StevieB

Yea, I found out AFTER I bought the wheels that unless they are after market repro's I need spacers to fit properly.

Safedog

http://riggedup.ecrater.com/category.php?cid=193985

This is the way to go, machined with safety in mind. Worth the 60 bucks!

Go with the 1" spacers for $59.99 at the bottom of the page.

VETFEVER

I have GM C6 wheels on my C5 and run without spacers with no rubbing...

But I am also planning on adding spacers to get my rear wheels closer to the outside edge of the fenders for a better look. I have measured my wheels as they are on the car and found that 3/4" would bring them exactly even with the fenders......

Just my input..

3whit

I agree ,thats the way I did it they are high quality aircraft aluminum and if you ever want to change it back its no problem , Check it out . The one inch will put the tire just a hair in from the fender edge

StevieB

Thanks, rear only, or also the front?

3whit

Fronts are no problem at all they just bolt right on, No clearance problems at all, so just the rears. The spacers I used are Hub centric and Lug centric so alignment is perfect no vibrations or balance issues. I think its the way to go. Plus they are safe..

StevieB

Here is why the fronts dont need them. The offset is the same on the front C5 and C6 models.

I got this info from a guy in my C5 gen topic. Some may call it a manifesto it's so long


"The replica wheels with C5 offsets (56mm front and 63mm back) will fit fine with no issues. The OEM C6 wheels will not be fine - the front offset on a C6 is 56mm and the back is 79mm"

56 mm front offset on both gens

BTW, what does offset mean?

StevieB

I just went onto a conversion chart to calculate the 16mm
difference offset that the C6 has into inches.
It’s AROUND16mm=.62992125984"
That is just less than 3/4", so I think the 3/4 is closer to the stock C5.
I like the way my car USED to look. I think that tiny bit wider 3/4" would look almost perfect. I like the tire to be as exact as possible to the edge of the fender as well. More narrow looks like my family truckster sedan.

When I noticed it I was so pissed. I didn't even want to look at the car. Not to say that 3whit are too wide, it looks just about perfect. Wider is always better. Except when it comes down to more junk in the trunk, as they say in the hood
It's amazing that such small differences are so noticeable.

my6thvette

There are a few other things to consider when choosing between spacers and adapters. As you have noted, there is a 16 mm difference between the offsets of the C5s versus the C6 wheels. However, the stock C6 tires (285-35-19) are 10 mm wider than the stock C5 tires (275-40-18). This would cancel some of the difference between their relative position in the wheel well. Also, the stock wheel studs are about 1 1/4 inches long. As a result, you would probably have to grind off about 1/4 inch of the unthreaded portion of the studs in order for the wheels to fit flush against a 1 inch adapter. Another option would be to go to a 1 1/4 inch adapter. However, this would cause the C6 tires to stick out about 22 mm further than your C5s with stock tires. You could simply use a 5 mm spacer which would result in the C6 tires being positioned only 6 mm inward from the position of C5 tires on stock wheels.

In my case, I was able to use OEM C6 wheels and tires with no spacers. This is what they look like.



I really don't think that that they look that bad. However, I may eventually go ahead and install 5 mm spacers.

3whit

For reference the Tires I am running are stock C6 sizes and the Wheels are Stock Gm Corvette Wheels. The sizes are 245-40-18 front and the rears are 285-35-19. When I tried to install the rears without spacer/adaptor they would have rubbed on the inner fender liner ,it may have been slight but it would have rubbed. Installation of the 1 inch adaptor did require removing 1/4 inch of unthreaded stud which does nothing anyway , that allowed the wheel to sit flush against the adaptor without hitting the end of the studs. As far as the appearance I guess it is to each his own ,I like it thats all that counts to me ,but thanks for the feedback.. Hope this all helps with those hard decisions that need to be made .

3whit

Forgot to mention I have lowered the rear 1 1/2 inch on stock bolts ,I did not mess with the bushings like some do just lowered it until there was 4 threads left above the nut . This closed up some space above the tire and now the line along the bottom of the car is parallel to the ground. No issues with clearance or bottoming out still rides nice .I did get it realigned after. Good luck with your Mods See ya

3whit

I didn't lower the car til after the C6 wheels were on with the adaptors. Without adaptors or a spacer they would not have gone on . So that blows your theory .. I believe that a true stock C6 wheel on the rear of a stock C5 would need the minimum of 1/4 inch spacer to keep it from touching the inner fender liner . IMPO and seeing my car. I know this worked for me ...

ljthe2nd

Here's an explanation of what the term offset mean when referring to wheels
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...explained.html

StevieB

I think that these pictures very accurately show the way it really looks. The straight down and the angle shots are just about as good as you can get. I could take pictures of mine at a wrong angle and it would look fine. Because of the fact that mine are recessed to far, a straight down shot wouldn't show a thing. Even if the tire is exactly lined up with the fender edge you wouldn't see anything either.
It is still kind of hard to tell the look unless your actually there. With the 1" spacers I don’t actually know how mine will look. The width of the Firestone tires I have may be different than stock. Trying to measure them and actually see them on the car are two different stories. The tread footprint, the tread pattern, if the tread wraps up onto the sidewall VERY slightly and who knows what else.
I'm going with the one inch size like yours. It looks like a really nice ride.
BTW, I don't understand what is meant by grinding down the unthreaded 1/4" of the stud?

StevieB

Thanks, my man. We are all on the same page now, i think

BTW, any pictures of your car?

StevieB

And thank you as well sir

StevieB

The smallest ones made by rigged up are 1"
I don't think that higher quality could be found.

James E.

check your PM.

Safedog

PM answered.

StevieB

I went with these 1" spacers and I'm very happy with the look it gave the car.

http://riggedup.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=892552

Not that I would ever do this , but would these cause any problems if the car made it into, perhaps the 175 MPH range. Again, I would never do that kind of speed, my friend just asked me.
BTW, these are C6 19"rear and 18" fronts with brand new tires on my C5 W/15K miles.