Wheel adapters
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 298
Likes: 0
Wheel adapters
Hi all,
I have a set of American Racing wheels on my 85 17x11 in the rear and 17x9.5 in the front. While the rear is fine the front sits in over an inch so I get tire rub on the inside before full lock. I'm thinking about getting 1" or 1.25" adapters for the front so does anyone know if the 1" will clear the stocjk front wheel studs ?
Thanks
Joe
I have a set of American Racing wheels on my 85 17x11 in the rear and 17x9.5 in the front. While the rear is fine the front sits in over an inch so I get tire rub on the inside before full lock. I'm thinking about getting 1" or 1.25" adapters for the front so does anyone know if the 1" will clear the stocjk front wheel studs ?
Thanks
Joe
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
Likes: 487
From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
The adapter thickness you will need will depend on the offset value of your front wheels. The 88 and later C4 wheels have a 56mm offset but those wheels and stock tire size (275/40-17) should not see any rubbing. I used a later set of C4 wheels and tires on my '87 and didn't have any issues other than the wheel/tire did sit further inside the wheelwell compared to the early 16" wheels.
Adapters will come with studs already mounted and they should be the same length of the OEM studs. They bolt to the OEM studs and then the adapter studs are use to mount the wheels. The factory studs may stick out too far so you need to check if your AR wheels have recesses on the mounting flange so that the stock studs will fit into any recess.
You should be able to use a 1" adapter but the offset of the AR wheels may require a 1-1/4" adapter.
Adapters will come with studs already mounted and they should be the same length of the OEM studs. They bolt to the OEM studs and then the adapter studs are use to mount the wheels. The factory studs may stick out too far so you need to check if your AR wheels have recesses on the mounting flange so that the stock studs will fit into any recess.
You should be able to use a 1" adapter but the offset of the AR wheels may require a 1-1/4" adapter.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,365
Likes: 2,731
Your wheels should be cast on the back-side with specifications. You need to check for those and post that information OR you could measure the back-spacing of the wheel and determine offset from that dimension. You need to "know" for sure the wheel widths before just guessing. The fact that the PO used the wheels on a '96 and an '02 mean absolutely nothing "except" they apparently made "him/her" happy. That does't do squat for what's required in a spacer/adapter to suit you. You could assume but it's very easy to just remove tire/wheel and confirm information from the back-side.
Back-spacing is done from the wheel outer most edge to the surface that mounts against the rotor/hub surface. It's typically done with a tire dismounted but if you've 17" wheels you could trim a straight edge to 18 3/4" (from memory but I believe it works).
You can deal with the wheel stud length a couple of different ways. Much depends on the spacer thickness used/required and if the studs have "dog-points" or are threaded to the end.
Back-spacing is done from the wheel outer most edge to the surface that mounts against the rotor/hub surface. It's typically done with a tire dismounted but if you've 17" wheels you could trim a straight edge to 18 3/4" (from memory but I believe it works).
You can deal with the wheel stud length a couple of different ways. Much depends on the spacer thickness used/required and if the studs have "dog-points" or are threaded to the end.
Last edited by WVZR-1; Oct 15, 2016 at 03:00 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
For the stud length, you can measure that directly by pulling a wheel and putting a scale/caliper/etc on the stud. On my '85 the stock studs were a little over 1" but under 1.25". If your wheels are flat without any recesses you might have some interference and have to cut the studs some with a 1" adapter.
On my '85 I used the 17" x 8.5" wheels with 56mm offset (stock '94 front wheels) with a 1.25" adapter and it worked fine. However they were as far outboard as I would want. The stock '88 to '96 17" x 9.5" wheels also have a 56mm offset and would stick outboard 0.5" more than my 8.5" wheels did. I think that would have bee a little too much.
Although you have 11" rears, my 9.5" rears fit well with the 1.25" adapters.
Picture of my '85 with the 1.25" adapters with the staggered stock '94 17" wheels is below.
Good luck.
On my '85 I used the 17" x 8.5" wheels with 56mm offset (stock '94 front wheels) with a 1.25" adapter and it worked fine. However they were as far outboard as I would want. The stock '88 to '96 17" x 9.5" wheels also have a 56mm offset and would stick outboard 0.5" more than my 8.5" wheels did. I think that would have bee a little too much.
Although you have 11" rears, my 9.5" rears fit well with the 1.25" adapters.
Picture of my '85 with the 1.25" adapters with the staggered stock '94 17" wheels is below.
Good luck.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,745
Likes: 275
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi all,
I have a set of American Racing wheels on my 85 17x11 in the rear and 17x9.5 in the front. While the rear is fine the front sits in over an inch so I get tire rub on the inside before full lock. I'm thinking about getting 1" or 1.25" adapters for the front so does anyone know if the 1" will clear the stocjk front wheel studs ?
Thanks
Joe
I have a set of American Racing wheels on my 85 17x11 in the rear and 17x9.5 in the front. While the rear is fine the front sits in over an inch so I get tire rub on the inside before full lock. I'm thinking about getting 1" or 1.25" adapters for the front so does anyone know if the 1" will clear the stocjk front wheel studs ?
Thanks
Joe
Adapters bolt on to your hub and the wheels bolt onto the adapters, no issue with fitment like spacers.
Have a look on the link below what they look like.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4PC-Wheel-Sp...sAAOSwZ1lWffit
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 298
Likes: 0
I measured my studs and they're 1.05 inches so close but no donut for the 1" spacers!
TE=QCVette;1593270758]For the stud length, you can measure that directly by pulling a wheel and putting a scale/caliper/etc on the stud. On my '85 the stock studs were a little over 1" but under 1.25". If your wheels are flat without any recesses you might have some interference and have to cut the studs some with a 1" adapter.
On my '85 I used the 17" x 8.5" wheels with 56mm offset (stock '94 front wheels) with a 1.25" adapter and it worked fine. However they were as far outboard as I would want. The stock '88 to '96 17" x 9.5" wheels also have a 56mm offset and would stick outboard 0.5" more than my 8.5" wheels did. I think that would have bee a little too much.
Although you have 11" rears, my 9.5" rears fit well with the 1.25" adapters.
Picture of my '85 with the 1.25" adapters with the staggered stock '94 17" wheels is below.
Good luck.
[/QUOTE]
TE=QCVette;1593270758]For the stud length, you can measure that directly by pulling a wheel and putting a scale/caliper/etc on the stud. On my '85 the stock studs were a little over 1" but under 1.25". If your wheels are flat without any recesses you might have some interference and have to cut the studs some with a 1" adapter.
On my '85 I used the 17" x 8.5" wheels with 56mm offset (stock '94 front wheels) with a 1.25" adapter and it worked fine. However they were as far outboard as I would want. The stock '88 to '96 17" x 9.5" wheels also have a 56mm offset and would stick outboard 0.5" more than my 8.5" wheels did. I think that would have bee a little too much.
Although you have 11" rears, my 9.5" rears fit well with the 1.25" adapters.
Picture of my '85 with the 1.25" adapters with the staggered stock '94 17" wheels is below.
Good luck.
[/QUOTE]
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
Good luck.