17 inch wheels on an 87?
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Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Bellevue WA
17 inch wheels on an 87?
Went to get new tires for my 87 and perhaps a little wider than stock 255/50V16. Problem is not many of them are made. so the question comes down to 17 inch wheels, I have extras from my 89, but will 285/40 17 or 275 wheels fit on an 87? Someone outthere must know. I have heard something about needing an offset of some kind. Can you helpme?
Le Mans Master
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To use the wheels from the '89 you need a .75" adapter/spacer. Other than that a 285/40/17 tire will fit fine on your car.
Le Mans Master
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From: levittown pa. usa Even a bad day with my `Vette, is better than a good day at work
St. Jude Donor '10
You don`t want spacers. You want concentric wheel adapters like these---->
They only cost around $50.00 for a pair on FleaBay
I put `96 sawblades on my `87 with them.
They only cost around $50.00 for a pair on FleaBay
I put `96 sawblades on my `87 with them.
Melting Slicks
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From: Winchester VA
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A spacer can look like the above pic also, and is what you want. The difference between spacer and adapter is usually the bolt pattern.
A spacer will have the the same bolt pattern (the recessed portions for the lugs and the studs) and an adapter will bolt on to your hub and then allow a different bolt pattern wheel to be used.
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From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
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I have two sets of AFS wheels for my 87. One set for my Hoosier A6's and the other for street and track days. AFS sells on flea-bay and they usually have sets of ZR-1 style wheels with the proper 38mm offset so no adapters are needed. They will have wheels only or wheel and tire combinations that are already mounted and balanced. Just bolt 'em on and go.
Now for the strange part: If you look at a 255/50-16 tire mounted on a '87 16x9.5": wheel and at a 275/40-17 tire mounted on a 17x9.5" wheel, they will be appear to be very close to the same in terms of overall diameter and tread width. That means that the speedo is not going to be too far off at all and the 17" tire/wheel combination will easily fit in the wheel well and not have any issues with clearance.
A 285/40 tire will also fit on the 17x9.5" wheel with no problem (93-96 C4's with the base suspension had that tire size in back), but the diameter will be greater so you will see some difference in the speedo readout. They will also fit in the wheel wells with no clearance issues.
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