What Size Wheel Spacers '85 / 16" / 6" BS / 32mm -to- '95 / 17" / 6.9" F & 7.4" R BS 56mm ???

[RedHot85Vette]

What Size Wheel Spacers '85 / 16" / 6" BS / 32mm -to- '95 / 17" / 6.9" F & 7.4" R BS 56mm ???

Good Day! I hope all are enjoying a pleasant one.

What Size Wheel Spacers will I need to go from: '85 / 16" (16x8.5 All) / 6" Backspace / 32mm Offset -to- '95 / 17" (17x8.5 Front & 17x9.5 Rear) / 6.9" Front & 7.4" Rear Backspace / 56mm Offset ???

What Size Wheel Spacers do I need to mount 1995 wheels on my 1985? After doing the math (with numbers I got from several reputable sources), I come up with a .9" difference on the front, and a 1.4" difference on the rear. I rounded both up to show that I need 1" Front and 1.5" Rear Spacers.

I don't know what the offset numbers refer to.

If this is correct. please confirm. If Not, then why, and what size would you recommend?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1985 Stock Tires GOODYEAR EAGLE VR 255/50VR-16
1985 Stock Rims, Notes - Turbine style wheel inside surface of turbine blades and center section painted glossy black. Aluminum casting does not shine much when polished.

1995 Stock Tires GOODYEAR EAGLE GS-C 255/45ZR-17 FRONT / 275/40ZR-17 REAR
1995 Stock Rims, Notes - "SAWBLADES" MACHINED FINISH 93-96


Thanks in Advance!

John Proud U. S. Coast Guard Veteran

 

[Tuna]

Check out Eckler's - they list spacers for converting early C4s to late C4 wheels.

Corvette Wheel Adapter Set, 16" To 17", 1984-1988

Well, the link does seem to work, so search on Ecklers and you'll find them.

 

[RedHot85Vette]

Check out Eckler's - they list spacers for converting early C4s to late C4 wheels.

Corvette Wheel Adapter Set, 16" To 17", 1984-1988

Well, the link does seem to work, so search on Ecklers and you'll find them.

Yep! Thanks Man! Saw the one's on Eckler's site... someone asked a question there for that item... something about the thickness and the Eckler's rep said they were 3/4 inch, All Around. I thought that was kinda small. The guy I bought the wheels from said to use 2 inch, All Around. But like I said, when measuring things, the Front seems to require 1 inch, and the Rear 1.5". I'm about an infant when it comes to all this Backspacing nonsense, but I want to get things right. I don't want to take chances that might wreck my bearings, or some rods, or bushings, or whatever.

I saw a guy on some online magazine car show Tv thing, he was a Vette guy, and he showed how using the wrong tires, rims... too fat, too heavy, too wide, busting out the wheel well, etc... he showed what happens to the other suspension components when they have to deal with that tire/rim modifications. He showed the actual damage on a Vette. It was a great, informative show... but now it's stuck in my head, and i can visualize the bolts shearing off my hubs, spacers and bearings rolling down the street, rods and bushings and junk bending up like pretzels... So I wanna get things right... and I'm on the hunt to find out what "right" is. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it, but why not... she's my baby and deserves the Best!

eBay is the way to go for these spacers. About half the price of Ecklers.

I got the '95 Wheel/Tire set with a pile of lug nuts for $450. Tires are hardly used. Rims have absolutely no damage. I wish I could do the work, but my entire spine, tippy-top to tippy-bottom is a beautiful sculpture of titanium-cobalt rods and screws... looks like a satellite view of the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm just 6 months past my 13th surgery... I can't wait to post before/after pics when it's done.

I have to do more photography this spring. 2 years haven't driven it. Bought it, Parked it, back in the hospital 2 days later... been in and out every 5-6 months since Feb 20th, 2016, when I bought it. I benn spending a lot of that time buying all kinds of stuff for it, piles of stuff all piled up in the back of the Vette. She's RED... F'n RED! Not a mark on her. Beautiful! I'm driving her this Spring, you betcha! Taking my dogs for a joy ride, Top Down! Show it off Everywhere! I love this goddamn car!

Drive Em' if you Got Em'

John

 

[Tuna]

Offset difference is the reason for the spacers. The late C4 wheel is 56mm offset as you noted. Your 16x.5 wheels have a 32mm offset.
The late wheels will sit under the car farther without spacers. Doing the math, that's a 24mm difference or .94 inches.
I don't know the width of the Eckler's spacers but they think they work and have been selling them for some time.

 

[RedHot85Vette]

Offset difference is the reason for the spacers. The late C4 wheel is 56mm offset as you noted. Your 16x.5 wheels have a 32mm offset.
The late wheels will sit under the car farther without spacers. Doing the math, that's a 24mm difference or .94 inches.
I don't know the width of the Eckler's spacers but they think they work and have been selling them for some time.

Yes, Right! I did the math as you have it there yourself, and .94 is about an inch so I rounded it up to that, and the rear wheels work out to 1.5" inches. Which is, correct me if I'm wrong, totally mathematically correct, and the wheels when mounted should be, for all intents and purposes:


...set up like (ie.for the correct suspension, brake system, wheel bearings, engineering specs, etc,)...


...look like (ie.have the same appearance as the original wheels as they sit in the wheel well, the footing/stance of the car, which can be picked up by a person's eye and make a subtle difference in the way a car looks, good or bad... I've heard many times someone say, "that car sits nice", or something to that effect... I've heard people say that about other cars I've owned in the past... maybe because I didn't have any suspension mods, wheel mods, etc... and used the same size tires that the cars came with... I guess I'd like to hear again, about my car, "your car sits nice"...


...be like the original wheels in as many ways as possible. Why wouldn't that be a good thing? Why would one do otherwise? That's what I'd like to know.


The Eckler spacers are 3/4". That seems a bit slim for me. I know there are safety issues with spacers and their thickness. I think 3" inches is (nuts!) just looking for disaster. I believe 2" inches is the limit, and I've a couple of people say they have used them without problems. So far nobody has said they used the math-correct ones.


It would be fun to get a bunch of Vettes with all different sized spacers and see what things look like and drive like... take 'em out on a track, drag strip, put 'em thru a slalom and all that! HA!

Spring is almost here!

Johnny