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I see people use 04-06 gto spares for front drag wheels or maybe it was just on gtos? Someone told me you had to open up the center hub of the 04-06 gto spares to fit over the wheel hubs on the c5 corvette. Has anyone fit them or tried fitting them on a base c5 99 corvette? Do they fit on the rear with no spacers and require spacers upfront to not hit the brakes as offset maybe different? If they do need spacers to be used on front what size 1/4"-1/2 or the 44$ 20mm bolt on spacers from ebay? trying to see if purchasing a gto spare to to carry around as a spare tire incase of emergency flat would be worth it. Runflats are way expensive these days.
The GTO wheels are said to "fit" on Corvettes (and F bodies), but IMO, that's only for very low values of "fit".
There are two issues with the GTO wheels. First is the center bore. The GTO wheels are bored 69.5mm diameter and the Corvette hub is 70.3mm diameter. So you do have to "open up" the hub about 0.016" (0.4mm) all the way around. This is best done by a machine shop to keep it centered, but most folks do it by hand with a die grinder.
The other issue is the GTO uses a metric bolt circle, 5x120mm. The Corvette (and F bodies) use a 5x4.75"(120.65mm) bolt circle. The holes are generally big enough that the studs go through, but they aren't centered in the holes. When you put the lug nuts on and tighten, it puts a bending load on the lug stud. That's not good. People run with them anyway, and probably a lot of folks here will say I worry too much.
Of course Darwin and Murphy are very busy and might not get around to you for a while, but I wouldn't try that on my vehicles.
A can of fix-a-flat, a plug kit, a "tire inflator" air compressor (I like the battery powered ones) and an up to date "AAA" card (or roadside assistance through your insurance or whoever) is usually adequate protection against flat tires.
When our friend with her C6 absolutely insisted on carrying a spare for a cross country road trip, I got a 1" (25mm) wheel adapter and used a 2nd gen Cadillac CTS spare wheel (18x4) and tire. The hub side matched the C6 (5x4.75", M12 lug studs/nuts, 70.3mm center bore) and the wheel side matched the Cadillac wheel (5x120mm, M14 lug studs/nuts, 66.9mm center bore). I tested it and it fit both front and rear. She never had to use it, though.
Last edited by C6_Racer_X; 08-31-2022 at 11:35 AM.
Reason: Added the tire inflator to my list
The issue with carrying a spare in a C5, especially a Coupe, is keeping it secured, along with the jack, and whatever else you need to carry to change a tire. In an accident, any/all of those items will kill you.
As an ex-design engineer, I agree that bending loads on studs are to be avoided. Then as said above comes the safety issue. I guess the cover panel in rear could be replaced by a sheet of aluminum or similar, and a stronger method of fixing it to the car body devised, along with a clamp to hold the wheel to the metal plate. A small jack could go into that compartment - but not a good idea if you still have the auto-changer in there!
Just carry a 12V air pump, a tire patch kit, and a AAA card. The spare is extra weight, it takes up space, and will slide around. I don't have runflats, and I've gotten screws and such in my tires before. I've never been stranded. I didn't even have to call for AAA. 99% of the time you have a flat tire, it's a slow leak that you can use the air pump on to get where you need to to properly repair or replace the tire.
The Interstate flat that got me was... road debris (probably from an 18 wheeler) had impacted the right rear valve stem at just the right angle and speed to wack it hard enough to cause rapid pressure release and a flat tire immediately.... Yep... Towed.
yes i seen modern spare is real expensive could maybe fit a racestar industries 17x3.5 with correct offset to fit both front back on c5. I think theyre about 250$ the racestar 17x3.5".
Someone told me the gto spares fit theyre 130$ on ebay but needed spacers to be used up front and hub centers opened up. has anyone fit a gto spare on a c5 both front and back and seen if they cleared. My friend has an 04 gto with a spare i could maybe try mounting it see if clears front and rear brakes but dont want to mess up the hub centers.
The black race star industries 17x4.5 may be the way to go as its 250$ and requires .50" shank lugnut.
