Aftermarket wheels for my '79.
 

I'm fairly new to the Corvette hobby. I'd like to move to an aftermarket wheel for my 1979. the standard wheel is a 15x7 (I believe). I'd like to go to an 18" wheel, with no other modifications to the car. Could anyone give me some suggestions as to manufacturers, knowledgeable websites/dealers who could help me? Maybe even suggest some wheels styles?

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...ly-thread.html

Scroll through here to give you some ideas. Stock wheel size is 15x8, with 4 inches of backspace. If you move to 18x8 with 4 inches of backspace you won't have any fitment problems. You can go wider in the rear, but you'll have to measure to ensure that you won't run into fitment issues.

Learning Curve, Thanks for the reply. I just scrolled thru the thread, and I'm feeling really good about this now! I'll probably get the same size all around so I can rotate tires. I can't wait to get them so I can post pics on that thread.

Makes sense. Most performance tires are directional, so you can only swap front to rear and not side to side. As long as you keep your car in alignment, it shouldn't be a problem.

Funny how those rear tires seem to wear so much faster than the fronts, no?

Just an option, here is my 78 with 17 inch SLP's with 255/45/17 ZR tires. These rims fit perfectly with no mods required anywhere. I was looking to replace the OEM aluminum rims with something that was not too flashy.

[IMG]http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0273.jpg[/IMG]

If you would consider 17 inch:

http://psvintagewheels.com/products.html Nice thing is you can set your back spacing.
I purchased my minilyte replicas from him. If you want to see Corvettes with his rims: http://www.2ndgenrestorations.com/ro...redvettes.html

One more site: http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/products/wheels

1st welcome to the forum.:thumbs:
Why not try to narrow it down a little? What type of wheel are you looking for? Do you like a traditional 5 spoke, something race inspired, modern billet? What's your budget? Take all these things into consideration and decide what you like and what fits in your budget. Don't forget many of the wheels you might like are available in 17s also and therefore cost less. You wouldn't notice a difference in performance. There are many threads on this forum with wheel/tire pictures. Do a search using "17s" and "18s" there is hours of reading with lots of pictures. Nothing changes the look of a car more than wheels and tires IMCO. You want to pick out something you're not only happy with the way they look put also the way they perform. After you do that update this thread and you will get plenty of suggestions...oh and by the way lots of opinions. :D

LOVE those Minilites!!

All good questions.. Here's the deal.. I'll probably do more cruises and shows with my C3 than performance related activities (no hate mail, please), so I want something w/some 'flash'.. not a lot, but not too sedate, either. I'm leaning toward a 5-spoke wheel, but many of the prominent retailer websites all show me basically the same stuff (that will fit the car w/o modifications). Basically some variation of AR's TorqThrust. (Different mfgs, but same basic look). It's a nice look, but a very common look. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong places. I have a wheel in mind: AR's Daytona, but I'm not sure if it will fit.(18x9, 0mm offset, 5" backspace). budget: $200-$225, tops

I have the 18x9 Daytona's on the rear. It was real close to the spring but did fit. I found the set on ebay with 17x8 fronts for 550. It was a return from a customer that didn't like the fact that the wheels had no "dish". Turns out they were 4.5 bolt pattern, but the seller got me a new set for 50 bucks more.

A little more unique than the standard five spoke, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who appreciates the look. Hopefully not too many jump on the bandwagon. I like that they're unique!

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/...ps47138dc6.jpg

Excuse the stinkbug stance. I need to sort the ride height.

Hi kenarab,

I just sent you a PM.:thumbs:

Thanks
:cheers:
BILL

15X10s on my 79.

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/...psc3e6e97a.jpg

Not sure how to see the PM's. Should it have come to my email? I didn't get it..

L_C, Are your wheels chrome? I can't quite tell from the pic. What size tires on the back? I like the look...

The 18x9 with 5" backspace should fit fine in the rear as Learning_Curve stated. I'm not sure you can get that to work in the front although others have. You could buy two 18x9s and try them in the front to see if they would work all the way around (keeping in mind that they make work with a narrower tire than what you decide to run in the rear). Or you could just go with a 18x8 or 17x8 in the front.

Look at the top right hand corner of this page where it says:

Welcome kenarab :thumbs:

:cheers:
BILL

Not chrome, grey with a machined lip. And the tires are 275/40/18 rear, 245/45/17 front.

Guess I'm the odd duck... I like the stock steel wheels with the chrome ring and hub covers.

L_C, Retailer is saying Daytona 18x9's won't clear the caliper. Did you hear that? Was that a problem for you?

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/...psc6c4fe7e.jpg
http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/...ps154458e0.jpg

Not even close! These wheels have the spokes on the outside of the rim, so to get the right backspacing they a very thick hub. It leaves lots of room.

Now you may have problems with the parking brake cable, as these wheels are very close to the trailing arm. I moved the brackets for the parking brake to the top of the trailingl arms.

Other members have gotten enough clearance by using zip ties to hold the cable close to the trailing arm.