just would like to know what my other fellow thirdgen ers think about it. please feel free to express yourself about it.
one reason i chose to go with big wheels because during my swap i ordered the wrong oil pan and got the Colorado low profile pan which isn't the camaro pan and hangs low (see pics). another reason is because big wheels are traditionally put on trucks right, well the engine i used for my swap is a 2001 silverado 2500 HD so i merged the truck in eccense with the camaro and i acually love the look. heres a few pics but the size will stay the samy but i might go with some black rims or some 22" IROCS sold on ebay.

 

looks like a donk, the biggest you can use on these cars is 20's and thats pushing it, how about you do something so the pan gives you more clearance, and go with like 19" Irocs

 

Needs rims ASAP

 

well its going to be lowered about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. i also considered 20 inches. its just a rough draft. thanks though

 

You know the rims are too big when it raises your car's ground clearance. You don't even need jackstands to crawl under that puppy Big Iroc's would look better, not sure on 22's though, 20's max IMO.

 

ok, I searched some previous forums and they show you some examples of what 20's would look like so hopefully these help you in your decision making
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...sion-over.html

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/whee...ims-could.html

 

i am starting to see that alot of you guys dont approve of big wheels. i think most of those guys are older guys whom still clinch to the yesteryear's (no disrespect) but more and more new cars come with stock big rims. change is upon us, i acually will not ever race on a track with my new toy but i love big wheels because as a kid all my toy cars had big wheels (hot wheels) its just a different look to an aging classic. personally the smaller rims look like lowrider rims and i will go with 20 or these 22" and for the record they dont rub if you get the right offset and tires.

 

dude I'm actually 18, not what you call an old timer, but its just that these cars where made when 20's where unheard of on a car, newer cars look good with bigger wheels because thats the direction car design has gone, but our cars where not designed for huge wheels, the body lines are well accented by 16,17, and 18 inch wheels, I have seen a few cars on here who were able to pull off the big wheels, Sickness91z28 for example, but even then I think he went 19" up front and 20" out back, but its your car and if for whatever reason you think the 22's would look best on your car, then go ahead and do it, because its your car and your opinion is the one that counts

 

Not sure what happened but I deleted my paragraph somehow and am too lazy to retype it. Do what you want.

BTW I am 22, not an old timer.

Your car is obviously not this extreme, but you have gone just big enough to get that same "look"

 

agreed. The big wheels look odd on the car, also, the 3 spoke is different too. I think at most a 20" 5 spoke or a similar design is what would make that car pop, those huge wheels make it hard to focus on the beauty of the car itself, in my opinion

 

by the way, looks like you did a nice job with the swaps, congrats

 

haha, god how can people think that donks looks cool, by the way, how does your camaro feel after the swap?

 

lol a camaro that is choppn lol sigh... everybody puts blades on everything.. even them lil geos..

maybe put these instead that way it look like when u driven just a chrome ring lol idk..

 

i appreciate all these comments. i overstepped my bounds oviously and meant nothing by it. i can also understand that this car wasnt made with big wheels in mind. i dont want a donk but it stood out alot to me. the swap went smooth with all the help from this forum. i am just uncertain right now because every one likes it alot exept for here. i value the opinions here so i have so things to consider. maybe if they were black rims it would look different

 

we didn't say it was an ugly car, we just said it would look even better if you went with smaller wheels, how much did that swap end up costing you roughly?

