shamby

Will 18X10 in the back and 18x8.5 in the front fill the fenders? A 12 inche wheel and tire gets very expensive and hard to find. Is anyone running a similar configuration? The back flares are the ACI type and I'm running the offset trailing arms.
Thanks for the post.

gkull

I use the 335/35/17 kumhos and they are only $500 a pair mounted and balanced.

They are 26.2 tall and fit pretty nice

shamby

I can swing that. I'm assuming your wheels are 12 inches wide?
A 12 inch wheel gets pricey. Bid difference between a 10 and a 12

3JsVette

The reason 18x12s are so expensive is because the widest "off the shelf" 18" hoops are 10" wide. 12" wide is custom for almost all the billet wheel manufacturers. If you are willing to drop down to 17s 17x11s are very reasonable in comparison. You can adjust the backspacing to make up the loss of 1". A 335/35-17 on a 17x11 with a 4" backspace will fill the ACI flare. My suggestion (and it's easy for me to say because I'm not a body man) is to buy the wheel/tire combination and adjust the flare to get the fit you're looking for. If the flares are on the car already then you have to do the best you can by adjusting the backspace on the wheels. Keep in mind that the tire sizes we are talking about are not as tall as the 15s that the flares were designed for. You will wind up with some large gaps between the fenders and the tires if the flares are not "adjusted" or the ride height is not low enough to bring the tops of the fenders down to near the tops of the tires. Take a look at this car it has 17x11s with 315/35s all the way around and in my opinion I think it looks great and you can see for yourself in the pictures how well it handles. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/phot...p?ppuser=57047

shamby

3jsvette, thanks for the post and the link. That is the look I'm wanting and 17s would be fine with me. The flares are not mounted yet, so I'll start shopping for wheels now. Kinda leaning toward Boyd Smoothie IIs. Kinda affordable and look good in my opinion.

3JsVette

Something to think about......most of the guys with flares are running a staggered fit (rear flares wider that the front flares). You can go with 17x9.5s in the front with a 4" backspace and a 275 or 285/40 tire and a 17x11 with a 4" backspace and a 315 or 335/35 tire in the rear. If you shop carefully you can put something together for $1600 - $2000 depending on what wheels and size/brand tires you pick. Good luck in your search!

shamby

Any suggestions on a good vender. I'm not that picky nor am I into road racing. I' more of a drive to the show on sunday person. I like the looks of the smoothie II or something like the torq thrust wheels but most of them are 10s only. Still surfing the web. Money is an issue right now like everyone esle. My wife will kill me if I spend 2 grand on a set of wheels

3JsVette

American Racing does make TTIIs (go with the CL gray spoke) and 200S (the Daiseys) in 11s. Team III and Vintage Wheel Works also make 5 spokes, "minilites", and the Cobra look in 11s. If you're willing to go with 275s and 315s Sumitomos will cost you about $450.00 shipped from the Tire Rack. Just throwing some ideas out there for you. If you're looking for a billet wheel I think Billet Specialities makes a 17x11 in some styles that won't break the bank.

gkull

I have both 9 and 10 X 17's for the front I use a 275/17 on 10 inch for the fronts 4 inch bs

The rear are 17X12 wheels with an effective 5 inch BS. The wheels are 7 inch BS with a 2 inch adapter. The 335's would fit on an 11 inch, but going with 12 inch holds the side walls more correctly.

As to 315's all the way around:o Not for street driving! the power steering would have a heart attack. I have to run a cooler on my power steering because it used to over heat and burn out the seals.

kdlp

These are 335 X 30 X 18 tires on 18 X 12 wheels... mounted under ACI flares... I am not running offset trailing arms.




I don't think you can get enough tire on a 10" rim to fill the rear ACI flares unless you use spacers.

These fronts are 275 X 35 X 18 tires on 9 X 18" wheels. I wish I had ordered the 10" wide wheels... they would have filled the wheel well out better.



ACI flares leave you with lots of space to fill... something to think about as you budget your changes. On the other hand, there's nothing like the look of a fat Vette with fat tires... and the handling situation ain't bad either.

Good Luck,

kdlp

shamby

man, that looks good. Sweet color

LastC3AZ

I'm shopping wheels as well ... would like to use 9" on the front and 10s on the back ... 82 C3 .. no flairs (as yet.. haven't decided if I want to do that yet unless necessary ... then maybe only on the back a bit) ?? What wheels do you have .??

Gv66

Do I need offset trailing arms with 17x11 rims and 315/40 tires

Easy Mike

Gv66: this thread is from 2009. You may want to consider starting a new thread.

Gv66

i find cheaper option rims 17x11 guy makes them for 379$

Gv66

17x11

gkull

Lots of things have changed in the world since 2009. We used to have lots of choices in 17 &18 tire sizes and 1/2 the cost my 335 rears are around $1000 A pair and only two companies make them

You don't need offset arms. The limitations are the frame rails

17,s might not be the best choice for the future

Gale Banks 80'

Having run 17 x 11 Wheels on mine since the early 1990's I used a 315 Tire at 26.2 diameter. This is the standard C4 ZR-1 GS set up. Although the tire really filled things up at the time I wanted a little more Tire diameter. The C3's came with 27" diameter and thats what the wheel wells were intended for. I am now using a 345 on a 19x 12 Rim. This is a Viper Tire size and its 27" in diameter. In my opion it fills the wheel well up the way it is supposed to be. Since it came on a production viper this tire should be produced for a wile unlike some of the other odd ball tire sizes that may or may not be available.