Hey All, I'm about to place an order for a s60 and im contemplating what width to to get. Either stock thirdgen width or 4th gen width? I have ls1 brakes up front so I'm running spacers to push the stock 4th gen camaro rims out in order to clear the brakes. Would it be adventageous to get a 4th gen width rear and the properly backspaced wheels to clear the brakes or better to go with thirdgen width all around and find wheels with the right backspacing? I want it to handle as well as possible.
~ All input greatly appreciated

 

Front spacers are the worst thing you can do. It screws up handling and ruins bearings. Use a width so that you can use the same wheels front and rear without spacers on the front. That will probably be something different than stock 3rd gen or 4th gen axle width.

Basically, find a wheel that fits the front the way you want and then move it to the back and measure how much you want the wheel to move in/out to get the right fit and look. Measure the width of your axle from wheel flange to wheel flange, and do the math to get what width you really need to locate the wheel where you want.

 

... and if you only have a choice between 3rd gen or 4th gen then get the 3rd gen. It results in better wheel geometry for our cars, but finding good looking wheels is a real pain in the butt.

 

The CTW Motorsports wheels are the only wheels I've seen advertised to fit out cars with bigger than stock brakes and no spacers but I don't think there the best looking and 17" wheels are actually getting harder to find performance tires for. Which is unfortunate because the handling to ride quality of the 40 profile 17" Is a very good balance.

 

Do you think I could get the ctw wheels and see what the back spacing is and then get a different rim down the road in a larger diameter? I have also read that a wider tracking rear end is beneficial to handling?

 

Backspacing is 5.25" for the CTW Motorsports wheels.

And yes, later on you can get a larger diameter wheel with the same BS (and wheel width) and move up - 18" is a great size - can tuck the tie rods in and also great tire selection.

Track width is a function of the spacing between the tires side to side and has nothing to do with rear end width.

 

You don't need to buy anything to figure out what you need. You can do all the measurements and figuring using your existing wheels.

If you want a uniform look then the goal is to end up with the same wheel tuck under the fenders at all four corners. Measure the tuck of the wheel on the front, using your existing wheels and spacers. Then move the same wheel and spacer to the back and measure that tuck. Calculate the amount in/out that you need to move the rear wheel to match the tuck of the front. Also measure the width of your existing axle from wheel pad to wheel pad. Then call up Strange and tell them you have an axle width of ___ from wheel pad to wheel pad (which includes brakes), and you want to move the wheel ___ (inboard or outboard) on each side. Let them figure out what width to give you because they will have to take into account the thickness of their brake rotors.

This will guarantee no matter what wheel you bolt up to the car that it looks the same front and rear. The next thing you need to do is to find wheels that will fit the way you want.

 

Finding them - NO.

Paying for them - Yes.

 

My recommendation would be to stick with stock 3rd gen width... or very close to it.

The worst thing you can do is match a $2000+ rear to a set of $400 wheels.
6 months later, you are tired of the wheels & now you can't swap to a different design.

The only way I would do this is if you are narrowing the width to fit the absolute max tire & are matching the width to a common backspace combination. Remember you can always make the rear wider with a spacer, but it is rather expensive to narrow it later..

If you use a spacer on the front, then why not the rear also. At least you are consistent.

 

I agree so I went a head and ordered a stock thirdgen width because it dosent sound like a good idea to choose a rear end based on a set of wheels you like. On the other hand it likely that ill have to find a backspacing thats close to 5.25 as was mentioned earlier and go from there. I dont want to use spacers any more eithet becaue ive already worn out a new set of bearings in 5k and i believe thr spacers had something to do with it.

 

So are you guys saying that all I need to keep in mind is the 5.25 backspacing and any wheel 17" or larger will clear the ls1 brakes without a spacer?
Could any of you share what rims you have for this combo?

 

I suggest you spend some time learning about wheel dimensions and terminology and then come back if you have any more questions. At this point I don't think you understand what is backspacing so having a discussion about it is kind of pointless.

To answer your other question, I have ROH wheels on my car in an older 17x9 size. The newer ROH wheels are 18 inch and come in two different widths.

 

Link to main US distributor for ROH wheels...

http://www.groupawheels.com/Chevrole...-1992_c600.htm