I think I've just answered my own question regarding the tire hitting the top of the fender.

I went to this webpage and entered the following calculations.
235/60/15 and 275/40/17 and I come just a hair under the stock tire size.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Currently the gap between the fender and tire is a little over 2.5", So if I go with the 275/40 17" tire I should still have the same clearance as the stock tire that is on there right now.

So that just leaves me with what backspacing to get.

 

well...I'm not sure exactly what size my backspacing is....would 8MM make better sense? I really didn't take any notes because I just wanted to get those suckers on. Also....they did order me the same backspacing all the way around....so I can rotate them.....this will definently help out on tire wear.

 

Umm errr well takes all types i guess

i like the retro wheels coming back, i always loved the ss style rims and now they have the new big boys16 17 ect.

Looks great

 

I'd go w/ the TTII's, but I don't like the fact that they are only polished aluminum. I want real CHROME. As to why I picked the Cragar SS'...only problem w/ THOSE is, I can't get them w/ 17x9's or 9.5's b/c the backspacing is 6". I don't know if I would WANT those anyway, hearing as how the clearance is REALLY tight w/ that size on the TTII's.

84customZ28: Do yours stick out of the fender wells much? I find it hard to believe that 275's would hold the bead well on 17x8's...But, you obviously arn't having any problems, so, maybe it will work.

 

the 245's do not stick out at all. everything is perfect, they don't even rub when the wheels are turned all the way.

 

they look awesome...

-brian

 

84customZ28: Didn't you mean the 275's, not the 245's?

 

i must say.....we have the two best rims for thirdgens.......Cragar S/S and Torque Thrust 2's

 

Hey you guys remember a guy with the name of "hawaiian something or other"? He had a forcefed camaro with a unique orangish looking paint job and cowl hood? He had 17X9.5's with I think 5" backspacing and he was running 275/40/17's. It was a nice looking car for sure. I have always been planning on getting the 5.5" backspacing but I have always heard that you can't lower it more than an inch. I never knew what it would rub. If anyone has 5" backspacing on a 17X9.5 I sure would like to hear from them and hear whether or not it rubs on them. I am really thinking about getting my rims with my tax money.

P.S. That is the first I have heard about the 3 pic thing myself and I agree the car looks awesome. I am a fan of black cars.

 

Hey one other thing: What kind of tires did you get?

 

sorry, yeah, that's what I ment...275's...not 245's...

iroczrockz: the tire brand is "daytona"

 

84customZ28: What size backspacing is on your 17x8's? If it is 4.5", then it will be EXACTLY what I'm looking for, for the Cragar's...if it's less, what would that do for me? b/c the Cragar SS' in 17x8 are 4.5" backspaced.

 

17x9.5 with 5.5 in back space and 275/40 17's on all four corners and no rubbing problems. The car also has the Hotchkis springs.

 

Here's another one.

 

What kind, and size tires do you have rocc4u?

 

I wish I knew. The idiots at the tire shop told me that they couldn't get ahold of any Torque Thrust II's with the backspacing of 5.5".....they said that they weren't available around here. I told him I knew plenty of guys that ran the 17X9.5's on their Camaro's.....but I guess it didn't make a difference. So....I had to get 17X8's....I still love'em....but I really did want the 17X9.5's...

 

What is your backspacing Trans AM#5?

 

84customZ28 do you know the treadwidth on those daytona's? I was looking on tirerack.com and I compared some Yokohama AVS ES100's to Sumitomo HTR ZII's (both 275/40/17's) and the treadwidth is almost an inch difference. I guess the point I am getting at is it looks like some tires may make a difference on rubbing or not. Trying to do my homework before buying tires and wheels and I am not getting too far .

 

not real certain of the width...I just know that they are P275/40/R17...

 

If you're not having any problems with 275/40/17s on 17x8" wheels, I'm going to try 285/40/17s on 17x9 wheels.

These ought to look sweet, and hopefully help avoid curb rash if the sidewall bulges a bit.

 

When I ordered them from Summit, I just told them I wanted exactly what would fit a 1997 Camaro SS. I can't remember the backspacing off the top of my head though.

