C5 wheels on c3
Pro
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 535
Likes: 8
From: London Ontario
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,222
Likes: 90
From: New Jersey
Ontario73,
Good point, those turbine wheels were very ugly too, but they didn't look cheap like the C-5 wheels I posted a pic of. These C-5 wheels have no offset, which I hate, then to make matters worse they are painted silver which screams of low budget, and finally they're just ugly looking. The early C-4 "salad shooters" ( great name) were ugly too but those flat plate wheels were popular as aerodynamic enhancements, but at least they were polished aluminum and had some shine to them.
Good point, those turbine wheels were very ugly too, but they didn't look cheap like the C-5 wheels I posted a pic of. These C-5 wheels have no offset, which I hate, then to make matters worse they are painted silver which screams of low budget, and finally they're just ugly looking. The early C-4 "salad shooters" ( great name) were ugly too but those flat plate wheels were popular as aerodynamic enhancements, but at least they were polished aluminum and had some shine to them.
Last edited by chiefttp; Sep 30, 2015 at 09:58 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,269
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From: Cocoa FL
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Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,404
Likes: 1,595
From: Western NY
To return to the OP's question, the stock C-3 wheels were 8" wide, with 4" of back spacing. The C-5s were 17x9 in the front, and 18x10 in the rear. The front backspacing is approximately 7", and the rear is approximately 8". SO, unless you run some GIANT spacers or adapters, no.....and YES, the "wagon wheels" are pretty fugly, and the C-4's "salad shooters" are right up there, too!!
Pro
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 730
Likes: 37
From: Catoosa Okla
I have a 74, and bought a beautiful set of C5 wheels, and really showed off my hard work behind the wheel (which our stock wheels pretty much hide).
To get them to work, I had to install 3" spacers in the rear (hub-centric) and 1.5" spacers in the front. They looked GREAT!
...now the bad. Even though I used hub-centric spacers on front and rear, there was serious questions of the offset and load on the rather small rear wheel bearings. Enough so, long term reliability would have been in question.
I ended up selling them and restored the factory wheels
To get them to work, I had to install 3" spacers in the rear (hub-centric) and 1.5" spacers in the front. They looked GREAT!
...now the bad. Even though I used hub-centric spacers on front and rear, there was serious questions of the offset and load on the rather small rear wheel bearings. Enough so, long term reliability would have been in question.
I ended up selling them and restored the factory wheels
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,404
Likes: 1,595
From: Western NY
I have a 74, and bought a beautiful set of C5 wheels, and really showed off my hard work behind the wheel (which our stock wheels pretty much hide).
To get them to work, I had to install 3" spacers in the rear (hub-centric) and 1.5" spacers in the front. They looked GREAT!
...now the bad. Even though I used hub-centric spacers on front and rear, there was serious questions of the offset and load on the rather small rear wheel bearings. Enough so, long term reliability would have been in question.
I ended up selling them and restored the factory wheels.
To get them to work, I had to install 3" spacers in the rear (hub-centric) and 1.5" spacers in the front. They looked GREAT!
...now the bad. Even though I used hub-centric spacers on front and rear, there was serious questions of the offset and load on the rather small rear wheel bearings. Enough so, long term reliability would have been in question.
I ended up selling them and restored the factory wheels.
Smart move!
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,631
Likes: 293
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Yes the do work with adapters. I've had wheel adapters on my c3 for 5+ years now. Plenty of burnouts and hard corners with the adapters on. No issues here. Others on the forum have ran them much longer with no problems. I did install new arp studs. No problems with front or rear bearings. I've had the car since 2006, no telling how old my rear bearings are.
Navigator
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 9
Likes: 4
From: Nashville, TN
I know it has been a while on this thread, but it came up in wheel spacer and adapter searches.
If other folks are looking for spacer/adapter sizing for various generation Corvette wheel fit on C3s, I posted some helpful technical documents and a visual calculator link at https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1604241234
If other folks are looking for spacer/adapter sizing for various generation Corvette wheel fit on C3s, I posted some helpful technical documents and a visual calculator link at https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1604241234