After long deliberations of what wheels to get, I recently decided to just purchase new tires to get over the madness of "What wheels to get." The painstaking decisions between expensive CCWs or TSW Interlagos was stressful enough, and now I stumble upon a new set of wheels that may peak my interest....

So, for the wheel experts, please guide me.

My Vette is a 2000 C5 Fixed Roof Coupe. (Not a Z06, No rear brake ducts).

The wheels I came across are as follows:

18 x 9 Front (Available in 45mm, 50mm, 55mm Offsets)

18 x 11 Rear (Available in 45mm, 50mm, 55mm Offsets)

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18 x 10 Front (Available in 45mm and 50mm Offsets)

18 x 12 Rear (Available in 45mm, 50mm, 55mm, and 60mm Offsets)



First off, what is the better set to go with?
18 x 9 / 18 x 11 or
18 x 10 / 18 x 12? Or, Should I mix it up such as 18 x 9 / 18 x 12?

Second, what offsets are best for clearing the inside wheel well? I don't know much about offsets except that they compensate to push the wheel out further to allow wider tires without inside rubbing.

Can anyone make some good informed suggestions? Such as, will the 12" be too wide for my rear? or, is the 11" the better "happy medium" rear wheel size?

Given the limitations of not being "tubbed", maybe a certain tire width limits me to a specific wheel base. Such as, if 345s are "too wide" without tubbing, what is a flush look? 315s? if so, then 315s will go well on an 11" wheel. Etc.

Please make some recommendations. Thanks all.

 

What's the new set of wheels you've sumbled across? Post a link please! I'm in the market for cost effective wheels in those sizes as well.

Thanks!

 

BlackDak, do a GOOGLE search for Forgestar wheels from Element Wheels in Chandler, AZ. Your choice of 18x9/18x11 or 18x10/18x12 for $1460 either set. It looks like a killer deal for a wide street/track set up....The only thing I am hesitant on, is the look of the wheel and the "Piano Black" (Gloss Black) look. I am more preferential to the TSW Interlagos look (9 spokes), but damn their ridiculous and limited sizing. (18 x 9/18x10.5) That leaves me with custom wheels or the above.

 

There is also an 8 week lead time for the forgestar f14 wheels. I have some on order and live in Chandler so I get hit with sales tax.

 

Ah ok. I am well aware of forgestars, but thanks for the heads up. Also there is no way the 12" rear will fit on your car unless you like 1" of tire sticking out of the feder well. Already looked into it. Stick with the 11" rear and you'll be good to go.

 

Of all those wheels, only the 18x9 55mm offset would fit the front of your car. All the rest will cause the tires to stick out.

I have 18x9.5 59mm offset with 265/35/18 front and 19x11 65mm offset with 305/30/19 rear. This setup won't stick out or rub on the inside.

Russ Kemp

 

After playing around with sizes and the wheel calculator, the stock Z06 tires with the following:

295/30/18 on a 10.5" wheel at 58mm = 8.1" backspacing.

If I understand correctly, this is what I calculated for an aftermarket wheel:

315/30/18 on an 11" wheel at 55mm = 8.2" backspacing
315/30/18 on an 11" wheel at 50mm = 8.0" backspacing
315/30/18 on an 11" wheel at 45mm = 7.8" backspacing

.............. on a 12" wheel at 45mm = 8.3" backspacing (may require spacer, tubbing, or wide fenders like TPE)

So, looking at the 11", is it safe to assume to select the offset closest to the stock offset and backspacing? Or, to allow a little more offset (lower offset number) to provide more clearance on the inside?

What would be the recommended offset? 45, 50, or 55? (Lower number brings mounting hub closer inside, which pushes wheel further away from inside. Higher number pushes mounting hub further out, forcing wheel to come closer to inside)

My uneducated guess is the 50mm; to keep it closest to stock at 8.0" backspacing without going over the 8.1" stock backspacing if I were to select the 55mm, which would put it over stock by 8.2" backspacing. (If this makes sense) Basically, keep it closest to stock without exceeding stock backspacing.

 

Here you go

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...21-25-lbs.html