc brakes or the drum thickness for drum brakes. Mark Williams offers several different stand out dimensions for their line of after-market discs, based upon the housing end you select:\\n\\n\\u2022\\tSymmetrical Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.834\\u0026#8243;\\t\\u2022\\tLarge Ford Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.500\\u0026#8243;\\t\\u2022\\t\\n\\u2022\\tOlds Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.834\\u0026#8243;\\t\\u2022\\tSmall Ford Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.500\\u0026#8243;\\t\\u2022\\t\\n\\u2022\\tMopar Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.500\\u0026#8243;\\t\\u2022\\tGM 10-12 bolt Ends \\u0026#8211; 2.812\\u0026#8243;\\n\\nDouble-check these dimensions with your brake supplier. If the plan is to use a drum setup out back, take into account the drum width along with the backing plate thickness dimensions.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-8-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47823&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 8&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;There\\u2019s more to brakes: When measuring for a rear end, you have to consider the actual thickness of the drum or the disc brake hat. Mark Williams notes that a typical iron drum measures in the 0.100-0.125 inch range, while disc brake hats such as those manufactured by M-W have a hat thickness of 0.250 inch. Measure yours and write down the number.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-9-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47825&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 9&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Several things have an effect upon the clearance between the curb side of the tire and the inner fender. Not the least of these is the length of the wheel stud coupled with the thickness of the wheel at the mount flange. Case-in-point is the wheel stud. These are actually \\u201cdrive studs\\u201d, where the actual stud drives the wheel, not the shank of the lug nut. In our case, the drive studs measure 1.250 inches in length.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Housing-9B-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47824&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 10&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Meanwhile, the wheel has a center flange thickness of 1.00-inch. That means there must be 2.250 inches of clearance between the curbside of the wheel and the inner fender to allow for wheel removal. The trimmed wheel well lip in the back quarter measures 0.500 inch per side. That means we have a minimum clearance figure of 2.75 inches per side. We\\u2019ll add an extra quarter inch for a fudge factor. With the wheel installed, this also provides room to clear the curvature of the back fender.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Illustration-10-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47827&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 11&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;(Credit Mark Williams Enterprises): At this point, you can take all of your dimensions and figure out exactly what you have and what you need. Here\\u2019s how our numbers crunched:\\n\\nOverall Car Width, outside of fender to outside of fender: 72.400 inches\\nM-W Pro Street brake standout: 2.834-inch (each) X2: \\u0026#8211; 5.668 inches\\nM-W Hat thickness: 0.250-inch (each) X2: \\u0026#8211; 0.500 inch\\nWheel \\u0026#038; Tire face to mount flange: 7.3125-inch X2: \\u0026#8211; 14.625 inches\\nFender Clearance: 3.00-inch (each) X2: \\u0026#8211; 6.00 inches\\n________________________________________________________________\\nRear End Width (housing end to housing end): 45.607\\nOr rounded off to: 42.50 inches&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;},{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.racingjunk.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Illustration-11-min.jpg&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;47828&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car 12&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;How to Figure Out the Axle Housing Width for Your Car&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;(Credit Mark Williams Enterprises): Many production cars do not have centered engines. They\\u2019re often offset toward the passenger side of the vehicle. To compensate, the pinion in these applications is also offset (for example, in some later model Fords, the offset is just under 1.00 inch). That means the passenger side axle is shorter than the driver side axle. By the way, Mark Williams points out that an offset to the passenger side is normal, but a situation where the pinion is offset to the driver\\u2019s side is abnormal. George Cathey at Pro Designs echoes that comment, but goes on to point out that in a racecar application or one where the driveshaft is very short, the pinion should be centered. That means the housing is constructed in such a way that the offset is taken into consideration. The bottom line here is, it\\u2019s not a good idea to the have the driveshaft angle skewed in the car.&quot;,&quot;itemprop&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}]\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Poll any drag race chassis shop and they\u2019ll quickly tell you a car should be built around the wheels and tires (particularly the back ones).<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":47816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3697,11,3470,4879,5010],"tags":[1332,4892,281,41,4888,321],"class_list":["post-47815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-galleries","category-how-tos","category-news","category-slideshow","category-tires-and-wheels","tag-axle-housing","tag-galleries","tag-how-to","tag-news","tag-slideshow","tag-wayne-scraba"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Housing-1-min.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-crd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47830,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47815\/revisions\/47830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}