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New guy with a beating a dead horse

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Old 03-22-2019, 12:47 PM
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New guy with a beating a dead horse

Alright guys, just got my first 3rd gen and I am pumped. Im going to be doing a LS 6.0/4L80 swap and should have everything complete within a couple of months. Ill start a build thread and try to post as much info as possible but currently the car is stock, including the wheels.

I have read and read and read and I am ready to pull the trigger on some wheels but wanted confirmation on what I will need once I have them.

(2) Hyperblack ESR SR05 18x9.5 35

(2) Nitto NT555 G2 275/40

(2) Hyperblack ESR SR05 18x10.5 22

(2) Nitto NT555 G2 295/40


Once I have them wheels, what spacers will I need for the front and the back shouldnt need any work correct?

Also here is a close up of the car. Many big plans to come over the next 2 months.



Thanks for the help and advice!
Old 03-22-2019, 02:23 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

I'm not sure what you have or what you are asking for. What is your car? 91 0r 92? 5L or 5.7? The first thing I would do if you want to fit wheels and tires is get an adjustable panhard bar if you don't already have one, make sure the rear end is centered then start measuring and find out what your minimum clearance is, then get the wheel and tire specs and see what will fit. Because production tolerances in the 80's were loose, what fits one car may not fit another. You need to do the measurements on your car, especially when you're fitting tight. Looks like a really nice car, have fun!
Old 03-22-2019, 03:15 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Originally Posted by 427seven
I'm not sure what you have or what you are asking for. What is your car? 91 0r 92? 5L or 5.7? The first thing I would do if you want to fit wheels and tires is get an adjustable panhard bar if you don't already have one, make sure the rear end is centered then start measuring and find out what your minimum clearance is, then get the wheel and tire specs and see what will fit. Because production tolerances in the 80's were loose, what fits one car may not fit another. You need to do the measurements on your car, especially when you're fitting tight. Looks like a really nice car, have fun!

I have a 91 RS 6cyl. Ive already ordered the pan hard bar. From what I have seen, my wheels should fit pretty well with the sizes and offsets so I just wanted some one to confirm. Ill double check all the clearances tonight.

But as long as everything is good with the car the wheel size and offset should fit correctly right?
Old 03-22-2019, 04:35 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Generally the 9.5 with a 275 will fit, depending on the backspace of the wheel, lots of guys use them. At the extremes of turning you will probably rub on the inside of the wheel house. If you lower the car it's worse. In the rear, you shouldn't have any trouble, again lots of guys use that combination, but the backspacing is important. The 10.5 with the correct backspace will get you a good compromise of width and fit, and the 295 is at the tire size limit where you can start having rubbing issues. Remember if you go around a corner hard, the tire "bends" a bit so you need a bit of space around the section of the tires. Measure it up and see what you have, having it tight around the inside is fixable as long as it's a small difference, you can space the wheel out if it's within a quarter inch or so. But if it sticks outside the wheelwell there isn't anything you can do.... Does the wheel vendor say these wheels fit a 3rd gen?
Old 03-22-2019, 07:35 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Hopefully someone who has actually used that combination can add some info...
Old 03-22-2019, 08:43 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Originally Posted by 427seven
Generally the 9.5 with a 275 will fit, depending on the backspace of the wheel, lots of guys use them. At the extremes of turning you will probably rub on the inside of the wheel house. If you lower the car it's worse. In the rear, you shouldn't have any trouble, again lots of guys use that combination, but the backspacing is important. The 10.5 with the correct backspace will get you a good compromise of width and fit, and the 295 is at the tire size limit where you can start having rubbing issues. Remember if you go around a corner hard, the tire "bends" a bit so you need a bit of space around the section of the tires. Measure it up and see what you have, having it tight around the inside is fixable as long as it's a small difference, you can space the wheel out if it's within a quarter inch or so. But if it sticks outside the wheelwell there isn't anything you can do.... Does the wheel vendor say these wheels fit a 3rd gen?

