customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

I got 17x9.5 and 17x10.5 with 275 front and 315 rear rubber on my 1987 Firebird formula 350. I just swapped to a full TA GFX kit and I always wanted larger than stock rims. Reason mostly due to cost and such. But I have custom made weight jacks front and rear and I can't really lower my car more than it already is (prob 2" or so lower than stock) due to the exhaust and aftermarket Kmember. So I would love to increase rim size thus increasing ground clearance while giving the car a lowered look (wheel well gap). I would have to go at least 19" as I can't justify the cost of $1700 for 1" increase going 18". So 19" would be my minimum giving me .75" increase (toward the wheel well) in rim size/tire height over my current 17" setup. 20" would work even better as I wouldn't have to lower the car alot to simulate the massive drop on 16/17" rims.

I'm looking to get 19x8.5 & 19x10" or 20x8.5 & 20x10". I'm not hesitant to running 19x8.5 front and 20x10" rears either (not as cheap as different rim sizes aren't in package form). I run ford rims with my ford 8.8 rear and ford adapters. Im not too worried about my brakes and such as I have Baer 13" front rotors and OEM ford 11.5" rear disks.

Please post some pics! I saw a very tiny few of 20s and OEM Vette but I don't know if they are 18,19 or 20s.

penguinpanda0

19" Oz Superleggera with factory ride height

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Thank you sir! They don't look that big. I honestly think that 20s might not be that bad.

Anyone else got some pics!

95Cam86Roc

iTrader: (2)

20" replicas. I can't recall what size tire I ran since I sold those for 18" Iroc replicas.

MeenZ28

The fronts are 18" but the rears are 20"x10"

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Wow Thanks guys! The 20s really fill up the wheel well lol. Those 18s look super tiny lol. I'm afraid of the rims looking too big compared to the car but with the TA gfx the cars a fat biotch now.

What are you guys running drop wise on the 20s?

Do you have any rubbing esp on the front?

I just measured mine out and the 20s I'm looking at will fit like a glove. I'm a big fan of 5 spoke designs.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Why did u switch to 18s?

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

Changing wheels won't fill the wheel well nor give you more ground clearance. However, to you point, larger wheels may give you more options for taller tires.

The sizes popular on Camaro, Corvette, Mustang are mostly 25.6"-26" then 5th gen Camaros jumps to 28" tall tire, which I think is too much for the third gen. If you know someone with a 5th gen, see if you can borrow their wheels and tires for a test fit. Don't drive it, because 5Gs changed to 120mm bolt circle (vs 3G's 4 3/4 = 120.65mm)

Using DiscountTire's Search By Tire Size, here are some available tire sizes:
275/40 17 = 25.6" tall
285/40 17 = 25.97"... not much improvement
275/55 17 = 28.9"! That's rear drag radial sized, and probably not the front look you want.

For 18's"
275/35 18 = 25.6
275/40 18 = 26.6
275/45 18 = 27.7
285/30 18 = 24.73 ... smaller
285/40 18 = 26.97 ... bigger, but only one tire available.
295/35 18 = 24.96" ... smaller
295/35 18 = 26.12" ... bigger, but not much

I start with 19's. You can continue this research.
275/30 19 = 25.5
275/35 19 = 26.6

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

How would changing wheels not fill the wheel gap. A larger/taller tire sidewall accomplishes the same thing. I run a 315/35 17 tire on my rear and a 275/35 17 on my front. Paired with a 17" tall rim I'm at about 25.7". So its already shorter than stock. If I were to keep the wheel moutning flange at the same height and swap in a 20" rim with the same 315/35 20 tire I would have increased total tire height by 3", Half does down and half goes up since its DIA and not Radius. Thus pushing the rim/tire 1.5" up into the wheel well, and pushing the car up (off the ground) 1.5" as well over my current setup.

My Fronts are the same tire brand but on a 17x9" rim. Those tires spec at 275/40 17 and has the same 25.7" tire height. So even with the extra 5mm on the sidewall it still has the same overall height.

A quick look for a 285/35 20 tire shows a 27.9" overall tire height. Thats 2" taller than my current total tire height. So I could gain 1" in both directions. A 285/40 20 shows a 29" tall tire height so THats almost 2" in both directions.

Thank you for the tire sizes. I wasn't really looking at them as I won't go shorter than a 35 tire bc of ride quality and the ability to take a pothole. And I don't like skinny tires.