Of course these are useless if the tires shreaded. Maybe better off with a 17x4.5" or whichever racestar 250$ wheel but that is way expensive almost as much as a whole set of used wheels. I have the stock speedlines but to carry one stock heavy wheel in the trunk area there isnt much room.
Last edited by Justin Raney; 08-31-2022 at 05:09 PM.
Has anyone fit a racestar industries 17x4.5 wheel -12mm offset? This is what racestar had thats fits c5 corvette. The 17x4.5 -12mm offset im just not sure if theyll hit the brakes on either the front or rear. This would be an affordable solution to carrying a spare or a 125$ gto spare on ebay if they do indeed fit on the front of a c5 without hitting the brake calipers or if the ebay 20mm 40$ bolt on spacers are needed. https://racestarindustries.com/produ...ck-92-745245b/
I aint paying for triple A maybe the 26$ tire slime flat repair for roadside assistance but yeah if tire is shredded not any good. Theres the american hero program by TDOT. I had ran out of gas gauge was reading 1/4 tank and the guy stopped had 2-4 gallons to offer assistance free of charge gave me a card and said it was free. Hopefully it is a free service but i was waiting an hour before he showed up here in texas. I think they may do flat repairs as well as empty gas not sure if towing. I only had maybe 10$ in my pocket this was a 2007 g6 of course which has a spare just for some reason the new fuel pump assembly from autozone with gas gauge reads 1/8th tank and for some reason has ran out of gas 3 times so far. Once on my 30 minutes from home and twice on my brother as he uses the g6 as a daily driver for work.
The GTO wheels are said to "fit" on Corvettes (and F bodies), but IMO, that's only for very low values of "fit".
There are two issues with the GTO wheels. First is the center bore. The GTO wheels are bored 69.5mm diameter and the Corvette hub is 70.3mm diameter. So you do have to "open up" the hub about 0.016" (0.4mm) all the way around. This is best done by a machine shop to keep it centered, but most folks do it by hand with a die grinder.
The other issue is the GTO uses a metric bolt circle, 5x120mm. The Corvette (and F bodies) use a 5x4.75"(120.65mm) bolt circle. The holes are generally big enough that the studs go through, but they aren't centered in the holes. When you put the lug nuts on and tighten, it puts a bending load on the lug stud. That's not good. People run with them anyway, and probably a lot of folks here will say I worry too much.
Of course Darwin and Murphy are very busy and might not get around to you for a while, but I wouldn't try that on my vehicles.
A can of fix-a-flat, a plug kit, a "tire inflator" air compressor (I like the battery powered ones) and an up to date "AAA" card (or roadside assistance through your insurance or whoever) is usually adequate protection against flat tires.
When our friend with her C6 absolutely insisted on carrying a spare for a cross country road trip, I got a 1" (25mm) wheel adapter and used a 2nd gen Cadillac CTS spare wheel (18x4) and tire. The hub side matched the C6 (5x4.75", M12 lug studs/nuts, 70.3mm center bore) and the wheel side matched the Cadillac wheel (5x120mm, M14 lug studs/nuts, 66.9mm center bore). I tested it and it fit both front and rear. She never had to use it, though.
I checked and tire slime works fix a flat doesnt do anything but air the tire up and keep leaking. This video shows the fix a flat can had 4 psi left overnight which it may get you home but still waiting to have a blowout. Watch this video if you have the chance the little portable compressor i bought on ebay burned up on 1 tire at 28psi but maybe a lithium everstart tire inflator with bottle or tire slime for emergency use.
yes i seen modern spare is real expensive could maybe fit a racestar industries 17x3.5 with correct offset to fit both front back on c5. I think theyre about 250$ the racestar 17x3.5".
A couple points here with the cost. Modern Spare wants $360 + shipping for the wheel/tire combination. You were going to put a tire on that Racestar wheel, right? That adds $100+ to the mix right there. Oh, and the size, Modern Spare chose the 18" wheel with the tire they chose to keep the diameter of the spare wheel/tire (26.5") between the front and rear sizes for the C5 (25.7" front, 26.7" rear). The nannies won't be totally happy with that, but I think the ABS will continue to function with that. You probably won't find a 17" spare tire with a diameter in that range, and I wouldn't want to drive a C5 with a donut spare and no ABS.
