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Edit: They did stop making 18X9.5. So my options are ....
18x8 front 18x9 rear or 18x10 rear
Can someone please help me find out what sizes and tires I need without doing anything past parking brake moving.
I would like to have it straight bolted on with no mods but if I have to move the parking brake that is ok.
I like that deep look on the back wheels, would 18x9 on rear look ok and what tire sizes do I need to go with because I cannot find the 9.5's to match any info anyone has given on here.
1979 with factory wheels now.
My 69 has 18x9 with 4.5 BS, tires are 255/45. The suspension is stock up front. No rubbing. T
Got my wheels and I think they are perfect! My ‘69 is a dark royal blue and I think these will look great. I get the Michelin 255/45-18 tires mounted tomorrow.
They are a little darker than the Summit picture, but not as dark as the website picture.
I have the black version of these wheels on my 74 with 1/4" spacers... They have been selling them on ebay as well for years for a pretty good price.. I paid about $450 for all four but it was about 5-6 years ago. not the best pic to show them off..
Last edited by augiedoggy; Mar 12, 2021 at 03:56 PM.
I have the black version of these wheels on my 74 with 1/4" spacers... They have been selling them on ebay as well for years for a pretty good price.. I paid about $450 for all four but it was about 5-6 years ago. not the best pic to show them off..
Yes, but they look great and I’m glad to hear and see that they have held up well over time.
New tire day! I was riding around on 5 year old A7's that were harder than a rock. Foolish thinking I was going to get any value out of using what was left. I went all in for comfort. First choice was a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's which were on infinite backorder in my size. Went for Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's in 275/35/18. First drive impression is that these will be great for cruising. Tires on the car in the picture are Toyo Proxes on 16" wheels. Wheels are Fikse previously posted.
Finally got my new 18s in. Brought them up to work and installed them today. Everything went pretty well, except one wheel that didn't want to cooperate balancing. We have a really high end Hunter balancer, and I was roadforce balancing them. One wheel kept showing a possible bent assembly and was showing extremely excessive road force numbers. I was able to get the roadforce down to a slightly high, but acceptable level, and get it balanced, but it took a good amount of weight. I'm thinking this may actually be a bad wheel, I may have to push for a replacement.
As far as fitment, my painstaking/OCD measuring paid off, the wheels fit great. Here's what I went with:
Front: 18x9.5 with 4.75" BS
Rear: 18x10 with 5.25" BS
Tires are Continental Extreme Contact sport
Front: 275/40
Rear: 285/40
Front suspension is Vansteel coilover, rear is VBP mono spring with offset trailing arms.
Check out my previous posts for my calculations on how I chose these sizes. I was pretty precise and it paid off, they fit perfect. Thanks to everyone who helped figuring it out!
Before
GREAT LOOKING 80!!! We didn’t get enough love here. I had an 80 with boss 338 18x8 front with 1” spacer (3.5 backspace) and 18x9.5 rear with 5” backspace. Great fitment as well.
Just picked up an 81 4-Speed to replace my 80, I was wondering if a set of 18x8 4.5 backspace torq thrust II will work with a 1” spacer front and back … and by the numbers you prove that a 18x8 with a 3.25 will work. If I get the 18x8s I’ll be sucked in a quarter inch more than yours with an effective 3.5” backspace.
I was also thinking of 18x8 4.5”BS and 1” spacer front plus a 18x9 5”BS with 1” spacer rear, but that would shove my combination out another quarter inch than your rears … would you say you have another quarter inch to spare? I would run a 275 width rear tire VS your 285.
i am tempted to run the newly re-releases 338s (now made by American racing) but these torq thrusts are almost 10 pounds lighter … and if you get the non custom sizes, they’re reasonably priced …
Metalhead;
Any idea of your wheel / backspace?
I love love the look.
But heah you must have an alignment problem, you only have 3 wheels on the ground in that turn! LOL
Serious traction!
11" of tread on a 10" wheel. Now I know what I want on my car!
Last edited by leigh1322; Jun 6, 2021 at 10:27 AM.
17 Inch American Racing Torq Thrust Polished Aluminum wheels (Factory correct backspacing) with Nitto G555 tires (255/50/R17). No rubbing, 10 inches of tire on the ground, 168 mph speed rating, modern rubber. Bought them three months ago from Wheels for Less,........they have about 2000 miles on them. Getting ready to sell them and go back to my factory 15 inch YJ8 aluminum wheels / Cooper 225/70/R15 tires. Will probably be listing them soon on For Sale thread.
Metalhead;
Any idea of your wheel / backspace?
I love love the look.
But heah you must have an alignment problem, you only have 3 wheels on the ground in that turn! LOL
Serious traction!
11" of tread on a 10" wheel. Now I know what I want on my car!
Thanks! Here's a response I wrote to someone else asking about them, saves me typing it again.
They're 18x10 American Racing VN2158161 wheels, 5.74" backspace. I use a small spacer with them, size varies depending on wheel alignment. No modifications on the front, they fit fine, though they will rub the chassis rail near full steering lock. On the rear I had previously modified it (for my street 17" wheels) by relocating the handbrake cable, shortening the spring, and bending the factory rear sway bar for greater clearance. I did not need to do anything else, and may not have needed the shorter spring with the 18"s due to the greater wheel diameter. They are my track wheels, I use a set of 17x9.5 wheels, currently with 275/50R17 Nitto NT555 G2 tyres, on the street.
Could you eliminate the relocation of the Parking Brake Brackets if you used 5.5in backspace instead of a 5in backspace?
No. At least in my experience. I have Ridler 695's 18x9.5 with 5.5" BS and had to relocate. It isn't the bracket that hits, it's the cable itself when it wraps around the trailing arm.
No. The 5.5" Backspace would only move the back side of the rim close to the Training Arm.
The reason for relocating the brackets was not that the rim was touching the bracket (It was not) but rather the tire was hitting the emergency brake cable.
The cable needs to be routed to the back side of the trailing arms.
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