 

Gonna clear up some questions about the backspacing. First, if you have any question about how to determine backspacing, go here: http://www.skulte.com/adapterfaq.html and read up. You will find the formulas to determine exact backspacing, which can help when you need to find out how much backspacing you need for those new set of wheels you want to order.

Determining backspacing deals with 3 things: The width, offset, and lip measurements. None of these have anything to do with the diameter of the wheels, so backspacing measurements can be the same for any diameter wheel (16's, 17's, 18's, etc). What matters is the width, offset, and lip measurements. So if you know someone who has a set of 16x9.5's that fit perfect and you want to order a set of 18x9.5's, going with the same backspacing specs will get you the same fitment.

So go wild with the search button. You will find the answers. You want specs for a 17x8 wheel? Do a search on 15x8, 16x8, and 17x8 and you will find someone who has run that width and what specs they used. Real simple way for me to decide what backspacing to use when I ordered my 18" wheels from Boyd. I was more concerned with perfect fitment instead of getting the widest wheels possible or having them as flush as possible with the fender. So I looked at what others used and what worked for them. What specs will I want for the front 18x8 wheel? Found out what we used on the stock 16x8 wheel and went from there. What specs will I use for the 18x9.5 rears? Went with the same thing the 17x9.5 guys are using. Ended up with 18x8's in the front with 4.5" backspacing, and 18x9.5's in the rear with 5.5" backspacing. Ended up with a perfect fitment, no rubbing, no bottoming out, and my car is dropped over 2 inches! But remember, the tire choice had to be right too. The right sized wheels, but wrong sized tires can still give you problems.

Reading through the website I posted above will help you determine what changes you can make for your application, if any. With the right ammount of time spent, you can determine the widest possible wheels, with the perfect specs to fit flush against the fender. Just depends on how much time you spend and what you want.

 

88IROCNJ, sorry it took a little bit for a reply, I am in Tikrit, Iraq right now and we dont get to use the internet to often but mine are Yokohama A520. Im not sure if they make them anymore or if they have been replaced by another style but 285/40 17's will work just as easy on the back.
Later

 

May be headed your way soon rocc4u. If I get there I will look you up somehow. I'd like to meet some of the guys on here sometime.

 

What CrazyHawaiian put in makes me ask one other question. Does anyone know anybody that used a 5" backspacing all the way around with 17X9.5" rims? Seems like that would clear the front suspension well and give the rim a deeper look. (as long as it didn't stick out past the fender it may look good)???

 

For a 9.5" wide wheel, a 5" backspacing might cause the tires to rub the fender. I say go with a 5.5" backspacing. Other people with 9.5" wide wheels use a 5.5" backspacing and the wheel is almost flush with the fender (does not stick out, fits good, looks good). IMO this is the best setup for a 9.5" wide wheel, and thats the specs I went with for my rear wheels with 9.5" width. You can push it out a bit more but you might be asking for trouble (would need to roll the lip). These specs work on all 4 corners, but if you plan to lower the suspension more than 2 inches, you might want to run a smaller width wheel in the front with a different backspacing. A 9.5" width front wheel with 5.5" backspacing will fit on the front, and be flush with the front fenders, but because of the way the front fenderwells are designed you might rub if the car is lowered more than 2 inches. At that point you might want a 8.5" or 9" wheel that will give you more room for suspension travel in the front. If you do not plan to lower the car more than 2 inches (most people dont), then you should be good with 17x9.5" with 5.5" backspacing on all 4 corners like rocc4u's setup. Looks real good!!

 

How about 17x9 w/ 6" backspace at all 4 corners? How would that fit? What tire size would you recommened?

 

I dont think wheels with a 6" backspacing will fit on our cars. They might not clear the brakes, or they might rub on the inside of the wheel contacting the inside of the wheelwell. With a 6" backspacing, you should probably run a wheel adapter to move the wheel further out. Probably like a 1" adapter, or maybe a .75" adapter or something. I think the maximum backspacing you can run is 5.85" in the rear, 5" in the front, but I've never tried to fit max sizes so I cant say for sure (Andris tried it, so I believe him). I think 5" backspacing would be a better choice for a 9" wide wheel. For tires on a 17x9, 245/45/17 would be the smallest width tire that will fit and maintain the correct overall diameter, and a 275/40/17 would be the max width tire that will also maintain the correct overall size.