Its funny you say drag wheel size as I have 295/65 15s MT streets on some 15x10" rims for my rear just for the track. and its TIGHT in the wheel well lol but no real issues.

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

Because changing wheel diameter requires different tires. And it is the tire construction that determine the overall diameter of wheel+tire.

Thank you for making my point. You put a taller wheel (17") than stock (15" or 16") and the overall wheel+tire package is SMALLER. Therefore it is more about the TIRE SIZE that determines your overall wheel+tire height. You obviously need the correct sized wheel to mount the tire onto.

The shortest 315/x 20 tire is a 315/35 20 = 28.7", and is a truck tire. So, putting on bigger wheels makes for too large a wheel+tire package, right? (I am being facetious )

The "35" and "40" in 315/35/17 and 275/40/17 are not mm measurements, instead they are "profile" or percentage of the tread width.

315mm tread width = 12.4" wide x 35% = 4.34" sidewall. Times 2 sidewalls = 8.68" of tire sidewalls + 17" wheel diameter = 25.68" total tire diameter or total wheel + tire height.
275mm tread width = 10.8" wide x 40% = 4.33" sidewall... the same height.

If you want to fill the wheel well more, a 225/70/15 = 27.4" tall... that's taller than your 17" wheel package on a smaller wheel. (obviously not the look or performance you are looking for, just follow my point.)

My point is: you do NOT NEED a bigger wheel to have a taller tire. You CAN, and maybe that is the look you are going for.

Yes, when looking at the specs as listed, the wheel diameter is used to calculate the overall height.

Find an existing tires size, THAT HAS SEVERAL BRANDS AVAILABLE (note the shortage of 245/50/16 tires) that is the overall height and width you are aiming for. That will determine the wheel sizes needed.

paul_huryk

One option for a taller tire is using a 275-40-18, which is about 26.75" - and was an OEM size on C5 Corvettes (rear). On an 18" x 9.5" (or 10") wheel, it would be something to look at.

Once you creep up to 19" (or larger), the weight goes way up, sidewall, ride quality & handling go into the crapper real quick.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Thanks for the input! I appreciate your time. I will either be going with the 20s or 19s. I'm not totally sure yet but This car IS NOT a handling car. It will go to the track maybe once a year or two. Mostly it gets driven to car shows bc I can't afford the gas lol. A 521 drinks alot of the premium juice. I have maybe put 500 miles on the car in 3-4 years. I don't autoX and Im not super worried about gas mileage and I got more than enough HP/Tq to spin a heavier wheel/rim combo. Although the added stress on the 28spline axles much not be the best.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

I will either be going with the 20s or 19s. I'm not totally sure yet but This car IS NOT a handling car. It will go to the track maybe once a year or two. Mostly it gets driven to car shows bc I can't afford the gas lol. A 521 drinks alot of the premium juice. I have maybe put 500 miles on the car in 3-4 years. I don't autoX and Im not super worried about gas mileage and I got more than enough HP/Tq to spin a heavier wheel/rim combo. Although the added stress on the 28spline axles much not be the best.

So I contacted the manufacture of the wheels and got some weights.

Rim Weight only
17x10.5" (current) = 26.2lbs
19x10" = 30.3lbs
20x10" = 32lbs

So going from my 17 to 20 would be a 5.8lb increase per rim and thats rotational mass so i know its compounded. But I'm also decreasing tire width from a 315/35 17 to a either 275/35 20 or 295/35 20. But I dont have those weights at the moment. But I'm sure the height of the tires would outweigh any of the width decreases.

95Cam86Roc

iTrader: (2)

I got tired of the look

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Do you have a pic of it with the 18s?

paul_huryk

32lbs is a rediculous amount of weight for a 20" wheel for a car application. A tire is going to add another 28 to 30lbs, pushing well over 60lbs per corner. A light 18" is going to be in the 50lb range with a tire. That is dead weight that takes more power to turn, more shock control to keep on the road, and will tax brakes more than a lighter combo with the same overall diameter.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Im going to have to do the math but from what Ive read on the net its 1lb of unsprung weight is worth 4lbs of sprung weight.

