1987-1993 Saleen Wheels
From 1987 to 1993, there were at least eight separate wheel styles offered by
Saleen. In addition, there were several variations during 1992-93, as Saleen
production was very limited and they apparently did a lot of
"scrambling" to find consistent wheel supply. In addition, there were
several other wheels offered thru the Saleen parts catalog.
Fitment for 87-93 cars is very tricky, due to the brake system used.
Non-Saleen front wheels tend to interfere with the center cap, while the Saleen
rear was very wide and used high offset rear wheels.
American Racing Mesh
These were used starting in 1987, and continued into 1989,
when the 5-spoke was phased in. The 87-89 mesh wheels were manufactured by
American Racing and appear nearly identical to the 86-86 Enkei wheel, except for
the number of lugs. Wheel size was 16x7 front (4 3/4"
backspace / 20mm offset) and 16x8 rear (5 1/4" back space / 20mm offset).
There were a variety of colors used - white, gray, gold, etc The mesh wheel was
also available in standard Mustang fitments, which had a more deep-dish
appearance.
American Racing 5-spoke
The 5-spoke was phased-in in 1989, and used thru 1991. Ronal
made a similar wheel, but it was not used by Saleen. The fronts are 16x7 with
4-3/8" backspace (10mm offset), while the rears have 5-3/4"
backspacing (32mm offset). There were a variety of colors used - white, gray,
gold, etc. The 5-spoke was also available in standard Mustang fitments, which
had a more deep-dish appearance.
DP-5
The DP-5 wheel was used on the 1989 Saleen SSC & 1990-1991
Saleen SC mustangs. Size was 16x8 front & rear. The front wheel was a 20mm
offset, while the rear offset was 36mm. These wheels were prone to cracking.
American Racing DP-style
The DP-5 was also offered in an aftermarket 4 or 5-lug version, manufactured for
Saleen by American Racing, sometimes called the AR-5 wheel. It was available
on the Saleen "GTSport" model, and was offered thru the Saleen parts
catalog as well. All 4
wheels were 16x7 with standard Mustang backspacing.
Stern 3-piece
The 17" Stern three piece wheel is very rare, mostly
used on a few 93 cars, including the SA-10 anniversary edition and the 93 SC
cars. The front wheels were 17x8 with a 24mm offset, while the rear wheels were
17x9 with a 39mm offset. They have STERN imprinted on
one spoke on each wheel. STERNS
are a true 3 piece, as the front ring and rear hoop do separate and are held
together by the bolts that hold the center section on. There is a rubber seal
that goes between the hoop and the ring that keeps it from leaking air.
These are highly sought after. When purchasing, watch the
offsets, bolt pattern and hub center bore size closely, as these wheels were
also used on non-Saleen cars. Stern wheels are made in Japan by the
high-quality division of Hinodex. No 4-lug 17" Stern wheels were imported by Saleen.
Note that the first wheel (red car) has the flat lip as used
on the actual Saleen-imported Stern wheels. The yellow car has a slightly
different "rolled lip". Just a minor detail, but something the experts
will notice! Here's a side-by-side picture of the two lip styles (rolled on
left, flat on right).
Stern 1-piece
The one-piece Stern wheels were used on some 92-93 Saleens.
The front wheels were 17x8 with a 24mm offset, while the rear wheels were 17x9
with a 39mm offset. They have STERN imprinted on
one spoke on each wheel.
There was also a variation of the Stern 1-piece wheel
used
on the black
1993 Spyder that appeared in all the magazines in 1993 - 1994. There
were probably only a hand-full of these wheels ever made. The size is 17x8 and
17x9. Note the lug nut area is "flat" as compared to the more common
1-piece pictured above.
Speedline
The one piece Speedline wheel was introduced in 1993. They are
often mistaken for the Stern wheels, as they are similar in appearance. The
easiest identifier would be that the Speedlines do not have "Stern"
stamped in one spoke.
The fronts are 17x7.5 and the rears are 17X8.5. As you can see in the close-up
pictures below, one spoke was ink-stamped "Saleen by Speedline" - a
detail that is often missing when the wheels are re-finished. However, not all
wheels said Saleen on the outside of the wheels (under the
clear coat). Speedline wheels are stamped Italy on the rear on the rear of one
spoke.
Speedlines are more common than the Sterns detailed above. In comparison, there were
only a couple of dozen Stern 3 piece sets imported
and double that for the one piece Sterns. They imported many more of the
Speedlines in both 5-lug for cars and 4-lug for catalog sales.
The Speedline wheel has also been reproduced by Wheel Replicas
recently, at a much lower cost than originals.
As mentioned, the Speedline wheel was also offered in an aftermarket 4-lug version by
Saleen. They were only available
through the catalog when Saleen was in Long
Beach. The 4-lug version was made in standard Mustang offset, and all 4 rims
were 17 x 7.5".
They look identical to the 5-lug version found on the 1993 Saleen,
except for the lug configuration.
There is no way to verify the actual number of 4 lug versions sold but
production has been estimated at around 500 sets. These pop-up on Ebay from
time-to-time, probably MORE often than the 5-lug version! The Saleen logo
appears on the front of one spoke, and they are stamped "Made in
Italy" on the back.
Logic Wheels
The Logic wheels were used on some 93 Saleens.
Very similar in appearance to one-piece Sterns or Speedlines. VERY rare - not
much information is available about them!
HRE 3-piece Wheels
The 3 piece
HRE wheel was sold only in the Saleen Catalog. The wheel was an HRE model 525,
which
looks similar to the HRE 345 rim, but NOT identical (note lugnut area of 345
wheel in last picture). Sizes
are believed to be 17x8 and 17x9.5.
Race Wheels by Speedline
These wheels were used by Saleen on the
racecars. In addition, the same wheel was used on Tim Allen's "Casper"
R-R-R super-Saleen with an Indycar-style cover disc.
SCOA
WHEEL IDENTIFICATION GUIDE 1987-1993
