Wheel/Tire Questions

by Hawk03 Mon May 23, 2016 8:42 pm

Is anyone running 20" rear and 18" wheels in front? Any pics? I'm thinking of 20x8.5 with 5 5/8 backspace in the rear and 18x8 with 5" backspace front wheels. I think they will fit okay. I'd rather have 18's all around but these seem like a decent deal.

by impalamonte Tue May 24, 2016 11:03 am

Hope this helps. I have a set of 18" wheels on backorder now.
I confirmed with an actual wheel that 5.25" backspacing worked on all 4 corners.
Keep in mind , I have the B-BODY front spindle retro fit too.
My tires are 255/55/18...for the rims when they come in....
I actually could do another .5" of tread width and still be ok lock to lock on the front. Though VERY close.

by alowerlevel Tue May 24, 2016 1:31 pm

impalamonte wrote:My tires are 255/55/18...for the rims when they come in....

Why such a tall tire?

by impalamonte Tue May 24, 2016 2:56 pm

Just wanted to fill the fender well.

by alowerlevel Tue May 24, 2016 3:02 pm

Understood, was just thinking that a 29" tall tire might be a bit much on the front

by impalamonte Tue May 24, 2016 3:04 pm

Sorry guys..correction...

They are 255/50/18.

I currently have 27" and going to a 28". They fit , will have to adjust the coilovers on the front slightly.

by Hawk03 Tue May 24, 2016 3:39 pm

Thanks guys this helps.

I'm worried that the 2" difference will be too much between the front and back.

by alowerlevel Tue May 24, 2016 4:35 pm

Would depend on the tire height you ran, you could get 18" tires that will be close in height to the 20" tires. Or just run 18s all around.
Other thing I see is that a 8.5" rear wheel will limit you to about a 265 tire on the rear, I would run 9.5s in the rear if they have them in the wheel your looking at, as that will give you more tire options in the back. Just my 2 cents though

by Damon23 Tue May 24, 2016 5:15 pm

The 18x9.5's I have for sale have 275/40/18 and could easily accommodate a 285/295. They are 5.5 bs though. I threw one in the front for giggles and it sat real nice but the 18x8 and the 245/45 looks right with the 4.5 bs.

by g3chevy / Mr Pontiac Tue May 24, 2016 11:17 pm

20x8.5 fronts / 20x10 rears with 1.5" drop springs - no rubbing on the fenders or frame.

Wheel/Tire Questions Imag0410

by Hawk03 Thu May 26, 2016 9:03 am

I think I might just go with 18's all around. The staggered wheels are 2 hrs away from me and I'm not that committed to them.

g3chevy - That's the style of wheel I'm looking at. Are those Boss, Ridlers, Foose or another brand? How do you like them? Do you have side picture? I was thinking of Ridlers since they seem to be a little cheaper than the Boss and Foose rims.

by g3chevy / Mr Pontiac Thu May 26, 2016 9:24 pm

They are Foose Legends. Here's a couple more pics.

Wheel/Tire Questions Imag0411

by Hawk03 Fri May 27, 2016 8:35 am

Thanks, those and the car look great!

by Hawk03 Fri May 27, 2016 4:05 pm

alowerlevel wrote:Would depend on the tire height you ran, you could get 18" tires that will be close in height to the 20" tires. Or just run 18s all around.
Other thing I see is that a 8.5" rear wheel will limit you to about a 265 tire on the rear, I would run 9.5s in the rear if they have them in the wheel your looking at, as that will give you more tire options in the back. Just my 2 cents though

The wheels I'm looking at are the Ridler 695, they come in 18x9.5 with a +6 offset and I'm not sure if they will fit or not. Would I need adapters to push them out more or will they fit okay? Is it just easier to go with 18x8 all round? The 18x8 should fit and have a 0 os.

by alowerlevel Fri May 27, 2016 5:38 pm

They should fit fine, I test fit one of my brothers Boss 338s (18x9.5 w/ -4 offset & 295/35/18) on the front of my 73, it was tight but it cleared everything.

My plan is 18x9.5s on all 4 corners wearing 275/40/18s. That way you get a decent height tire (26.7") and the ability to rotate the tires.

by Damon23 Fri May 27, 2016 5:45 pm

Hawk03 wrote:
alowerlevel wrote:Would depend on the tire height you ran, you could get 18" tires that will be close in height to the 20" tires. Or just run 18s all around.
Other thing I see is that a 8.5" rear wheel will limit you to about a 265 tire on the rear, I would run 9.5s in the rear if they have them in the wheel your looking at, as that will give you more tire options in the back. Just my 2 cents though

The wheels I'm looking at are the Ridler 695, they come in 18x9.5 with a +6 offset and I'm not sure if they will fit or not. Would I need adapters to push them out more or will they fit okay? Is it just easier to go with 18x8 all round? The 18x8 should fit and have a 0 os.