So with rim size alone thats 11.6lbs for just the rear. I don't have the weights for the front 17x9 vs the 20x8.5 so lets just assume its the same weight. So we have a total of 23.2lbs for all 4 rims. which comes out to 92.8lbs of sprung weight. Now I know the larger tires will prob add a few lbs per wheel but I'll have to find all that out. Sure this affects braking and handling but I don't drive the car hard on the street. And I have radials on rims for the track. A hundred lbs isn't a whole lot when you think about how much a Stock TA weighs. And I would say I'm around stock weight even with lighter seats, Fiberglass hood, all the non essential stuff out of the engine bay (AC, SMOG, Charcoal etc). But I have SFC, Roll bar, and true dual exhaust. I don't think it would very noticeable on the street as far as acceleration goes. I have a **** ton of low end tq and power with the 521.

Here is a quote from LS! site about an article Car and Driver did on a gulf, testing wheel weight vs acceleration differences.

" know everyone talks a lot about the need for lightweight wheels, and worry about what effect a larger wheel or tire will have on their performance. Car & Driver magazine did a test of this a few months back. I picked up a copy at an airport during a long layover at the time, and have lately been wishing I had saved it. Well, it turns out it is now available online.

They took a Volkswagen Golf and tried upsizing wheels/tires on it. They used the same wheel and tire brand/style and went from a 15x6 in 1" steps up in diameter, to a 19x8.5 wheel. Tire/wheel weight went from 40 lbs to 54 lbs each!! The car's 0-60 went from 7.6 to 7.9, but qtr mile went from 15.9 to 16.1.

I looked up the car and it is a straight-5 with about 170 lb/ft of torque. I really expected a 14 lb/corner increase in weight to have a bigger effect than that on a low-torque 5-banger. I wish they had done the same test with some good ole V8 grunt."

paul_huryk

14lbs*4 wheels*4lbs = approximately 224lbs in equivalent dead wight - which pretty much explains the 0.2s increase in the quarter mile from the test you summarized.

One effect of having heavier wheels and tires on any car (compared to lighter ones of the same size) is control and feel. Your car will react better to lighter wheels and tires - not only in acceleration, but also in the turns - where you will have much more control.

One of my good customers went from a 34lb 17" x 8" soft 8 wheel with 245-45-17 dunlop tires to our 20.2lb 17" x 9.5" wheels with the same tires. He dropped an average of 2 seconds per lap (it is a Chumpcar racer) at a 13 hour race last year (the rear grenaded 20 minutes before the end). It wasn't that the car didn't accelerate, stop, or handle better - he mentioned the majority of the time he picked up was due to better control and the ability to drive harder due to the better "feel" - giving the better times. He did sat that the car felt like it picked up 20hp (225 less lbs of equivalent dead weight), but that at best was worth 1/2 a second per lap.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

18-19 stagger

Dou99er

20x10

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Looks great Orr89RocZ!

The ones Im looking at are very simular to yours. Like cross between the Zr1 and your vette rims.

How did it handle and feel on the road?

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

How did it feel and ride like on the road? Feel heavy turning on the street? How about stopping?

The 20s is the best deal for me cost wise. But maybe a 19 front ad 20 rear would be a good option.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

So I got the weights of everything.

My current setup is:

17x10.5" rim = 26.2lbs
315/35 17 sumimoto tire = 28lbs
Total rear rim/tire= 54lbs

17x9" rim = 24.36lbs
275/35 17 sumimoto tire= 26.75 lbs
Total front rim/tire = 51.11lbs

Total weight of 4 rims/tires = 210lbs


New wheel setup:

20x 8.5" rim = 28.3lbs
255/35 20 MT street tire= 28.36lbs
Total front rim/tire = 56.93lbs

20 x 10" rim = 32lbs
275/35 20 MT street tire= 30lbs
Total rear rim/tire = 62lbs

Total weight of new rims/tires = 238lbs

That's a difference of 28lbs unsprung x 4 = 112lbs of sprung weight. Or equal to 10hp loss.

Union76

I was just figuring some **** out today, Lorinsers - front 19x9 245/40 and rear 19x10 275/35. Need 40/45 seires tyres all round.

Rear lowered only at this stage.

Dunno if I like it, jury is still out.

Very hard to get away from std 16x8's, very hard.

Good luck.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Rides great. Handles well and stops great. I've been 154 mph on these wheels and stopped very well. Very stable at speed

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

OEM Springs? Or new replacements? How much was the rear lowered?

