Nova wheel fitment (pics wanted)

[69Nova]

Ok so now I think I have found some wheels that I want and can afford. They are Trans-Am GTA wheels. What I would like to see is some pictures of 3rd gen Novas with aftermarket wheels to give me an idea on backspacing. And dont forget to list what the wheel demisions are also.

(if this should be in mulitmedia please move)

Thanks for any help in advance.

[dhardison]

Andrew, The tire fitment page on 2quicknovas.com is the best resource I know of for this sort of thing. Did you ever find out the offset/backspace dimensions of the GTA wheels?

http://www.2quicknovas.com/6874.html

Dan

[69Nova]

Yes I did. Front- 4.57" and the Rear- is 5.25". Thinks for the link Dan. I just hope either will fill up the wheel well just right.

Oh and when people say stock backspacing what is the stock measurement?

[dhardison]

The GTAs are 16x8s right? You might have to run a 1/4" spacer on the front, but the 5.25" b.s. on the rear should clear ok. Stock backspacing is different for different wheels, but most of the time it's 1/2 the wheel width.

Don't forget to post some pics with the GTAs mounted when the time comes....

Dan

[69Nova]

Yeah those wheels are 16x8.
I have full hotchkis suspension so my car is kinda low, will the rear still work fine?

Thanks for the help Dan

[69Nova]

Wait one second... on 2quicknovas site it says you have 17"x8" with 4.75" backspacing. But you said "5.25" b.s. on the rear should clear ok." If i had the 5.25 would that sit to far in the wheelwell?

[dhardison]

I don't think you'll have a problem with inner fender well clearance. With my 4.75" b.s. I have nearly an inch of clearance to the inside. What size tires are you thinking about?

Dan

[69Nova]

I don't think you'll have a problem with inner fender well clearance. With my 4.75" b.s. I have nearly an inch of clearance to the inside. What size tires are you thinking about?

Ok cool. But what I'm worried about is the wheel sitting to far in and looking goofy. I am not sure about tires, any suggestions?

[dhardison]

Yeah, the rears definitely aren't "deep dish" wheels. With an 8" wheel you're only going to have a little over 2" of "frontspace" (for lack of the proper term) on the rears.

Tires, well it all depends on what you want to do with the car. For a nice middle-of-the-road performance tire you can't go wrong with BFG KDWs or KDWSs. I have KDWSs on my Nova and KDWs on my SRT-4 and they freaking last forever. The problem you may have with 16" tires is size selection, or lack thereof. I've seen a lot of 16" tires in P245/50ZR16 (rear) and P225/55ZR16 (front), but you should be able to fit a lot more rubber than that. You probably could easily fit 275s in the rear and 235s on the front.

Dan

[69Nova]

Yeah, the rears definitely aren't "deep dish" wheels. With an 8" wheel you're only going to have a little over 2" of "frontspace" (for lack of the proper term) on the rears.

How close will the outer side of the wheel be to the quarter panel. I want the wheel to be as close as possible but it still needs to tuck in because my car does tuck alot of tire in the wheel well.

I hope this is not too confusing.

[dhardison]

How close will the outer side of the wheel be to the quarter panel. I want the wheel to be as close as possible but it still needs to tuck in because my car does tuck alot of tire in the wheel well.

I hope this is not too confusing.

It's hard to say since the overall width of your rear diff. may (and probably does) differ from my 12-bolt. Unfortunately it's a trial-n-error situation. I don't see any reason the GTA wheels you've mentioned won't fit, although as you mentioned most of the rear wheels width will be inset. The more backspace you have the less you'll have to worry about the tire contacting the quarter panel.

If possible, "trial fit" the GTA wheels before you buy and take as many measurements as possible before purchasing rubber. Even then, go conservative, since you can always go wider after you burn those down.

If it helps, I have a friend that has 17" BBS wheels that are 8.5" wide with 5" of backspace. His 275/40/17s tuck in PERFECTLY under my quarters with ~3/8" inner clearance.

Dan

[69Nova]

It's hard to say since the overall width of your rear diff. may (and probably does) differ from my 12-bolt. Unfortunately it's a trial-n-error situation. I don't see any reason the GTA wheels you've mentioned won't fit, although as you mentioned most of the rear wheels width will be inset. The more backspace you have the less you'll have to worry about the tire contacting the quarter panel.

Ok.

If possible, "trial fit" the GTA wheels before you buy and take as many measurements as possible before purchasing rubber. Even then, go conservative, since you can always go wider after you burn those down.

Thats the plan. I have been checking ebay every day for a real good deal to do that with. I'm not sure if anyone in my area has these wheels for sale but I'm going to be checking the local papers and coastal trading post.

Thanks for all the help Dan. If we ever meet I'm buying you a beer or something.

[NvrDun71]

Yea Dan's the Nova wheel and tire fitment King!!! He helped me w/ all my questions several months back when I was tryin to figure out a wheel tire combo for my 71'. Now I just need the funds to make it happen.

BTW good luck with the upgrade and def post up pics when you get em mounted.

[dhardison]

Lol, thanks NvrDun, but not really. I just try to help others NOT make the same mistakes I've already made.

Andrew, another option would be to find a friend that has 16s/17s and see if he'll let you trial fit his combo. THAT sort of info is invaluable.

Dan

[69Nova]

Andrew, another option would be to find a friend that has 16s/17s and see if he'll let you trial fit his combo. THAT sort of info is invaluable.

I wish. I dont know anyone in my town with 16s/17s on a muscle car or even a sport truck.

[NvrDun71]

Here ya go man...........stumbled across this today while on 2QuickNovas.com. GTA Rims w/ 245/50's all the way around.....

[69Nova]

Thanks man that looks awsome. The rear sits perfect, but the front needs to come down. I want my front as low as possible without killing the inner fenders or losing to much steering. Thats even the tire size i was thinking of too.

I think those wheels are going to look awsome on my car.

Oh and a little update. I have been talking to a guy that has a set in mint condition. Hopefully he will send some pics tommorow and see what can be done about payment and shipping. These wheels are more expensive that i thought but this guy has a killer deal so hopefully we can work something out .

Tires are about the easiest thing in this whole project because I have 3 diffrent friends that can get me a sweet deal on tires.

[69Nova]

Was that the only picture of that car? And what part of the site did you find it? Thanks for your help.

[dhardison]

Here ya go man...........stumbled across this today while on 2QuickNovas.com. GTA Rims w/ 245/50's all the way around.....

Those will look VERY nice!

Dan

[69bigblock]

Same here, Dan won't steer you in the wrong direction. I also got alot of help from him. The rear BS is almost a guessing game. I run 5.25 BS in the rear of mine, but all cars tend to be different....