They'll fit but push in. I've got a set of hub and wheel centric spacers. One pair is a inch and the other pair are one and a quarter. If you need them I'll sell them cheap.

by Limey SE Fri May 27, 2016 6:06 pm

Hawk03 wrote:Thanks guys this helps.

I'm worried that the 2" difference will be too much between the front and back.

All these whipper snappers and wanting the Big " wheels just get some bad azz 15" wheels and stick some meats on them LOL

by Damon23 Fri May 27, 2016 7:08 pm

Here is a 18x9.5 with a 275/40/18 in the rear with 5.5bs and +1 offset. Notice how much they tuck in.
Wheel/Tire Questions BA3055D0-22C3-4A29-9273-15EA88C75D93_zpsvjcmj1ql

Wheel/Tire Questions BA3055D0-22C3-4A29-9273-15EA88C75D93_zpsvjcmj1ql

Here it is with the 1.25in spacer on the rear. Tire even with the wheel trim.
Wheel/Tire Questions 9B35373D-B29E-4758-8868-23D6D1743BAB_zpsprcssktf

Here it is with the 1 inch spacer in the rear.
Wheel/Tire Questions 52B1E0AC-EB0F-4C3F-A19E-8AA9971DC372_zpsfqh5p3ui

Don't know what look you are looking for but I wanted a more flush look. The fronts were fine to me but for me they needed to come out more.

by Hawk03 Sat May 28, 2016 9:49 am

alowerlevel wrote:They should fit fine, I test fit one of my brothers Boss 338s (18x9.5 w/ -4 offset & 295/35/18) on the front of my 73, it was tight but it cleared everything.

My plan is 18x9.5s on all 4 corners wearing 275/40/18s. That way you get a decent height tire (26.7") and the ability to rotate the tires.

Thanks guys, you helped push me to order my new wheels! I ordered 18x8 for the front and 18x9.5 for the rear. Now on to the exciting experience of tire shopping. I was thinking of going with 274/40/18 in the rear and 245/40/18 in the front.

Damon23 wrote:I've got a set of hub and wheel centric spacers. One pair is a inch and the other pair are one and a quarter. If you need them I'll sell them cheap.

Thanks for the pics, they helped with seeing what the end result would be! I would like to have them flush like yours but I've lowered my car and not sure if they will rub the quarter lip if I push them out. The car is getting painted now and I will test fit everything once I'm able to.

by Hawk03 Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:16 pm

If I decide to go with a 1 inch spacer in the rear, what length of wheel stud will I need to install to be able to clear everything? I don't have the car with me to measure and I want to have everything ready once I get it back.

by Damon23 Sun Sep 18, 2016 9:35 am

If you go 1 inch the spacer will have studs in them already. You should also look into getting a spacer that is both wheel and hub centric. Too bad, I just sold the spacers and sent the rings to a guy on facebook. The wheel company should be able to tell you the inside diameter of the wheel. I think the hubs on our cars are 73.1 but I'm not 100% on that. You could get just the regular spacers but someone got into my head that the centric ones were better.

by Hawk03 Sun Sep 18, 2016 11:25 am

Thanks Damon. I've read a few threads on adding adapters/spacers and most have said you need to grind down the studs on the axle so they clear the adapter. I wasn't sure if this was the case on our generation. I don't want to grind off the studs from the axle (the ones that come through the drums) so I thought I would purchase shorter ones but I'm not sure how long I would need to get. Does the adapter fit without changing out the studs or grinding them shorter?

Below is the adapter i was looking at purchasing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361298176907?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

by Damon23 Sun Sep 18, 2016 2:18 pm

The design of the wheel dictates if you have to grind the studs. Most new wheels have clearance for the existing studs to clear. I had no issues with clearance on the 1 inch spacers I had. The ones you posted I thinking you'll be fine.

by Hawk03 Sun Sep 18, 2016 8:15 pm

Thanks for the help! I won't worry about that part and I will see how it fits when I get the car back.

by Hawk03 Tue Sep 27, 2016 7:08 am

Before I order tires I want to confirm on the correct size. The front whees are 18x8, BS 4.50 and 0 offset and the rear wheels are 18x9.5, BS 5.5 and +6 offset.

I was going to go with 245/40/18 in the front and 275/40/18 in the rear. Would these fit without any issues?

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