new rim ideas/help please?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles California
new rim ideas/help please?
OK guys I fell in love with this black C3 I saw on the net and said I have to have those wheels. I believe they are the new Z06 wheels please correct me if I am wrong. So now I have a blue 69 corvette and I did a photo shop with the similar rim.
So my question is can anyone here guide me in the right direction as far as what I should buy 1st and of of course the most important question is it even possible to get these wheels to fit my car? I would like to go with a 18" all around if not a 17 up front and at 18 in the rear. The width as wide as possible with out cutting frame or adding flares? Any ideas input and opinions are all welcome please.
So my question is can anyone here guide me in the right direction as far as what I should buy 1st and of of course the most important question is it even possible to get these wheels to fit my car? I would like to go with a 18" all around if not a 17 up front and at 18 in the rear. The width as wide as possible with out cutting frame or adding flares? Any ideas input and opinions are all welcome please.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 174
From: Deerfield Illinois
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Laws
Anything is possible, just be prepared to throw lots o' money at this one.
I must ask first though if you have a modified suspension, you will need it, adjustable coil overs in front to adjust ride height, in the back you may need offset trailing arms, spring bolts, etc. to fit all that beef back there. Be prepared to spend 3-5 thousand on suspension if yours is still stock.
As far as body modifications, flares you may or may not need them, this all depends on how wide the rim is. 10" may be the limit, then the backspacing you were considering.
There are a few guys on the forum that have some pretty killer cars with suspension mods and 18" rims, Gordonm, Ddawson, come to mind. Others will chime in.
They will ask who makes the wheels. Post pictures of your suspension, the more details the better your responses will be. Good luck to you
Anything is possible, just be prepared to throw lots o' money at this one.
I must ask first though if you have a modified suspension, you will need it, adjustable coil overs in front to adjust ride height, in the back you may need offset trailing arms, spring bolts, etc. to fit all that beef back there. Be prepared to spend 3-5 thousand on suspension if yours is still stock.
As far as body modifications, flares you may or may not need them, this all depends on how wide the rim is. 10" may be the limit, then the backspacing you were considering.
There are a few guys on the forum that have some pretty killer cars with suspension mods and 18" rims, Gordonm, Ddawson, come to mind. Others will chime in.
They will ask who makes the wheels. Post pictures of your suspension, the more details the better your responses will be. Good luck to you
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles California
Laws
Anything is possible, just be prepared to throw lots o' money at this one.
I must ask first though if you have a modified suspension, you will need it, adjustable coil overs in front to adjust ride height, in the back you may need offset trailing arms, spring bolts, etc. to fit all that beef back there. Be prepared to spend 3-5 thousand on suspension if yours is still stock.
As far as body modifications, flares you may or may not need them, this all depends on how wide the rim is. 10" may be the limit, then the backspacing you were considering.
There are a few guys on the forum that have some pretty killer cars with suspension mods and 18" rims, Gordonm, Ddawson, come to mind. Others will chime in.
They will ask who makes the wheels. Post pictures of your suspension, the more details the better your responses will be. Good luck to you
Anything is possible, just be prepared to throw lots o' money at this one.
I must ask first though if you have a modified suspension, you will need it, adjustable coil overs in front to adjust ride height, in the back you may need offset trailing arms, spring bolts, etc. to fit all that beef back there. Be prepared to spend 3-5 thousand on suspension if yours is still stock.
As far as body modifications, flares you may or may not need them, this all depends on how wide the rim is. 10" may be the limit, then the backspacing you were considering.
There are a few guys on the forum that have some pretty killer cars with suspension mods and 18" rims, Gordonm, Ddawson, come to mind. Others will chime in.
