Hate to do it but I'm curious about wheel offsets. I have a '96 vert that has CE wheels on it. I have toyed with the idea of swapping wheels for some chromies. The OE wheels had 56 or 54 mm ( guessing ) offset and I'm curious as to how much room there is for more or less offset. It is my understanding that the verts have narrower rims ( 8.5's and 9.5's ) than the coupes so as to allow for transporting flats to the shop for repair. I would like to know if there are any differences in wheel well or suspension dimensions that would prevent me from running larger width rims? So my basic question is this... how wide can the wheels be on my vert and what range of offset is reasonable?

Thanks for any input!

 

8.5" wide wheels and 245/45 tires in the front were the standard wheel on both coupes and verts since '93. Cars that were ordered with the Z51 performance suspension got 9.5" wheels and 275/40 tires all around. So a 9.5" wide wheel will fit on all four corners and you can use either a 275/40 or 285/40 tire with no rubbing issues.

Grand Sport coupes got a 11" wide rear wheel with a 50mm offset and a 315/35 tire. The GS coupe also got a rear fender extension to cover the tire as it was very close to the outer edge of the top of the wheel opening. GS verts did not get the 11" rear wheel, only the 9.5" wheels and 275/40 tires.

The spare tire carrier will accept a 9.5" wheel and 275 or 285 tire (there are two notches at the front of the carrrier; one for the small spare, the other for the road wheel). The 11" wheel and 315 tire on the GS coupe will not fit in the carrier so a bag was provided to hold the tire and it has to go in the rear compartment.

There are some people running 11" wheels and 315 tires on all four corners for autocross or track days, but you should carefully check clearances with a mounted tire/wheel to insure there is no rubbing or binding if you want to go to that size.

Going with OE wheels (or any other comparable ZR-1 style wheel) in chrome that have a 56mm offset and 9.5" width is not a problem.

 

Thanks c4,
I appreciate your info!

Dave

 

i believe the correct front size is 255/45/17 on the c4.the 245/45/17 is stock c5 front size.

 

Just figured out tonight that my wheels are aftermarket CE's, no serial number and no trademark. All four of my rims measure 9.5 and the tires are 275/40x17. I haven't noticed any rubbing and they certainly stick to the road when driven hard. I'll have to take some time and measure the offset since they aren't OE. I can't imagine any wider wheels under this car.

By the way 96 lt-4, as a side note, I looked at your bio and my parents used to let my brother and I drive their '68 Polara 383 4b. Whew that was a mistake Man it would fly.

Dave