I dont think it looks bad, I think the large DIA and the amount of aluminum (thick spokes) adds to its "large look". BUt its interested to see that the front if not lowered on OEM height springs (hopefully not saggin that much) has that small a fender gap. I say lower the front and see if you like it.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Those are OEM vette right? They are notoriously light OEM rims for there size. I was at a local car show last night and was looking at the new vettes with the 18/19 and 19/20 combos. The 20s look natural on the vettes but they had 285/30 20s which are way thin for me. I liked the 35 sidewall better. Coincidentally there was a 18/19 combo parked next to a new gen 19/20 combo and the 19" was noticeably smaller than the 20, both looked good but the 20 prob seemed larger due to the 30 sidewall vs the 35 on the 19.

Have you ever weighed the 19s with the tire to see what they weight?

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

I also got some conflicting weights of the 20x8.5 and 20x10" rims. Originally I was told by the seller/dealer that the rims were...

My current setup is:

17x10.5" rim = 26.2lbs
315/35 17 sumimoto tire = 28lbs
Total rear rim/tire= 54lbs

17x9" rim = 24.36lbs
275/35 17 sumimoto tire= 26.75 lbs
Total front rim/tire = 51.11lbs

Total weight of 4 rims/tires = 210lbs


New wheel setup: New Possible weights in BOLD

20x 8.5" rim = 28.3lbs 28lbs
255/35 20 MT street tire= 28.36lbs
Total front rim/tire = 56.93lbs 56.36lbs

20 x 10" rim = 32lbs 29lbs
275/35 20 MT street tire= 30lbs
Total rear rim/tire = 62lbs 59lbs

Total weight of new rims/tires = 238lbs 230.72lbs

That's a difference of 28lbs/20.72lbs unsprung x 4 = 112lbs/82.88lbs of sprung weight. Or equal to 10hp/8hp loss.

Union76

KoniYellow&Vogtland 30mm lowered springs in rear. Rear looks real good, maybe not represented too well in photos.

Yep, Vogtland 30mm front to be done shortly, front wheel does look a bit weird compared to guard (camber looks a bit funny in pics too? Will check) with the std springs in there. Not happy with the front, yet.

And I agree with what you said, the amount of "face" in the wheel - makes a hell of a difference to look of size.

I have drum rears hence the cover up job with wheel choice!

Good Luck Dude.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

I probably have weighed them in the past just cant remember. They arent super light with tire. I want to say 54 lbs a wheel/tire for rears but not sure. May be the fronts. Rears def are hefty with the big drag radial on it

Linson

that is a really unique and interesting wheel choice. i like it. the "big face" of those wheels looks at home on a Third Gen Firebird - more so than most thin spoke/open face wheels IMO.

also, if you have big, open wheels and small factory brakes (on any vehicle), you are deficient.

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

hre 19s

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

lol its funny you posted this. I was looking through a "best 3rd gen wheel" thread yesterday and saw this and saved it. Comparing the 20s to the 19s. Bad A$$ car man. Big fan of the blacked out look. My 2014 Ram has the blacked out option and my firebird was blacked out in a semi satin hot rod black. But Now Im going dark charcoal metallic But Im going with a flat black rim.

How much would you say its lowered?

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

lol thanks yes my wife loves black out cars but I might redo them with satin gold or gunmetal center gloss black lip

I'm running taller tire also 35 series fills out the wheel well much better especially in the 19s

20s seem to be abit much have to really get the stance and wheel combo right on and bigger wheel you go easier they bend so I avoid 20s unless I can run decent tire especially the way me and wife drives the camaro

I'm on ground controls but I say I'm at around 2in lowered maybe haven't really measured but I can go lower or higher if need be

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

I think the gun metal will look better and that way your yellow calipers don't get lost with the gold.

Yea Im def running a 35 sidewall, looking at 20x8.5 with 255/35-20 and 20x10 with 275/35-20. The biggest factor for me is cost, so the 20s with tiresm mounted and balanced is $1,655, if I were to go 19s the cost would be $1,950 for the exact same thing Bc I want to run staggered widths. They have a package for 19s but its 8.5s front and rear and its not worth it since the 20s are the same cost but the staggered.