Originally Posted by Justin Raney
Someone told me the gto spares fit theyre 130$ on ebay but needed spacers to be used up front and hub centers opened up. has anyone fit a gto spare on a c5 both front and back and seen if they cleared. My friend has an 04 gto with a spare i could maybe try mounting it see if clears front and rear brakes but dont want to mess up the hub centers.
The black race star industries 17x4.5 may be the way to go as its 250$ and requires .50" shank lugnut.
Of course these are useless if the tires shreaded. Maybe better off with a 17x4.5" or whichever racestar 250$ wheel but that is way expensive almost as much as a whole set of used wheels. I have the stock speedlines but to carry one stock heavy wheel in the trunk area there isnt much room.
Most cordless tool lines include a similar tire inflator, so if you use a different brand of cordless tools/batteries, you should be able to get one that uses your batteries.
And if you have to get a wheel spacer anyway, a good hub centric wheel adapter isn't much more than a spacer, and it can resolve the hub bore issues, the lug pattern issues and everything in a single unit. So you don't have to worry about the other issues. That's one reason I recommended the hub centric adapter and the CTS 18" spare wheel with a used but likely serviceable 26.5" spare tire. Don't forget you'll also need a jack, and a lug wrench. You can get the whole package (wheel, tire, jack, wrench, with a tray that sits in the tire and holds the rest) from a parts yard. And the CTS (2nd generation) is pretty common and much easier to find (and the spare and jack package is likely less expensive) than a for GTO,
Yeah i put the rear 275/40/18s 18x9.5 on the front at stock ride height they were 1mm away from hitting the 7mm screws and inner fender panels. Really need a smaller tire that is a 9.5 275 tire not the stock 245 8.5" wide wheels front set. I think stock fronts are 26" or around there i use 245/45/17s and 245/40/18s on the fronts. I took it up the road to sonic and didnt see any rubbing marks but i think the stock rear 26.7" 275/40/18s are too wide and cut it close to the front inner fenders when turned.
So cadillac cts or ats 4 cylinder uses the same 17/18" and fits corvettes or same as gto spare? Any idea what year id prefer the 5x120.65mm 5x4.75 correct bolt pattern not the metric 5x120mm.
You need an 18 inch donut wheel to get a tire in the right diameter. I don't know of a stock 18 inch spare wheel thathas 5x4.75 lug pattern and 70.9 center bore. The 2008-2014 CTS (and the 5th gen 2010-2015 Camaros, and several other GM cars) have an 18x4 wheel with 5x120 lugs (14mm, bigger holes), and a center bore of 66.9mm, they definitely fit a base C6 convertible with a 1" thick adapter. They should fit a C5 with the same kind of wheel adapter. They don't fit the hub or lug circle without the adapter.
Or get 18x4 wheel with correct 5x4.75 inch lug holes and correct 70.9mm center bore (or larger with hub centric adapter ring glued in). Use the 26.5 inch tire that fits (T135/80r 18 comes to mind).
Last edited by C6_Racer_X; 09-01-2022 at 07:19 AM.
As an ex-design engineer, I agree that bending loads on studs are to be avoided. Then as said above comes the safety issue. I guess the cover panel in rear could be replaced by a sheet of aluminum or similar, and a stronger method of fixing it to the car body devised, along with a clamp to hold the wheel to the metal plate. A small jack could go into that compartment - but not a good idea if you still have the auto-changer in there!
Me? I stick with run flats and an AAA card.