 

Yeah do what you like, anyways you can still blow the doors off most of the cars out there with the LS1 now

 

Exactly. Looks clean overall, need a few more shots of the engine bay

I know those rims are very expensive, dont you think selling them will net you enough for a more accepted set of wheels and a lower profile oil pan? Itll handle better being lower and the smaller tire diameter will give the car better acceleration

 

thanks again. i will post more pics of the engine bay when i get home later. the LS1 swap eventually cost around 4,000 dollars. it started as a budget swap but no used parts could be found, almost all new parts had to be ordered from different places so shipping cost alot and some parts were even hard to find then you resort to the dealership for industrial lube and a good sticking. but total on the car plus swap i am in about 9,000 because i gutted the entire car, repaired rust, new complete drivetrain,brakes ,lines hoses, carpet, misc broken aged parts. can you imagine nothing in the car but the shell and look at it now. only 20 percent of the original parts were good and that the interior. so its costly unless you get a complete donor. the wheels cost me 800.00 dollars and they were new so just a bargin hunter and trader. the entire car is practically new so the wheel dont take away from it at all they just arent the right ones

 

I know how you feel about the swap adding up, although I would've considered $4000 a bargain. I figure I am well beyond that :'(

 

i didnt have to do any suspension work to get the wheels on. its all brand new and as you know LS1 swap are lighter than the stock setup. so i had the wheels and tried them on and they fit without any problems, no rub or anything and the car has to be lowered. this will strickly be for showing off in the summer time and road trips so as for the performance issue it doenst bother me. next up is to cam it like GM HIGH TECH magazine did with there 500HP LQ4, then tubular k-member with coilover setup front and rear and swap out those 317 heads.

 

The swap looks clean. We need more pics of under the hood though!

The only thing I can say about the wheels though, is no, no, nooooo...on so many levels NO. And I'm 23 years old

Basically what you've done with the wheels is reverse the benefits of swapping in a more powerful engine. You won't be able to hook up with rubber bands for tires, and your gear ratio is going to be so out of whack too. Some nice 18" chrome IROC's would really set it off nicely, and you will see an increase in performance both in straight line and cornering especially.

The car itself looks very nice I just can't stand the wheels lol

 

IM 13 so as far as i know not an ol timer, do what you want but that just isnt what should be done to an classic, do that to an new camaro, not an classic one. Not trying to be an azz but thats the flat out truth, sorry. Otherwise the car looks good! If you still want bigger looking wheels go for 20's, hell even 18's/19's look big. 16's and 17's look perfect in 95% of the case.

also with those thin of tires they create bad traction/ride and exepect to blow an tire once and month and im willing to bet you will need to replace those costly rims at the same time.

 

I would not typically criticize, but since you asked for it:


There are cars that could perhaps do that size wheels, but Camaros, especially third-gen's just don't look good with wheels the size of a Covered wagon. (ok, I'll go out on a limb here and say ANY performance cars don't look good with that size rim.) I personally wouldn't ever use that size of rim/tire combo, but thats only a personal choice.

The Oil pan looks fine but then again you are using monster truck wheels so its not really bad. If you used more natural sized wheels though, That truck pan would cause a complete bleed out of your oil system as soon as you hit your first speed bump, so I'd spend the ~$170 to pick up an F-bod pan.

The swap looks clean, I'd love to see more pictures of what all you did, then I could give you a more objective opinion, but for now when I see your rims thats all I can see, and it burns my eyes.


This just goes to show: To each Their Own.

 

thats a lot of rotating mass, that will slow you down a lot, plus raising the center of gravity in the car will make it handle like ****.17/18's are the most beneficial for handling. i agree with most that 20" is the max i would go. someone brought up sickness's car and his staggered 19/20 setup i think is amazing.

i kind of like the firebird fender vents in yours. they add a little something extra, if you could hide the rivets or set them in smooth that would be even better. good looking swap though, a lot farther along than mine

 

In terms of aesthetics, I think both the size, and the style of wheel are ridiculous, but to each his own in that regard. But, as stated, the mass of those wheels, in addition to the lift-kit geometry are going to have significant performance drawbacks as well.

No matter what angle I take, I don't like them.

A set of tasteful 18" wheels, correct height tires (26" tall), and a proper oil pan will transform that car into something impressive to look at, as well as something that'll actually accelerate, corner, and stop.