They will ask who makes the wheels. Post pictures of your suspension, the more details the better your responses will be. Good luck to you
Rim details:
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 18,705
Likes: 2,572
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,990
Likes: 183
From: Port St. Lucie Fl
You have 17x9.5 and 18x8.5 I think you meant you use 17x8.5 and 18x9.5
you will need to use spacer to get these to fit. For my C5 Zo6 wheels I used 3" front and 2.75 rear spacers with all stock suspension and body work. Ideally you want to use hub and wheel centric spacers to be the safest setup. You also probably want to upgrade to the new thicker and longer ARP wheel studs for safety.
you will need to use spacer to get these to fit. For my C5 Zo6 wheels I used 3" front and 2.75 rear spacers with all stock suspension and body work. Ideally you want to use hub and wheel centric spacers to be the safest setup. You also probably want to upgrade to the new thicker and longer ARP wheel studs for safety.
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles California
You have 17x9.5 and 18x8.5 I think you meant you use 17x8.5 and 18x9.5
you will need to use spacer to get these to fit. For my C5 Zo6 wheels I used 3" front and 2.75 rear spacers with all stock suspension and body work. Ideally you want to use hub and wheel centric spacers to be the safest setup. You also probably want to upgrade to the new thicker and longer ARP wheel studs for safety.
you will need to use spacer to get these to fit. For my C5 Zo6 wheels I used 3" front and 2.75 rear spacers with all stock suspension and body work. Ideally you want to use hub and wheel centric spacers to be the safest setup. You also probably want to upgrade to the new thicker and longer ARP wheel studs for safety.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,990
Likes: 183
From: Port St. Lucie Fl
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...YItWsjUhJa3Bjw
4 inches of backspace is what the original wheels cam with, you follow the guide listed above. Read this thread it has recommendations for where to buy spacers.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-combo-s.html
Last edited by Kacyc3; Jan 22, 2016 at 01:57 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 109
Likes: 6
From: Hessen
My personal flavour is "original" anyway. However... in case of such a modification I think 17" (18" max) is "borderline" with regards to the overall body-to-wheel-proportions.
However... just my personal taste. Whatever looks great to you... go for it!
However... just my personal taste. Whatever looks great to you... go for it!
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles California
OK sorry guys please be patient with me but I'm a little confused between offset and backspacing. how do i calculate it or the easy way is can someone tell me what size of adapters I would need for the front and the rear with the wheel info I attached? I am currently all stock from rims suspension etc.. only thing I have changed is my rear leaf spring with the stock size bolts.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,094
Likes: 16
From: Los Angeles California
This is the holy grail for c6 and c7 as they are same size and offset
Check it out maybe you can find a better deal buying used rims as i did a couple years back maybe get brand new take offs with wheels they look bad *** good luck
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ter-specs.html
Check it out maybe you can find a better deal buying used rims as i did a couple years back maybe get brand new take offs with wheels they look bad *** good luck
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ter-specs.html
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,094
Likes: 16
From: Los Angeles California
Search this forum and you will see how people put c5 wheels standard offset on c3s. Most used 2.5 adapter/spacers but i would recommend you looking it up and checking those out because some do it differently than others but adapters were usually around that size with minor mod to control arm
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,701
Likes: 272
From: New York
Nobody ever mentions this, but you may want to consider bigger studs. I have flairs and put 335/35X17 rims on the rear. I broke studs. I replaced the stock ones with heavy duty 1/2 studs.
When they are talking about "offset" control arms, they are modified to allow the rim to go deeper under the frame than normally possible. Just Google Corvette offset control arms and the pics will be self-explanatory.
When they say backspacing, Corvettes (stock) I believe came with 8 inch rims and 4” backspacing. It bolted up with 4” on either side of where the car bolts to the studs. The rims you have at 7.36” means you will have all the rim under the car. Hence the need for offset control arms.
If you could have the rims custom made, then you could specify the backspacing on the rims.
When they are talking about "offset" control arms, they are modified to allow the rim to go deeper under the frame than normally possible. Just Google Corvette offset control arms and the pics will be self-explanatory.
When they say backspacing, Corvettes (stock) I believe came with 8 inch rims and 4” backspacing. It bolted up with 4” on either side of where the car bolts to the studs. The rims you have at 7.36” means you will have all the rim under the car. Hence the need for offset control arms.
If you could have the rims custom made, then you could specify the backspacing on the rims.