I dont drive the car hard and it doesn't see more than like 100 per year and with the 35 sidewalls it should be good on the street lol. I run weight jacks too but I might need to look at a taller 5"x150lb spring or a stiffer 175/200 depending on how the wheels affect the suspension and how much I can actually drop the rear with a 10.5"x150lb spring.

So looking at yours I would prob only have to lower about 1.5" to achieve the same look. Less lowering is better for me with my dual 3" exhaust so thats my main reason for a larger rim, plus I love 5 spoke designs and want to go back.

ryanz281988

z28 3

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Sizes?! 20 rear and 19/18 front? and how much is it lowered?

ryanz281988

Sorry I forgot to post that


20 on rear and 18 on front

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Ha crap, that 20 looks large and the 18 looks small lol. Maybe its bc of the 2" rim difference it has a negative impact on their size differences. I would not be as slammed as you though.

How much is it lowered?

ryanz281988

The car is air ride equipped rests on the frame.

Union76

It's an acquired taste for sure, not normal and the pics don't do it much justice - looks a lot better sitting in front of you.......

Test fitting some IMPUL Silhouettes shortly 17x9.5, that will be interesting/crazy/****!

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Ordered the new wheels and tires! Whoop whoop! I decided on a slightly different rim, didn't want a flat matte color on my new shiny bird. So found almost exact duplicate in black gloss piano black. I think the black rims will look less big as they will be harder to see. Can't wait to see what the 13" baers will look like with all that room! They basically filled the 17s.

New rim specs are front and back

(4) 20 x 10 with 40mm offset
(4) 295x35-20 Nitto Invos
Open black lugs for my 3" ARP wheel studs
Closed black lugs for the front.

Siked I can rotate these biotches!

I don't run spacers on the back, ford 8.8 is 1.5" longer each side than OEM 9bolt. Front I was running 1.25" adapters but now dropping down to 15mm or .6" adapters. This will tick my fronts in almost .6" from where they are now, and I should have .7" clearance from the strut without an alignment. Rear should tuck .76" more while only getting .25" closer to the frame.

New wheels weight 28.6lbs each which is a few lbs lighter than the ones I was looking at. Tires I'm going to find the weights of.

Best part is that I got them for $1500 shipped, mounted and balanced vs the minimum $2000-2200 it would have cost.

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

I'll be interested to see what 28 1/8" tall wheels/tires look like on a 3rd gen.

These are 2.5" taller than 25.6" stock or 275/40/17s, or figure 1.25" larger radially... Everything will be 1.25" higher off the ground, wheel to fender will close up by 1.25", etc.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Yup!

Should look good! I have dual 3" exhaust which is rather low and it runs over my rear axle on both sides. Plus the kmember is a new moly racecraft peice which is much lower than the stock kmember and I Def don't want to tap that on anything. With the weight jacks at the lowest point I sit at 27.5" on the front and I don't want to go lower than that. So effectively the new rims will put me 1.3" higher on the ground clearance and close my fender gap 1.3" this will.make it look like I'm lowered to 26" which is like having my cake and eating it too.

The added wheel weight won't affect my accell really with my 521 and I don't race it but once every few years and I have DR for the track.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Just got the new rims/tires in today!!!!

Black 5 spoke 20x10s all 4, wrapped in Nitto Invo 295/35-20s. Got the rims for 1/2 off and with free mounting/balancing. They are piano gloss black, 4.5" bolt pattern, 7.1" backspacing and a 40mm offset so they are gona tuck in real nice. They did feel rather heavy so I decided to fire up the scale (who knows how accurate it is) and it said 64lbs ready to rock. When I pull my 17s off I will weight them as well to get a for sure difference in weight. My biggest issue is going to be the 13" BAER brakes aren't gona fill them up anymore lol… so I might have to look into 14.5" CTSV brakes

Gona mock them on the car hopefully within the next few days and test out the new 15mm front wheel adapters and hopefully it clears the strut!

Heres a bad pic, but they don't actually look that huge… well see on the car.

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

4.5"? Or 4.75"? Or did you change your spindle/axle bolt pattern?

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

4.5" lol.

They are ford style rims (bolt pattern). I run the BAER black label front 13" kit (C4HD 88-96) and then I run a spacer/adapter to convert from 4.75" to 4.5". My 17x9, 17x10.5 are 4.5" bolt pattern too. The Fronts I was using 1.5" adapters, then 1.25" adapters currently. I just picked up some 15mm or .6" adapters to replace those and tuck the wheel in even more. My rear is already ford bolt pattern with the ford 8.8 rear. Eventually I would like to throw in a S60 rear and will either get GM lug pattern and run adapters or just get it with ford bolt pattern.