The bolt pattern is 5x120. I’m not racing and it will just be a cruiser. I believe tpi terror has the same wheel and tired but I haven’t been able to confirm. I know there are a few sites that say 5x120 will work.

Here is a pic of tpi terrors car.

https://images.app.goo.gl/WaLN6MWe6QQny2MA8
Old 03-23-2019, 08:24 AM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

So as 427 mentioned, these cars are ALL a little different due to tolerences back then....

I'm assuming the 35 and 22 are your offsets? Here's a few things I see right away. Keep in mind I'm not an expert, but rather just trying to address a few areas you may want to double check. If I'm wrong, no harm done, but if I'm right...you'll be glad you looked into it.

Fronts. -factory is 0mm offset. Your wheels have 35mm. That's a difference of about 1.375". That's a LOT for a spacer, and possibly not enough for an adapter. Spacers are just disks with 5 lug holes cut out. They add NO strength and in fact weaken the whole assembly. Thin spacers are just fine and very common, but 1.375" is a LOT for a spacer. Now an adapter has 5 holes for lugs too, but has 5 MORE holes with studs in them. The wheels bolt to the adapter studs, NOT the car's hub studs. It won't weaken the assembly overall, however if the adapter is too THIN, it can weaken the adapter. You want thin spacers and thick adapters. .....I wonder if 1.375" is right in the middle. I'd look into that.

Out back, factory is 16mm. You would have 22mm. Difference of 6mm, which can easily be taken up with a .25" spacer.

I would double check everything, but that's what I see off the top of my head. MOST guys run either MORE or LESS offset, which makes things a little more....standard, so to speak.
Old 03-23-2019, 10:37 AM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Shoot for zero offset in the front or a little positive with a 9.5" wheel. You can have some positive offset because an 18 clears the tie rod where smaller wheels dont. I would say start with a 1.25 spacer.

As for the rear, I ran a 10.5" wheel and 295/35 with 27mm positive offset with a 10mm spacer and it worked with some minor hammering in the front lower part of the wheel well. The bump stop may or may not be an issue depending on ride height. An adjustable panhard bar or better is needed to make everything work since again, clearances are tight. The 35 series is what you want, its 26.1" tall. The 40 will fit but might look odd.

If the bolt pattern on the wheel is 5x120, and you need bolt on spacers anyway, spend the extra money and get ones that adapt the bolt pattern from 5x4.75 to 5x120. 5x120 will bolt on, but the parent is off and it does sideload the lug studs. This can only create more ways of possible failure and I would never find that acceptable on a car I plan to drive further than the end of my driveway.
Old 03-23-2019, 12:58 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Originally Posted by //<86TA>\\
Shoot for zero offset in the front or a little positive with a 9.5" wheel. You can have some positive offset because an 18 clears the tie rod where smaller wheels dont. I would say start with a 1.25 spacer.

As for the rear, I ran a 10.5" wheel and 295/35 with 27mm positive offset with a 10mm spacer and it worked with some minor hammering in the front lower part of the wheel well. The bump stop may or may not be an issue depending on ride height. An adjustable panhard bar or better is needed to make everything work since again, clearances are tight. The 35 series is what you want, its 26.1" tall. The 40 will fit but might look odd.

If the bolt pattern on the wheel is 5x120, and you need bolt on spacers anyway, spend the extra money and get ones that adapt the bolt pattern from 5x4.75 to 5x120. 5x120 will bolt on, but the parent is off and it does sideload the lug studs. This can only create more ways of possible failure and I would never find that acceptable on a car I plan to drive further than the end of my driveway.

abu and 86ta thanks for the info. That’s exactly what I was looking for. The offsets are super confusing to me for some reason.

Mill make the changes get my measurements and go from there.