 

thanks alot guys, i really need this to get some perspective on it. the fender vent will not show the rivets after it goes back to the paint and body shop. here are more pics of the engine bay. again as for performance i am not concerned. i did my LS1 swap because i though it was cool to swap out an engine and do it all by myself, with no mechanical background and a 92 camaro service manual and TGO it was done. i have no intent to race it, its just a project which i am going to sell as soon as i tack a ride or two in it. I have a 04 grand prix GTP that i race frequently and i am tempted to do an LS1 swap to that see as though they made the LS4 FWD v8. just something to keep me occupied and out of trouble. here are the pics, i ordered black projector lights and i got the wrong ones so i have to buy new ones unless someone want them ( all 4 new for $40) sent me a message.

 

 

 

If you intend to sell it, that's all the more reason to tone it down with the wheel/tire selection. You want something that's going to appeal to as many people as possible, and your current wheel/tire combo doesn't do that. Your current selection only appeals to a very narrow group. Also, you're going to want something that's wallet friendly, because your wheel choice isn't going to have much impact on your actual sale price, so rather than plunk huge money on giant wheels and the associated rubber, something in the 17" range is going to be way, way more affordable, and will appeal to a much wider audience. It's a win-win on a vehicle you intend to sell.

Plus, anybody who's interested in buying an LS-thirdgen, IS interested in performance, even if you're not.

 

my knight rider camaro
these are some pics from earlier this year. the whole bottom side was coated with some truck bedliner material to prevent anymore rusting. costly but will save in the long run. the black wheels were a good look, but i sold them because it wasnt my flavor...i am so picky. i took apart 3 camaros for this one. a 82 crossfire (fiberglass hood, some interior parts) an 85 (body panels like fenders, door, hatch without high mount light.) and a 88 IROC (the rear end, bumper supports, frontend, sway bars and some electrical wiring.)

 

when i do begin to sell the wheels will be an add on option, i still have the original 16 aluminum wheel that i will re polish. they have those super wide tires on them.

 

very true JIM85IROC, very true. good thing i came here, remember the wheels can come off. but like you said i want to appeal to as many people, and on my "car domain page, facebook" they love it with the wheels. these are also potential buyers, but i will most likely sell on ebay or craigslist. not sure yet

 

NEEDS WHEELS!!! GET DIFF PAN AND THROW SOME TORQUE THRUSTS ON THAT BAD BOY!

 

I'm certainly a function over form guy. I'd spend the money on a proper oil pan before I'd put any wheels over 16" on a 3rd gen.

 

as for the age issue I am 32 yrs old. i didnt mean it like the way it sounds. its like text messages you can take it back or really say how you feel at that time so again no disrespect.

where can i get an 98/02 fbody oil pan, windage tray and pickup for 200.00? (not ebay). i payed 325.00 for a pan that was listed for "ls1 swaps" after contacting the seller he said its for 2nd gen so i am stuck with it.
can the oil pan be swap with engine still in the car or should i say with out a hoist.
here are some options i am considering:
if i shift my focus to performance what would be my ABSOLUTE MAX wheel size and tire( i like low profile tires ) size? could i get staggered and do large light weight wheels count.
what are the recommended mods for my setup to get huge HP out of the LQ4? turbo or supercharger
"I want to be able to peel the skin off door when I pass"

 

I would say 18" wheels would be the maximum size on a thirdgen, with 16-17" being ideal. You did an excellent job on the swap, now just get some reasonably-sized wheels.

If you have a stock k-member you will need a hoist to change out the oil pan. In terms of making more power with the LQ4, there are a number of ways to go. Heads/Cam, nitrous, supercharger, turbo - all of these are options. The real question is: how much do you want to spend?

 

when you do decide to sell it, put up pictures of the car with the 22's and the stockers, and let the potential buyers decide if they want to pay extra for the bigger wheels, once the cammy is sold either sell the wheels that are left or reuse them on another project, Im sure you wont have issues selling because its a very nice lookin car, I do like the fender vent idea

 

thanks alot guys. my intent is the wheels are free once i get a good price so potential buyers can use or dispose of them.

 

Nice swap, fugly rims.

Hey, you said "open to criticism" dude.