So short answer is yes… I changed my bolt pattern.

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

Interesting ! That's a lot of tire and wheel should be interesting if you can get the stance right and wheel spacing perfect

How low your going to be
Running taller tire and plus being lowered and wide tire
Will be clearance issue in upper rear wheel well just depends how low your going
And in front you might have to remove plastic wheel well cover but be carful cause fender an frame butt together under plastic cover and under suspension compression will cut your tire depending how low you are

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

Well I got the wheels on. Had some hiccups along the way but they do fit and they are on. Im not going that low, I want the appearance of like a prokit mainly bc my race craft Moly Kmember sits much lower to the ground than the stocker. And Im really paranoid of hitting it on something. Plus I have custom LT headers that I just spent $275 getting ceramic coated and I run dual 3" exhaust with Xpipe under the car not in the stock location so I was always limited by how low I could go before scraping anything. I had to avoid speed bumps before (the Kmember swap) and I want to gain alittle ground clearance while making the car look lowered (in the wheel wells).

Last oct before all the new mods (weight jacks, Kmember, wheels etc) I had like a 26.5" fender height in the front and like 27.5" in the rear. I was running cut moog 5664s and 11" 200lb circle track springs in the rear with a weight jack. That was with 17" rims (17x10.5 rear and 17x9 front) fronts I was running a 1.5" adapter.

New suspension: 9.5" 850lb front spring with weight jack, rear is 10.5x5" 175lb circle track spring with weight jack, Moly Kmember, Founders PHB relocation and everything suspension is full tubular and fully adjustable. With the new suspension fully bottomed out I was at 27.5" front fender height and the rear was like 28" maybe with the weight jack adjusted for max height. Im pissed the 150lb 10.5" sagged much more than the 11" 200lb spring. With all this the new Kmember was to close to the ground for comfort as I have never seen the car on the ground at ride height with the new Kmember. I needed to make it higher but I already had ALOT of fender gap! Now que the 20" rims lol.

Swapped the rear 10.5x150lb springs for 13"x175lbs (very hard to get in bc of height) and swapped the 20" rims on. Fit like a glove and the rear is slightly tucked from the edge of the quarter. Only issue is that the tire is right up against the inner front edge of the inside wheel well. It can be banged out alittle but I don't like that it sits that far in so I'm prob going to swap in a 1/2" spacer to push it out (I run 3" ARP studs in the rear so Im good there). BUt it has tons of clearance around where the bump stop was.

Fronts were not as fun. I swapped my 1.25" adapter for the new 15mm (.6") and all was going well. Got the wheel on and POP the center cap shot off the wheel. Stupid spindle dust cover pokes through the center cap hole… then I realized the hub (I run BAER billet hubs for the 13" brakes) was bottoming out at the center cap hole. FRIGIN SOAB! So the 15mm will not fit with the fat 1LE style billet up. So i swapped back on the 1.25" adapter to I can see how it fits. Now it fits, i had to dent the dust cap for it to clear the center cap and now all is well. The fronts poke out like 1/8"-1/4" past the fender edges (alittle less than before with the 17" rims and same spacer) and now the rear is tucked alittle hence why I want to bring the rear out a smidge to balance it out. But the fronts have like 1.5" from the strut and the tie rod seems to be clear(have to see at full chock still but I don't have the room in my tiny tent lol. I'm probably going to be removing the plastic wheel liners as you stated as my car is never driven in the rain or bad weather. They seem like they will get in the way and not really do much. I will have to verify wheel clearances when I move it out of the tent where I can lay under it and check it.

It's not moving till I paint the back half of the car (roof, pillars, rear quarter and trunk lid. Also need to sand the heck out of the donor rear bumper) Then the car will be ready for the road with assembly of body parts, interior stuff etc. Thats when I will be able to check everything.

Here are some pics to show its status as a teaser.




This is what it was before on the 17s




Car is basically same fender clearances as my old setup but I have more ground clearance And since the suspension is bottomed out I can raise it up if need be. But I don't want a slammed car mainly bc my driveway is very steep and the roads in NJ suck.