Shortening hub-to-hub width

[dcozzi]

The good:
I just bought a pair of modified B-Body spindles for my second gen. They are set up nice with a Kore3 hub, C5 slotted rotors and radial mount for Wilwood 6-piston calipers.

The bad:
The hub to hub distance will be 2" shorter in front than stock. Is this is referred to as "track width". (Yeah, I'm a suspension rookie).

Can this just be fixed simply with different front rim offset? I do not like the idea of buying a new hub and using caliper bracket spacers. Horizontal spacing on a radial (vertical) mount caliper seems "wrong" to me anyway.

I also realize the additional offset of the front wheel will make the outside of the front tire hit the wheel-well sooner in tight turns.


The big question: Will the narrower hub-to-hub distance screw up my suspension geometry or have ill effects on the handling?

[GetMore]

Yes, track width.
Changing the offset should work. Your ball joints are still in the same places, so suspension geometry will stay the same.
Changing the offset to compensate for the mounting location will not make the tire hit sooner. (Assuming the same size tire and width of wheel as you used before the conversion.) Again, the ball joints haven't moved, so the tire will be in the same location.

[chicane67]

Rim offset will address the TW change required to get the wheel back on the suspension. The TW change will also offset some other aspects of the OE geometry (in a good way). Basically... it should work in your favor. I am not sure which 'second gen' chassis you are refering to... but I am thinking an improvement in overall geometry is in the cards.

The most prominent change will be to the scrub radius and... also the rate of toe change related to ackerman.

[dcozzi]

Sorry, the car is a 1970 Camaro.

Actually seeing a benefit is the best news I could get! I was worried there may be drawbacks and that was why I got such a good deal.

Now, I'm going to look up Ackerman (effect) and scrub radius again to refresh my memory.

I have a Lateral Dynamics 3-link so, I did not want to have a great rear setup and mess the whole thing up with an unwise move on the front.

Thank you all for your insights.

Edit: I now realize I could see a benefit in scrub radius which is good since my A arms are not adjustable to change the SIA. I'll keep reading and drawing remedial sketches to find out more. The whole relationship is still kinda fuzzy in my head.