New guy here! Looking for ideas for new wheels and tires

[7t2vette]

I am thinking about replacing my stock wheels with something else, but with so many choices, I don't where to begin. It seems like everyone and his brother has AR TT II's, but I still like them. My car is a white 72 coupe.....any suggestions on something different??

 

[patsnitrovette]

Have you looked into boyd coddingtons?I got tires and rims,custom made to my sizes and backspacing for 1500 shipped and balanced.



http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/home.do;jsessionid=CFVRdLSFTNQ7hps219mnJd8pgd4lmp8KTzfVBbHJnLDMQQyyL1T4!2116700804!NONE

 

[Ripp 73]

Welcome

Welcome to the

You will get some great responses I bet from this crowd. And lots of pictures to take a look at too.

 

[Daryllawman]

Hello and welcome to the Corvette Action Center....Enjoy !!

 

[lnirenberg]

I am thinking about replacing my stock wheels with something else, but with so many choices, I don't where to begin. It seems like everyone and his brother has AR TT II's, but I still like them.My car is a white 72 coupe.....any suggestions on something different??

I think the reason a lot of us go with the TTIIs is because they fit with no clearance problems and they aren't outrageously expensive--just regular old pricey! I just put 16X8s on my car (I think that later in nthe week the weather might actually let me sneak it out of hibernation for a test drive, YES!) and they look great, not too much wheel or tire. I'll post picutres if I do take it for a spin. For tires I used 235/16-60 yokahama Avis Vs but the good news is that there are a lot speed rated tires at 16" and even more @ 17". I know the old school Cragars can't be mounted without spacers and they can cause a heap of trouble.

 

[tomsgota724spd]

I've got 255/45/17 bf goodrich kdw tires on 17 by 8 inch rims. They totallytransformed the handling and ride. They have been on the car for aprx. 3 years & 10,000 miles. No rub or clearance issues.

 

[7t2vette]

Pat: I have seen the Boyd Coddington Smoothies which I like.


Tom: What brand rims did you use, and since you also have a white 72, can you post or email me a pic?

 

[pgtr]

lnirenberg makes a good point. If you are considering different rims - might as well go w/ a larger rim size - I suggest 17" - that's where you get a good choice of performance tires. There are very very few good tires for 15" stock sized wheels and the selection doesn't improve much at 16". Stick w/ V rated tires or at a minimum H rated tires. The S or T rated tires are @#$@.

 

[lnirenberg]

lnirenberg makes a good point. If you are considering different rims - might as well go w/ a larger rim size - I suggest 17" - that's where you get a good choice of performance tires. There are very very few good tires for 15" stock sized wheels and the selection doesn't improve much at 16". Stick w/ V rated tires or at a minimum H rated tires. The S or T rated tires are @#$@.

In the end its all about personal statement. I wanted a taller sidewall than a 17" would afford while keeping close to OEM tire height & w/o major chassis suspension mods, so for me it was 16s with 60 profile tires. If you do a tirerack search you will surprised at the decent H/V tires available at 16" though no doubt 17s open up the field considerably. The one common conclusion is that 15s are a non-starter if you want a decent performing/rated tire.

 

[7t2vette]

I am definately going to go with 17" maybe 18", I just want to find some I like that are different form the rest of the crowd. It is hard to find a an aftermarket rim that suits a vintage car, at least in my opinion. I will be going with 255/50/17's or 255/45/18's, both cases are very close to the original tire diameter.

 

[tomsgota724spd]

I'm not sure how to post a picture of my car. It has 17 x 8 edelbrock eb454 rims with a 4 or 4.25 backspace. The rims look like the ones on the mustang "ellinore" in the movie gone in sixty seconds. You might want to reconsider your tire size. going taller than the 255/45/17 that I have will cause tire clearance issues at the front inner fenders when the tires are turned. The original tires were much more narrow. The slightly shorter tires still fill the fenders just fine. I feel that sticking to the larger diameter makes the car sit up too high. But that is just a matter of preferance. I also have a set of 255/60/15 firestone indy 500 tires on the original steel wheels. They rub at the rear of the front fenders slightly when the wheels are turned. By the way, the caliper clearance is good with the eb 454 rim. They also make a 5 spoke similar to the TII rims.

 

[Sam Colalillo]

Did any one have problems with the wider wheels rubbing the parking brake cables on the rear control arms? Currently I am fitting some 18 x 9 wheels up unto the rolling chassis and ran into a problem. I have proper clearance until I installed the parking brake cables; the way the cables are routed force them to rub against the furthest most lip of the wheel. Darn I thought for sure I had this figured out, but once I installed the park brake cable the clearance gremlins arose. I don’t wont to eliminate the park brake.



I am thinking of cutting the mounting brackets for the brake cables off the rear control arms, and welding them back on at an angle that will induce the necessary wheel clearance. This will route them cables down more instead of right into the side of the rim, I will have to be careful not to introduce a binding problem with the cables.

I clear eveything except for those park brake cables. It even clears the park brake cables mounting brackets nicely.

Thoughts from anyone else?

 

[lnirenberg]

I am thinking about replacing my stock wheels with something else, but with so many choices, I don't where to begin. It seems like everyone and his brother has AR TT II's, but I still like them. My car is a white 72 coupe.....any suggestions on something different?[/QUOTEo ]

I can't believe it, I finally figured out how to post a picture! Dumb luck I guess. This picture is from yesterday as I finally got to test out the new 5 spd and other mods including 16X8 TT IIs and Yok Avid V rated tires 235/60s. Yikes! I think its a whole new car--off the line and handling. My opinion only, I think the reason TT IIs are so popular on C2s and C3s is because they fit without any problems/compromises and, maybe more importantly, they look so damn good. Unfortunately, my test drive only lasted about 5 minutes because it started to snow. CRAP, when will it be spring?

What happened to my picture, it was here this morning? Any way, it was a blowup of avatar.

 

[norvalwilhelm]

I just followed the crowd with these 18 inchers

 

[SHADY80]

Can you please tell me what the many problems are with the Crager s/s mags(besides using spacers).I have 15" 60 tires on an 80 vette.I'm really close to buying them and I would like to know the problems if any beforehand.I like the way they look on the shark body vettes. Thanks......... Freddie

 

[lnirenberg]

Can you please tell me what the many problems are with the Crager s/s mags(besides using spacers).I have 15" 60 tires on an 80 vette.I'm really close to buying them and I would like to know the problems if any beforehand.I like the way they look on the shark body vettes. Thanks......... Freddie

I like the Cragars also as they are real old school wheels, but spacers are the problem. You need to constantly and consistently re-torque the lug nuts or the wheels tend to fall off. That can't be good, can it?