 

I like my 17X8's....I just wished I would have know about ALL of this stuff.....the people at the tire shop didn't know anything...they said "no 82-92 Camaro could have an 9.5 wide tires on'em"....what a bunch of idiots......ohhh well I guess

 

Those 17x8's look bad ***. I think I will stick w/ them on the Cragar's w/ 4.5" backspacing. Just, don't think I could run 275's on there...b/c people were saying it's not safe? 255x40x17 would be the best I heard, but I don't know how "Skinny" those tires would look.

 

not safe? how come? can anyone respond to this....cause that's what I'm running

 

Yeah the people at the tire/wheel shop will generally not know exactly what will fit your car unless its a new car thats really popular. They will usually not say its possible because they dont want to go through someone ordering wheels that dont fit and then trying to return them. I went down to the local tire/wheel shop and when he heard I wanted to run 18's he laughed and told me it was impossible. Now when I drive by his shop on my 18's I'm laughing at him. Too bad he dosnt know you can even fit 20's on our cars.

275's are safe as long as they are on the correct sized wheel (width wise) and the sidewall is the right size to support the load ratings. The biggest tires I've ever heard/read about on a 3rd gen were 295 in the front and 335 in the rear. With the right wheel and the right specs you can run some HUGE meats on your car. But alot of things come into play like cost, streetability, how the bigger tires track on uneven surfaces, etc. There will be a day I do the math to fit the biggest possible width tires and wheels for roadracing, but its not going to happen anytime soon. Right now I have 6 sets of wheels for my 2 Camaro's (1 set 18's street, 1 set 17's track, 1 set 16's street, and 3 sets of 15's track) and thats enough for my racing antics.

 

Yeah, we are both referring to 17x8's being "safe" w/ the 275x40's...In that respect, would it be?

 

To find out the answer for your specific tire, I recommend you contact your specific tire manufacturer. Looking at BF Goodrich's tech sheet, a 275/40/17 will not be safe on a 17x8 wheel. To be considered safe, you would need at least a 9" wide wheel. For a 8" wide wheel you're looking at a 205-245 width tire. Consider this too, a bigger sidewall allows the tire to stretch. The bigger the wheel gets, thus the smaller the sidewall gets, the more exact your fitment needs to be. Since you're talking 17's, the sidewall will have to be between 40 and 45 series depending on width. This will maintain the overall OEM wheel size (rim+tire) or as close as possible. If you run smaller than 265 then you'll want a 45 series tire. Bigger than a 265 and you want a 40 series tire. Since the wheels are 17x8, and the recommended widths for a 8" wide tire with a 45 - 40 sidewall is between a 205 and 245 width, I would say the best tire choice for a 17x8 would be a 245/45/17. If you went with a 17x9 wheel, then you could step up to the 275 width tire, and at that point the sidewall would change from a 45 to a 40, so you'd end up with 275/40/17.

 

Hey Rocc4u, thanks for getting back to me. So how are the tires? Any good? Be safe over there huh. Everyday in the paper there is another "incident"! later

 

Whats going on bro? I love the tires. Never had a problem with them. Yeah every day is something new here. We are back to our old rules of engagements though Shoot first and then figure it out. I will be on security down town Tikrit for a few nights so hopefully I will talk to ya in a few days. Take it easy. E-rocc

 

Does anyone have pics of a 17x8 w/ 245/45/17's on it? I want to determine how wide it would look, etc. Rear pics would help a lot.

 

Looks sweet. Yeah, they are getting a little common but there isa reason for it. They are badass wheels and look killer on black Camaro's.

 

Easy there with the canons man! lol What are those, RPG's? Nice scenery, too bad you are there in those conditions. I'm sure you'll be watching your back, so take it easy. Later man