I'm looking to put larger wheels on my '81 to get a high performance tire with shorter(stiffer) sidewalls on it. However, I have not been able to find a listing anywhere with 17 or 18 inch wheels for a '81 vette.

Would wheels listed (for example) an '89 Camaro fit? I can locate these in 17X8.5 easy enough and can find lots on tires in this size also. I am worried aboust offset and back spacing problems. Also the fact true high performance tires are not easy to find in 255x60x15 like are on the car now.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Hi gerry,
Have you tried the "search" feature on this forum? There is lot's and lot's of great information related to your question. I hope to upgrade to 16" or 17" wheels sometime in the future as well.

Good luck.

 

why not just go into America's Tire or LeSchwab and
see if they have a rim that will fit...last time i went
in to America's Tire to get the tires on my dodge rotated...
i asked one of the guys there if they have anything
that would bolt on to my '79 without having to use
spacers...and the guy said he wouldn't have a problem
finding one that would fit exactly

 

Yes, I did go to america's tire. The first salesman found a wheel real quick. Ceap also. when I looked at the specs (later at home), I noticed it was a front wheel drive wheel drive offset and back space. Next time I was in the area, I stopped in and asked for the salesman again he said it would fit, no problem.... I showed him the specs and asked if he could check. He came back with another salesman who I showed the specs to and asked if they would fit. His comments (in front of the first salesman) where "Hell no, who told you to use these? Anyone can see they are front wheel drive wheels, that is why you should come to the experts here. We know what fits". After telling him it was his other salesman, he shows he what wheels he has that will fit. Ugly SUV wheels.

That is why I was asking about what more common listings would interchange.

 

Gerry, the problem with C-3 aftermarket wheels lies in the fact that the C-3 calipers are so large. I went thru the same dilema last winter. do a search for wheel topics here and see what you get. The back, or inside of the wheel must be designed to "clear" the calipers on a C-3.

I was interested in the American Racing Torque Thrus D's originally. I wanted that retro look. However the inside of these 15" curve "In" toward the caliper(BAD). Spacers would be needed to move the wheel away from the caliper. Another requiste of mine was that NO spacer be required. I then looked at the Halibrand 5-spoke and the AR 200S. The 200S's would clear the calipers but were only available in 15" size. I decided to order the Halibrand Powder coated 5-spokes in the 16x8 size with 4.5 inch backspacing. Halibrand will machine the back(inside) of the wheels to accomidate larger calipers($25).

I got the Halibrands but another problem arose. Backspacing! I order the Halibrands with 4.5 inch backspacing and this put the wheel too close to the parking brake bracket and the rear spring in the rear :eek: The 5-spoke wasn't available with a 4 inch backspacing so my search continued.

To make a short story long, my next choice was the American Racing Torque Thrust II's. I ordered them in the 16x8 size with 4 inch backspacing and they fit perfect. I wasn't sure about going larger to the 17's. Everything happens for a reason and my quest was a real learning experience but I'm very happy with the TTII's. The polished aluminum is VERY shiney. :D

I'm not sure the orientation of the spring and parking brake bracket are still the same on your '81, but these are a few of the other considerations when choosing a wheel. There aren't a lot of wheels that fit these requirements which is why a lot of guys are running the TTII's.

I would avoid those "consumer" tire shops and most local high school mechanics opinions as well.


[Modified by 1970 Stingray, 8:46 AM 11/17/2001]

 

Call Discount Tire Direct, you can find them online or in some car mags. As far as I know you should be looking at zero(or very close to) offset wheels. Late 80's Iroc Camaro and Trans Am wheels, the fronts and rears have different offsets. The trick there is to find two sets of fronts as they will work without spacers since they are zero offset. Had a set of GTA mesh wheels on my '87 Buick T-type some years ago. Took them off and then put them on my pappy's S-10. Looked and worked great on both applications....hate to give up my secrets...LOL...have fun. :seeya

 

1970 Stingray: What size tire and manufacturer are you running? I'm considering the same setup.

 

There was an article in (I think) Vette magazine about a year ago where they moved the parking brake bracket to the top of the arm to gain about an inch of extra clearance. It was a great article on fitting wide tires on your C3. Anyone remember the month/year of that article?

 

corky---I'm running 16x8 4 inch BS and Goodyear Eagle HP-Ultra-Plus 255-50-16's

 

To add to 70 Stingrays comments, you may want to consider 245/50r16's on the front, mine just barely touches under full lock on that one bolt on the frame there, fortunately it's a round bolt. The 255/50r16's will clear in the back fine, you may have to tie up the parking brake out of the way though, I did.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

Pat---73 LS-4---got any pics of those TTII's yet?

Len

 

Nothing developed yet, I did take quite a few pics from different angles so everyone could get a good idea of the fit and how the tires tuck in the fenderwells, I'm going to try and use up some more pics this weekend to finish up the roll.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

I paid a shop to develop blueprints for Torque Thrust D spacers. They have them now and can produce four of them much cheaper than what I paid. They fit snugly, and have a GM center flange for perfect alignment.

Yes, you will need to change the wheel studs to a length long enough to put a turn or two outside the nut. However, with this mod and the spacers, they will be no grinding or filing required; anywhere.

Spike

 

I am running Wheel Vintique 17x8 Rally Wheels. They look somewhat closer to stock but I am now able to run 255/50-17 Z rated rubber on them. Love the stiffer sidewalls and lower profile. I notice that mine don't get as dirty from brake dust as other (more open) wheel designs do.

I would also go with the Torque Thrust D's in 17" that quite a few people here have.

If you want to be totally safe: I think your best bet might be to find someone else on the forum that has the wheels you like and ask a bunch of questions.

good luck
-terry

 

Spike - I'm in the market for spacers for my TT-D's. You have mail.

Dave

 

I purchased 17x8.5 five spoke from Perfomance Wheel Outlet in San Bernadino, CA. It is called the VortecZ and has correct back space for our cars. They have a full page add in all car mags, Vette, Corvette Fever, Chevy High Performance etc. I have gotten alot of compliments on them. I can email pics if you like.