1969 Cutlass and 18" wheels

[BondAR]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of upgrading the brakes on my '69 cutlass to c6 brakes utilizing the kit from kore3 and as a result I have to go with a larger wheel size to clear the calipers.

I'd like to run these (http://www.visionwheel.com/wheel/14894/143-torque/) (Torque by Vision Wheels) as their price is appealing:

front 18 x 8.5 +10 offset 5.15" backspace and 245/40/18 tires
rear 18 x 9.5 +12 offset 5.70" backspace and 285/40/18 tires

Do you think there will be any issues with using this combo? Hopefully you guys might be able to point me in the right direction.

Open to all suggestions. Thanks.

Edit: Here it is with new wheels and tires!
Torque 143 wheels 18x8.5 front and 18x9.5 rear
Nitto 555 G2 245/45 front and 285/40 rear

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Really close to the rear fender lip, but have about 1.5" between the inside tire and frame. I still have to convert the rear to discs and do suspension work, by then I'll know if I have to modify that lip.

[Mr Nick]

Good choices overall, I'd have to double check my backspacing/offset, but I think you'll be good.

A 285 is as wide as you can go on the rear of a 68/69 Cutlass body without modifications. The 70-72 guys have a much larger wheel well opening and can go up to 315 rather easily.

I currently have 18x9 front and rear, with 255/40 and 285/40 Conti tires. I originally had 255/45 up front but had minor rubbing issues, 255/40 solved that.

My signature below is with 255/45 & 285/40 Goodyear Eagle Supercars, they run rather wide for their advertised specs.

[BondAR]

Beautiful cutlass, Mr Nick!

Thanks for the info, it really helps a lot.

[cdrod]

Here's another budget friendly wheel option; the Bandit U109 wheels from US Mags. They're a cast that sells for around $180 per wheel. I needed 18" rims to clear my brakes in the front so I went with 235|45R18 in the front on 18x8 rims and a 285|40R18 in the rear on 18x9 rims. Here's a pic & link:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/usm-u10918806145

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[BondAR]

Thanks for that pic along with the tire specs, cdrod.

It helps me to figure out how well side wall height matches between front and back with that combo. A tire size calculator puts them real close in terms of total height and sidewall height.

By the way, I ended up ordering the wheels in the original post, now I got to research the tires.

[BondAR]

Bought the tires, updated the original post with pics and info!

Thanks guys!

[Mr Nick]

Nice job, that looks great! How much is it lowered? What is your suspension combo?

[BondAR]

Nice job, that looks great! How much is it lowered? What is your suspension combo?

Thanks Nick. I've got the Stage 5 handling kit from UMI, the front a-arms come with tall ball joints for a total of 1.4" drop (using my stock spindles). Front shocks are double adjustable coil-overs, so they're adjusted to roughly where I want them. I was too excited to get started on the front suspension that I forgot to take the stock height measurement, lol.

Rear suspension and brakes are stock at the moment, will start tearing it down real soon to install all the goodies. I opted for the 1" drop rear springs when I ordered the kit, which should give me about the same height more or less.

[LSx442]

Looks great. I’m still trying to decide on wheels for my ‘69 442. Did you end up using the offset you originally posted?

[BondAR]

Looks great. I’m still trying to decide on wheels for my ‘69 442. Did you end up using the offset you originally posted?

Thanks, yes I did. In the rear, I do have about 1.5" of space between the frame and inside tire versus ~0.5" at the top of outside of tire and fender lip with this combo. Seems a little more offset would have put that extra space to use, but it will be a while before I can drive it and test for rubbing (with passengers and hard launches, hard turns, etc.).

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