[Z06] Wheel replacement-Need help!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
From: Flagler Beach Florida
Wheel replacement-Need help!
Just tried to do a wheel changeout on my Z. Tried the Factory Repro C6 Z06 wheels in the 18/19" package with BFG's in the 275/35 fronts and 295/35 rears that are manufactured for a C5. Ran into a problem though with the rears. When installing them found that the backside of the tire hits the rear brake duct. It touched the brake duct wether the car was jacked up or on the ground. The only option it appears was to remove the duct which I do not want to do. The forum vendor has already made good on this set with no issues. However I still would like to do something on my wheels to go to a 18/19" package. Does anybody have any suggestions on what would fit a Z06 without having problems with the tire rubbing the rear brake duct inside the fender? I know there are C5 Z06's running around with non-stock wheels. Can anybody please advise me on where to turn or what may be an option? I would greatly appreciate it. I really would prefer staying away from a poished wheel due to the maintenance.
Thanks
Joel
Thanks
Joel
Last edited by Z06-Gator; Jun 19, 2007 at 10:27 AM.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 693
Likes: 92
From: Savannah GA
Joel,
..Those 295-35/19s are 9 tenths of an inch taller than the standard rear tire. If your car has been lowered it will add to your problem. It does seem that just the extra height with no lowering of the car shoud not be enough to cause the problem. If the car has not been lowered then the offset on the rear wheels may be wrong and could be causing the problem. I would look at raising the back up to see if that fixes the problem and if not you may need to look into the offset of the wheels or get a shorter 19 inch tire. Keep us updated on this problem. Many of us have ideas about going to larger wheels and/or tires.
Good luck,
Jeff
..Those 295-35/19s are 9 tenths of an inch taller than the standard rear tire. If your car has been lowered it will add to your problem. It does seem that just the extra height with no lowering of the car shoud not be enough to cause the problem. If the car has not been lowered then the offset on the rear wheels may be wrong and could be causing the problem. I would look at raising the back up to see if that fixes the problem and if not you may need to look into the offset of the wheels or get a shorter 19 inch tire. Keep us updated on this problem. Many of us have ideas about going to larger wheels and/or tires.
Good luck,
Jeff
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
From: Flagler Beach Florida
Thanks Jeff, my car is at stock height. So this really surprised me. The last thing I thought I would have to deal with would be the backside of the tire hitting the duct. The width for some reason became an issue. The vendor I purchased the wheels from feels that the offsets are correct but I still wonder if something happened when these wheels were manufactured. I plan to talk to a couple of more of the forum vendors and get their thoughts on what my options might be. I was really hoping for some feedback from the Z06 crew before I talked to another vendor.
Last edited by Z06-Gator; Jun 19, 2007 at 03:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
From: Flagler Beach Florida
Borrowed a pic from roushravens (hope you don't mind) post on brake ducts, best I could find to describe what is occurring. This shows exactly where on the rear brake duct that the tire is making contact.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 693
Likes: 92
From: Savannah GA
Joel,
.....Looking at those really nice two piece rotors I wonder if they are thinner in the hat section around the lugs and letting the wheel sit in a little closer to the inside? If so perhaps a spacer would fix the problem. What does the outside edge of the tire look like in relation to the fenders?
GO GATORS!!
Jeff
.....Looking at those really nice two piece rotors I wonder if they are thinner in the hat section around the lugs and letting the wheel sit in a little closer to the inside? If so perhaps a spacer would fix the problem. What does the outside edge of the tire look like in relation to the fenders?
GO GATORS!!
Jeff
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
From: Flagler Beach Florida
Jeff, again the above pic is not of my car but one with a similar setup. The new rotors (Baer) that I installed actually may be a little thicker than the ACDelco OEM ones. So if anything this would push the hub of the wheel out a little further. I put the stock wheels back on over the new rotors and they fit perfect just as they always did. When the new wheels were on and I lowered the car to the ground it did appear when looking at it that the tires were set inside the fender a little further than the stock wheel did even though the new wheel is 11" wide versus the stock of 10.5". The stock wheels were right to the edge of the fender whereas the new wheels seemed be just a tad inside. Now this could be that the BFG's tire surface was maybe not as wide as the Goodyear tire surface (both are 295/35's). But none of this makes sense unless you are just doomed to run the stock wheels on a Z06 unless you remove the brake ducts. Man this is frustrating. I cannot believe I am the first C5 Z06 owner to have this situation on a 100% stock vehicle.
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Drifting
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,895
Likes: 84
From: Darien IL
Why not just pull the duct off. It's one screw per side. A friend tracks his Z06 with 335/17 on rears. He removed ducts for clearance. He says that he can't see any difference in brake performance/cooling with inside duct tube off the car.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 693
Likes: 92
From: Savannah GA
Joel,
.....Doh....silly me not ready well again. It does seem like the offset may be wrong on your wheels. Removing the brake ducts may be the simplest and cheapest solution. If you could find spacers they might also do the trick. This thread has me thinking that keeping the stock wheels and going up to 315-30/18 on the rear may be the best way to get more rubber down.
Jeff
.....Doh....silly me not ready well again. It does seem like the offset may be wrong on your wheels. Removing the brake ducts may be the simplest and cheapest solution. If you could find spacers they might also do the trick. This thread has me thinking that keeping the stock wheels and going up to 315-30/18 on the rear may be the best way to get more rubber down.
Jeff