When I drove my 2000 C5 on an 8-state, 4400 mile odyssey in the autumn of 2015, I carried a GTO spare behind the seat. However, one couldn't even see the spare rim/tire, because I had so much other stuffback there for my 24-day trip. I made sure I could see through the back window if necessary, but if anything had killed me in an accident, it wouldn't have been the spare, I would have been many pounds of other luggage and stuff, whether the spare were there or not. That said, I no longer recommend the GTO spare. Instead, I recommend buying a spare from www.ModernSpare.com. Most of us here hate run flats with a passion, for various reasons. As for the AAA card, I've broken down twice on an a very busy Interstate (I-75 in Southwest Florida), and I had to wait 4 hours for the AAA tow truck to help me once and about 2.5 hours the other time. Both times, there was no safe place for me to wait, as the terrain on the safe side of the guard rail dropped off and wasn't safe, and waiting on the traffic side of I-75 certainly was dangerous. So it is likely that carrying an unsecured spare is statistically much safer than waiting endlessly for AAA. Don't believe me? Two police officers in Florida have already been hit and killed this year at the side of Interstates, and it's 16 nationwide, last I heard. That doesn't include the dozens of civilians who have died waiting by the roadside. Being on the berm of an Interstate is far more likely to be deadly than the extremely rare instance of dying from unsecured items in an accident.
A couple points here with the cost. Modern Spare wants $360 + shipping for the wheel/tire combination. You were going to put a tire on that Racestar wheel, right? That adds $100+ to the mix right there. Oh, and the size, Modern Spare chose the 18" wheel with the tire they chose to keep the diameter of the spare wheel/tire (26.5") between the front and rear sizes for the C5 (25.7" front, 26.7" rear). The nannies won't be totally happy with that, but I think the ABS will continue to function with that. You probably won't find a 17" spare tire with a diameter in that range, and I wouldn't want to drive a C5 with a donut spare and no ABS.
And if you have to get a wheel spacer anyway, a good hub centric wheel adapter isn't much more than a spacer, and it can resolve the hub bore issues, the lug pattern issues and everything in a single unit. So you don't have to worry about the other issues. That's one reason I recommended the hub centric adapter and the CTS 18" spare wheel with a used but likely serviceable 26.5" spare tire.n and much easier to find...
It sounds like the Modern spare option and the CTS option are both viable. I don't see a problem with using the Modern Spare on the front just to get the car off the highway/Interstate and to a tire shop, and it should work somewhat better on the back, if I'm understanding the numbers correctly. I also think the price of the Modern Spare is reasonable, considering many standard 18" tires for the C5 are priced in that range and don't include any wheel/rim. Unfortunately, finding a CTS spare here in Southwest Florida would be a challenge, as there no junkyards at all in my medium-sized city, and a few within 80 miles any direction from me.
So these would be best at 40$ and a gto spare 20mm spacers will clear the brakes only thing is these are corvette 4.75" bolt circle spacers bigger so i dont know would still have to open up the gto spare hub center and let the lugnuts center the wheel incause of emergency flat repair. These are good for the stock wheels on the rear sit in countersunk into the wheel well could also use them to make the wheels sit out further 18x9.5 speedlines. 2X 20mm 5x4.75 5x120.65 5x120.7 Hubcentric Wheel Spacers For Chevrolet Corvette
It sounds like the Modern spare option and the CTS option are both viable. I don't see a problem with using the Modern Spare on the front just to get the car off the highway/Interstate and to a tire shop, and it should work somewhat better on the back, if I'm understanding the numbers correctly. I also think the price of the Modern Spare is reasonable, considering many standard 18" tires for the C5 are priced in that range and don't include any wheel/rim. Unfortunately, finding a CTS spare here in Southwest Florida would be a challenge, as there no junkyards at all in my medium-sized city, and a few within 80 miles any direction from me.
Theres also 17" gm or gmc equinox 17" spares on ebay that look the same as gto spares not sure if their bolt pattern is the same. They run a little cheaper and more produced. What year cadillac cts uses the same 04-06 gto spare and are the hub centers smaller on both same with metric bolt pattern 5x120mm or 5x120.65mm corvette gm bolt patterns. Youre referring to the 4 cylinder cadillac correct cts or ats? Ebay has the equinox spares cheaper which are 17" just not sure if theyre the smaller 5x114mm as 07 pontiac g6 06-09 saab 9-5 gm vehicles.
I can always swap the rear tire to front but that takes two jacks or a jack stand. So the gto spare clears rear c5 brakes or doesnt? Stock gto wheels i think are +48mm offset.
What year specific cadillac and model are you referring to with 18" spares thatll fit a corvette c5?
08-31-2022, 02:26 AM
GTO spares fit c5?