Thank you all!!!
Old 03-23-2019, 01:05 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

Offset is measured from the center of the wheel. A positive offset means the center is closer to the outside of the wheel, negative means the center is closer to the inside of the wheel. Keep in mind that the actual measurements of wheels and the advertised widths are different. A 9.5" wheel for example is measured 9.5" from where the tire seats on the bead, but the overall width of the wheel is usually 1" wider. So this 9.5" wheel actually measures 10.5" wide overall, which is important to know when measuring the offset as well as for proper fitment on the car.
Old 03-23-2019, 04:40 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

So this 9.5" wheel actually measures 10.5" wide overall, which is important to know when measuring the offset as well as for proper fitment on the car.
TOTALLY agree, but thankfully most wheels are that way. At least for cars...from GM. ....so when a certain offset from ONE type of wheel works.....it'll also, more than likely work with another. -BUT you're right in that technically you shouldn't rely on the offset measurement without the backspacing measurement.

I always thought a Tire mount width measurement and an ACTUAL measurement woulda made a LOT more sense than the way they actually do it.
Old 03-26-2019, 12:01 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

well said

gotta have that buffer room when measuring as such seen many
mad people buying wrong wheels

40 series tire don't look odd only when match with a shorter tire
then it looks odd to me kinda like the 19 - 18 staggered wheels
or when people run the wrong tire due to multiple reasons

ive tried multiple tire sizes on various rim sizes and found that

35s for 19s is perfect and 40s for 18s perfect

and then the normal tires sizes people run for 17s

if you want to fill the wheel well better with out going super low
taller tire is a better fit imo and well run taller unless I cant for some reason so run the 40s

Last edited by Zach/90\irocZ; 03-26-2019 at 12:06 PM.
Old 03-26-2019, 12:24 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

It doesn't sound like you understand what the aspect ratio of a tire is. A 40 series or a 30 series only means the sidewall height of the tire is 40 or 30% of the tires width, so they cannot be used alone to determine the size of the tire. For example a 335/30/18 is taller than a 245/40/18 despite being a 30 series. If you dont remember this it's very easy to buy expensive tires that dont fit.

In the OP's case, the 295/40 is 27.3" tall, where the 295/35 is 26.1" and closer to the stock size. I'm not saying there is not room for this tire in the back, but it is a significant difference and when dealing with tall square tires like this it can lead to problems.
Old 03-26-2019, 12:57 PM
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Re: New guy with a beating a dead horse

I understand that completely but those are fairly common tire sizes that I see on thirdgen
but who does a tire search of a 335/30/18 vs 245/40/18 to compare obviously there's a difference
your a bit over reaching in your example but I get it and I do understand the obvious
but as I stated a taller tire than "stock" looks better imo

now if your slammed the ground you will have some clearance issue you will have to address
like rolling rear fender lip which gets you about a .5" clearance and clearance inner wheel well
running those heights have been done

but great knowledge for everyone else that may not know 86 kudos !

to OP can run a 285 or even 275 rears to get a slight stretch and would be less work as well to fit them

from what I remember running 11" wide rears there was still clearance for tire with 295s 35s
as is been awhile tho since then and ran 19s with 35s 295, 28,5 275, ranges
doesn't take much to too get some hardboard and see what you have
either way cant go wrong with the 35s and the over done corvette wheel








Originally Posted by //<86TA>\\
It doesn't sound like you understand what the aspect ratio of a tire is. A 40 series or a 30 series only means the sidewall height of the tire is 40 or 30% of the tires width, so they cannot be used alone to determine the size of the tire. For example a 335/30/18 is taller than a 245/40/18 despite being a 30 series. If you dont remember this it's very easy to buy expensive tires that dont fit.

In the OP's case, the 295/40 is 27.3" tall, where the 295/35 is 26.1" and closer to the stock size. I'm not saying there is not room for this tire in the back, but it is a significant difference and when dealing with tall square tires like this it can lead to problems.

Last edited by Zach/90\irocZ; 03-26-2019 at 01:15 PM.
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