American Racing 18" wheel widths

[Blown353]

Does anybody know if American Racing can make 18" wheels in widths other than 8" and 10"?

I'm currently wheel shopping and what I would really like is 9.5" up front and 10.5" out back. AR has a wheel style I really like (and not many people run) but in 18" they only advertise 8" and 10" width. I could live with the 10s in back but 10's up front are a bit too wide and 8s are no wider than what I have now.

The same question also applies to their 17" line. They offer 9.5" wide in 17 (which is great) but then it jumps to 11" which may be just a smidge too wide. Can they make 17 x 10.5?

Thanks in advace.

Worst case, I'll go 17 x 9.5 in front and 18 x 10 out back with the Americans or I'll just call up CCW and have them make a set of classics exactly how I want; they're great wheels and I'd like them but they're not the exact look I have in mind.

Troy

[Damn True]

There are a number of companies that will widen a wheel for you. Stockton wheel comes to mind.

[USAZR1]

Does anybody know if American Racing can make 18" wheels in widths other than 8" and 10"?

I'm currently wheel shopping and what I would really like is 9.5" up front and 10.5" out back. AR has a wheel style I really like (and not many people run) but in 18" they only advertise 8" and 10" width. I could live with the 10s in back but 10's up front are a bit too wide and 8s are no wider than what I have now.

The same question also applies to their 17" line. They offer 9.5" wide in 17 (which is great) but then it jumps to 11" which may be just a smidge too wide. Can they make 17 x 10.5?

Thanks in advace.

Worst case, I'll go 17 x 9.5 in front and 18 x 10 out back with the Americans or I'll just call up CCW and have them make a set of classics exactly how I want; they're great wheels and I'd like them but they're not the exact look I have in mind.

Troy

For $125 or less per wheel,Weldcraft can narrow or widen wheels to your specs. That way,you can have the custom wheels you want at an affordable price,Troy.
Their phone number is (734) 420-2211.

[Blown353]

Thanks guys. The widening thing is interesting but as hard as I drive my car I've very worried about having the wheel hoop go from 1 piece to 3 piece... While some see an easy "fix" I see a strong 1-piece spun wheel being sliced and now having two welds in a very critical area that could possibly come apart on me at 160. Murphy is a very good friend and I'd rather not invite him over to check out my wheels. LOL.

After doing more measurements tonight and pricing tires I've come to my senses-- 17s are the best option for tire availability and pricing. Right now I run 255/45 all the way around on 17 x 8. I'm thinking I'll go with 17 x 9.5 up front and keep the 255/45 and go 17 x 11 out back with 285/40s.

My current 255/45's have just about 0.75" of sidewall bulge from the 8" wheel, so going to a 9.5" wheel won't pose any fit issues-- it'll just remove the bulge (and hopefully give the steering a bit sharper feel.) A friend has 285/40's on 17 x 9.5 x 5.5bsp wheels on the back of his '66 Chevelle, I'm going to borrow one and bolt it on the back to check fit-- same deal there, putting a 285 on a 17 x 11 shouldn't pose any problems, it'll just get rid of the sidewall bulge since that's the widest recommended wheel for that tire size.

Clint, how is clearance with your 275/40's up front? I'm also considering 17 x 9.5 all the way around with 275/40, then I could rotate the tires. I already have issues with my 255's rubbing the sway bar at full lock, but I do have a little bit of room on the outside-- especially once I realign the car with more negative camber to get rid of this pesky outside edge wear I keep having.

Of course the measuring project snowballed-- one minute I'm measuring away and wouldn't you know the next thing I know the rear springs and 4" angle grinder are out and the rear is down another inch now... :hammer:

Troy

[Damn True]

Ask them if that type of modification is applicable to your intended use. The new dude (TC Design) is a good source of info as well.

[USAZR1]

Clint, how is clearance with your 275/40's up front? I'm also considering 17 x 9.5 all the way around with 275/40, then I could rotate the tires. I already have issues with my 255's rubbing the sway bar at full lock, but I do have a little bit of room on the outside-- especially once I realign the car with more negative camber to get rid of this pesky outside edge wear I keep having.
Troy

My 275/40/17's clear ok but I still plan to have my front 17x9 wheels' backspace readjusted from 5" to 5.5". That will allow me to drop the car another inch or more w/o hitting the inner fenders. Since you're not running Air Ride,17x9.5's w/5.5" backspace should give you plenty of room to run 275's without any clearance concerns. However,I'm probably running a smaller swaybar than you so that could be a possible rubbing point.
Having run both 255/40's and 275/40's,I like the bigger tires on such a heavy car.

[Blown353]

Thanks Clint.

My plan right now for the front is 17 x 9.5 with either 5.5 or 5.75 backspacing and for now I'll put my half-worn 255/45's on them. When they finally wear down I'll probably move up to the 275/40.

Where is your clearance problem? Outer fender lip? Also, how much static negative camber are you running? I'm going to realign my car with about -0.5 to -1.0 negative camber which will help outer lip clearance.

I'm still undecided what to do out back-- either 17 x 11 with 285/40 or go 17 x 9.5 with 275/40 so I can rotate. The 11s and 285s would look better but the practicality of having the same wheel and tire combo on all four corners is a big advantage when it comes to tire life.

Wish Pearcy's would hurry up and release that plastic wheel/tire fitment tool, but Summit is showing an early July delivery date. Don't know anybody with a similar tool unfortunately.

[muthstryker]

ya your going to have to have them custom made, i emailed american racing about a month ago and they cannot make custom sizes

[USAZR1]

Thanks Clint.
My plan right now for the front is 17 x 9.5 with either 5.5 or 5.75 backspacing and for now I'll put my half-worn 255/45's on them. When they finally wear down I'll probably move up to the 275/40.
Where is your clearance problem? Outer fender lip? Also, how much static negative camber are you running? I'm going to realign my car with about -0.5 to -1.0 negative camber which will help outer lip clearance.
I'm still undecided what to do out back-- either 17 x 11 with 285/40 or go 17 x 9.5 with 275/40 so I can rotate. The 11s and 285s would look better but the practicality of having the same wheel and tire combo on all four corners is a big advantage when it comes to tire life.
Wish Pearcy's would hurry up and release that plastic wheel/tire fitment tool, but Summit is showing an early July delivery date. Don't know anybody with a similar tool unfortunately.

The original inner fender bolts had rather large bolts so I removed the top ones on each side & used button head fasteners on the others. That and realigning the front end with some specs Dennis gave me have cured the problem. My inner fenders restrict how low I can take the car so by adding another 1/2" of backspace,the tires will clear the outer lip of the inners. Another benefit is that if I have a sudden loss of air pressure again on one of the front Shockwaves,the inner fenders will bottom out on the top of the tire and not the sidewalls. Keeps from scuffing up the sidewalls of expensive tires. :rotfl:
One advantage of the 17x11's is that they give you the option of running 315's. As for the fitment tool,three or four people have one they offered for rental. I just read about it earlier today.