18" wheels on a '76?? will it work????

[kubby15]

I'm 16 and I got my Vette a few months ago. I've got the mech. stuff worked out and starting on cosmetics and was wondering how big of rims I could put on it. I would like to put either 17 or 18 inch rims all the way around. (20's if its possible, but I doubt it.) Could somebody please let me know.

 

[Last Ride]

Yep

18's are possible, and so are 20's. Groovyjay is running 20's at all four corners on custom Torque Thrust II's.

 

[GrandSportC3]

I don't see why not... The only important thing is that they clear the calipers and that you get the right backspacing...

 

[LEEJANDZ]

You have to keep in mind overall height.

You can have a 215/75 tire on a 15' wheel that is taller than a 245/50 tire on a 17' wheel.

Grab a tape measure and measure the height of the tire/wheel... from the top of the tire to the floor.
Now measure the amount of clearance in the spot that you already have the smallest clearance.

On my 79 it would be at the 9 oclock position on the LEFT front wheel.
I dont know if I have a major alignment problem or what... but I have 215/70's on 15' wheels up front and they both rub.

If you go to www.tirerack.com and check on specific tires... I am preyty sure they will give you an installed tire height.

Then just do the math.

Remember the offset though. You need to get a pretty deep wheel to clear the calipers.
If you use spacers... you will put extra stress on the wheel bearings, ujoints, etc.



JASON *** BRAND NEW MAGNECOR WIRES FOR SALE!!! *** 1979 L-82

 

[Last Ride]

You have to keep in mind overall height.

You can have a 215/75 tire on a 15' wheel that is taller than a 245/50 tire on a 17' wheel.

Grab a tape measure and measure the height of the tire/wheel... from the top of the tire to the floor.
Now measure the amount of clearance in the spot that you already have the smallest clearance.

On my 79 it would be at the 9 oclock position on the LEFT front wheel.
I dont know if I have a major alignment problem or what... but I have 215/70's on 15' wheels up front and they both rub.

If you go to www.tirerack.com and check on specific tires... I am preyty sure they will give you an installed tire height.

Then just do the math.

Remember the offset though. You need to get a pretty deep wheel to clear the calipers.
If you use spacers... you will put extra stress on the wheel bearings, ujoints, etc.



JASON *** BRAND NEW MAGNECOR WIRES FOR SALE!!! *** 1979 L-82

Jason, man, those are some TALL tires! I runs about the same on my EXPLORER! Anywho, I run 255/60r15's at all four corner with no problems. I think that turns out to be around 27"overall height. If you go to the tire rack and look under "specs" they list the overall ride height for any given tire.

Bryan

 

[Bob Chadwick]

You can calculate and compare various ride heights for different size tires using a calculator at this page.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[Evolution1980]

I run 255/60r15's at all four corner with no problems. Bryan

You run 255's up front and they don't rub? Wow... My fronts are getting replaced here very shortly with 245's. They look a hair better than the 235's, although it's more rolling resistance...but that's negligable.

Kubby15, Just an FYI...I'm 99% certain TireRack will have tires for you, but they won't have rims. And if you are looking to get custom rims, except to pay a mighty pretty penny (at least on the budget of the average 16 year old). And I'd throw out the suggestion to get the right offset on the rims, and not do spacers unless it's your only option.

 

[Last Ride]

You run 255's up front and they don't rub? Wow... My fronts are getting replaced here very shortly with 245's. They look a hair better than the 235's, although it's more rolling resistance...but that's negligable.

Kubby15, Just an FYI...I'm 99% certain TireRack will have tires for you, but they won't have rims. And if you are looking to get custom rims, except to pay a mighty pretty penny (at least on the budget of the average 16 year old). And I'd throw out the suggestion to get the right offset on the rims, and not do spacers unless it's your only option.

Yep, RPO code QBS for 1978 was for 255/70's, maybe that's why my tires look a bit small in the well... Oh well, I am going the custom route soon anyway.

Bryan

 

[Jack]

but will it look right?

I can't tell you if 18-19-20 wheels will fit. Once you get beyond the fitment issues, there's a matter of aesthetics. I know of more than a few vettes (& other cars/trucks) with large diameter retrofit wheels ... and the end result sometimes looked worse than what they started with. The wheels looked great & the vehicles looked great ... but the combination looked goofy. It seems that the large diameter wheels make the stock diameter brake component appear far too tiny ... this effect is more noticable when the wheel design is more open. Maybe just my dated preferences ... but I'd closely consider the large $ investment of real big wheels before jumping in. IMHO, 17 inch w/ stock C3 brakes looks pretty good ... but nothing bigger than 17. Just my .02.
JACK:gap

 

[Evolution1980]

Re: but will it look right?

...but the combination looked goofy. It seems that the large diameter wheels make the stock diameter brake component appear far too tiny ... this effect is more noticable when the wheel design is more open. Maybe just my dated preferences ... but I'd closely consider the large $ investment of real big wheels before jumping in. IMHO, 17 inch w/ stock C3 brakes looks pretty good ... but nothing bigger than 17. Just my .02.
JACK:gap

Yes, a very good point to throw in, Jack! I have that same aesthetic problem on my daily driver now. 17" rims and way too-small looking rotors.

 

[groovyjay]

if you want to hold on to the stock wheel/tyre diameter, which is around 27", you can use 20" wheels all around. I've got 20" American Racing Torq Thrust II's all around. No rubbing or scrubbing.

 

[groovyjay]

I'm using 8" wide front wheels and 10" wide rears. I've got 255/30/20 front and 28/30/20 rear tyres.