I was told they were off a Camaro, but I can't be positive, I'll try to find some pics to put up... I'm just wondering who else has a set and what thickness range I'll be looking at for spacers. Will I have two different sizes for front/rear? Trying to get them before I fly back to Arizona so I won't have to worry about it later.
Wheel adapter thickness + info, 17x9(?) F/Y-Body wheels
- Thread starter Doober
- Start date
Re: Wheel adapter thickness, 17x9(?) F/Y-Body wheels
The later model camaro wheels (93-newer) dont have different front & rear offsets. As far as spacers, I know they'd need to be thick but I'm not sure of the dimensions, guessing about 2" though.
The later model camaro wheels (93-newer) dont have different front & rear offsets. As far as spacers, I know they'd need to be thick but I'm not sure of the dimensions, guessing about 2" though.
Re: Wheel adapter thickness, 17x9(?) F/Y-Body wheels
I had jacked the car up to where the hub centerlines were the same height as the wheels, and it looks like I'd be about 2" in the rear and 2.25-2.5" in the front. The rear wheel wells woumd probably need trimming to avoid slicing the tires, I'm in the dark about the front because the front clip isn't on. I remember reading on ProTouring.com (I believe) that one of the guys from SC&C said the inner wheel well is the major culprit up front, so I may just need to trim it in a couple spots. If it comes down to it I may wind up getting a pair of wheel tubs to graft in.
I had jacked the car up to where the hub centerlines were the same height as the wheels, and it looks like I'd be about 2" in the rear and 2.25-2.5" in the front. The rear wheel wells woumd probably need trimming to avoid slicing the tires, I'm in the dark about the front because the front clip isn't on. I remember reading on ProTouring.com (I believe) that one of the guys from SC&C said the inner wheel well is the major culprit up front, so I may just need to trim it in a couple spots. If it comes down to it I may wind up getting a pair of wheel tubs to graft in.
Re: Wheel adapter thickness, 17x9(?) F/Y-Body wheels
So I finally bit the bullet (if anyone is reading this) and got some adapters. First time around was 2.5", but they didn't have the lip around the center to carry the weight of the wheel... goof on my end. Hubcentric adapters that also have this ring are few & far between, I wound up with a set of 3" adapters and it turned out that's what I needed, at least for the rear. Here's my story...
I'll start out saying mine are 17x9.5", and the tires are 275/40/17.
17"x9.5" is a bust when it comes to lowering spindles on a G-Body. Where the wheel/tire sits in those pics is about the best you'll get, because the location of the tie rod is in the way... this would change with stock spindles because the actual hub location is moved 2" down on the spindle, clearing the tie rod. It's clear that the only way this would work would be if you could stretch the lip of the fender out probably at least 1.5" for clearance, possibly 2". The edge of the tire sidewall is exactly 1" from the outer lip of the fender.
Next hurdle, backspacing. With stock a-arms, the most you'll get comfortably is 4.875" (4 7/8"), possibly 5" if you're lucky. 4.875" is the backspacing the wheel is at in the pics. If you go tighter (only way would be with stock spindles) you will likely come into contact with the a-arm, frame, or both depending on tire height, which leads to the next topic.
If everything sits properly, the car is 3" lower than stock: 2" Belltech spindles and 1902 Hotchkis springs (1" advertised drop). At this height with 275/40/17s the tire just barely rubs the rear of the inner fender at full lock, possibly worse if the suspension is moving. The tire also contacts the lower 'tip' of the wheel well lip (where the wheel well lip comes down and meets the very bottom of the sheetmetal), so it's possible that would need to be either trimmed or modified somehow for clearance, again just barely.
Do I want to run a set of 275/40/17s on all 4 corners? Yes I do.
Is it an easy job? No it's not. You would need to either modify the suspension - either by running different a-arms with stock spindles for more wheel clearance, or modify the fenders to clear the wider tire with lowering spindles.
Either way it won't be cheap, and to match the wider track you would gain with the front tires + lowering spindles, you would either need to modify the rear fenders as well to match and go with less backspacing on the rear (think about 2" less)... this would give the car more of a 'Trans Am'-ish look, but if done right it would almost be hard to tell by someone who isn't that familiar with a G-Body. To get the front tires to sit in line with the rears (4.875" is just about perfect for a 17x9.5 btw, only light trimming or rolling of the fender lips is all that's required), you would have to go the a-arm/stock spindle route and find some way of making clearance with the inner fenders... if I do wind up with this type of wheel/tire combo then I would likely be running me a set of custom inner fenders and some tubular a-arms with stock spindles.
Basically, if you want clearance and have a lowered car, the easy route up front is a 17x8 and something like a 245 width tire with about 4.875" backspacing. If you want to get more aggressive you would likely have to go one of the routes I described.
So I finally bit the bullet (if anyone is reading this) and got some adapters. First time around was 2.5", but they didn't have the lip around the center to carry the weight of the wheel... goof on my end. Hubcentric adapters that also have this ring are few & far between, I wound up with a set of 3" adapters and it turned out that's what I needed, at least for the rear. Here's my story...
I'll start out saying mine are 17x9.5", and the tires are 275/40/17.
17"x9.5" is a bust when it comes to lowering spindles on a G-Body. Where the wheel/tire sits in those pics is about the best you'll get, because the location of the tie rod is in the way... this would change with stock spindles because the actual hub location is moved 2" down on the spindle, clearing the tie rod. It's clear that the only way this would work would be if you could stretch the lip of the fender out probably at least 1.5" for clearance, possibly 2". The edge of the tire sidewall is exactly 1" from the outer lip of the fender.
Next hurdle, backspacing. With stock a-arms, the most you'll get comfortably is 4.875" (4 7/8"), possibly 5" if you're lucky. 4.875" is the backspacing the wheel is at in the pics. If you go tighter (only way would be with stock spindles) you will likely come into contact with the a-arm, frame, or both depending on tire height, which leads to the next topic.
If everything sits properly, the car is 3" lower than stock: 2" Belltech spindles and 1902 Hotchkis springs (1" advertised drop). At this height with 275/40/17s the tire just barely rubs the rear of the inner fender at full lock, possibly worse if the suspension is moving. The tire also contacts the lower 'tip' of the wheel well lip (where the wheel well lip comes down and meets the very bottom of the sheetmetal), so it's possible that would need to be either trimmed or modified somehow for clearance, again just barely.
Do I want to run a set of 275/40/17s on all 4 corners? Yes I do.
Is it an easy job? No it's not. You would need to either modify the suspension - either by running different a-arms with stock spindles for more wheel clearance, or modify the fenders to clear the wider tire with lowering spindles.
Either way it won't be cheap, and to match the wider track you would gain with the front tires + lowering spindles, you would either need to modify the rear fenders as well to match and go with less backspacing on the rear (think about 2" less)... this would give the car more of a 'Trans Am'-ish look, but if done right it would almost be hard to tell by someone who isn't that familiar with a G-Body. To get the front tires to sit in line with the rears (4.875" is just about perfect for a 17x9.5 btw, only light trimming or rolling of the fender lips is all that's required), you would have to go the a-arm/stock spindle route and find some way of making clearance with the inner fenders... if I do wind up with this type of wheel/tire combo then I would likely be running me a set of custom inner fenders and some tubular a-arms with stock spindles.
Basically, if you want clearance and have a lowered car, the easy route up front is a 17x8 and something like a 245 width tire with about 4.875" backspacing. If you want to get more aggressive you would likely have to go one of the routes I described.
