ZO6 wheels on a 79 camaro

[camarotony]

Does anyone know what size spacers if any are needed to put 17" ZO6 wheels on a 79 camaro. I like the wheels but don't know if they will look good on the car, does anyone have a set on a 2nd gen. F-body?

[cheapthrillz]

I guess you are talking about c5 z06 wheels instead of c6 z06 wheels because the c6 are 18" and 19".... You need to be as specific as possible if you expect us to help you....

This was taken from another thread on here. You do the math.
I have yet to have the car out in sunlight, but even indoors, that blue stands out with the gold back ground. I wanted to do that to emphasize the engine as that is the main attraction under the hood.

For you wheel questions, for whatever reasons, the wheels had some measurements that caused some fitment issues. The parties involved are doing a good job and rectifying the situation. The wheels are front 8.5 wide w/ 5.5 BS and rear 9.5 wide w/ 6.2 BS. I am having the rim shells revised so I will have 4” of ‘front spacing’ 4.5 front BS and 5.5 rear BS. Being that one of the issues is that center of the wheel is a smaller diameter than the hub, I could not fully attach the wheel to the car, I was however able to bolt the wheels up part way over the hub until it bound. Thus, I can provide some conclusions from what I have observed. Keep in mind that the stock 8” t/a wheels have a 0 offset. They actually measure 9” total width, so on initial measurement you get the impression that you have a 4.5” BS. The reason is the rim widens after the tire bead. When sizing new wheels stick with the 8” wide w/ 4” BS numbers. If you want to keep the wheel within the body lines, don’t make the front spacing, if you will, greater than 4”. You will need to trim the inner fenders back slightly so you don’t rub with wide tires when the suspension is at full compression. A stock style suspension and causal driving would probably never have an issue here, where lowered and/or aggressive driving would have a greater probability of tire fender rub. If one plans to jack the rear of t e car up and run tires outside of the body line, than a 10 or 12” wide rim would fit, but not legal in most states. For purpose of this discussion, assume tires will remain w/in the body lines.

Front
With 5.5 BS, no observed clearance issues. The closest point of contact is the sway bar. I had about ¾” free room at full lock. Add 1” to front spacing and a 9.5” wide wheel works, but very tight. Stick with a 9” w/ 5” BS and all will be good. This would be for 18” and some 17” wide wheels. Smaller wheels would yield a BS of 5 max as the tie rod end contacts the rim at those diameters as well as the upper ball joint on the smaller rims.

Rear
With 6.2” BS, and 285 tire, accounting for space between rim pad and axle flange, the tire were about ¼” from the leaf spring. Too tight for me. In hard cornering, the tire will flex and rub w/o a doubt. Add .75 to 9.5 and you get 10.25. so a 10” wheel with 285 tires w/ a bs of 6” will yield about .5” clearance between the leaf and the tire. Again, it will work, but be very tight.

In conclusion, “Can you fit a 10” wide rim in a 78?”, yes and no. first off, the seat belt bulge needs to be hammered flat, no way around it. Early 70’s cars don’t have that issue. If you don’t mind some rub on hard cornering and are willing trim the inner fender lip a little, sure. A 295 tire will have less clearance. I highly doubt a 305 will work w/o major modification or mini tub.

[camarotony]

I said 17" so it must be a C5

[cheapthrillz]

You can get an aftermarket c6 z06 in 17" i believe....

[cheapthrillz]

Yep, here http://www.corvetteguys.com/c6z06-chrome-wheel-17x85.html

Now those would look bad ass too! I like both styles.

[critter]

Won't all that positive offset cause issues with fitting the tire in the stock wheel opening?

[Apogee]

Won't all that positive offset cause issues with fitting the tire in the stock wheel opening?

Yes, that's why he's asking about spacers/adapters per the original post. After a quick search, there are several threads with first-gen F-bodies and a few A-bodies, but I haven't seen any 2nd-gens lately with high-offset C5 or C6 wheels. Based on the offset/BS of the C5 wheels, it's pretty easy to figure out how much spacer you'll need as it's essentially the difference in the BS between what the wheel is and should be for your application in whatever width wheel you choose to run.

Keep in mind that if you're planning a big-brake upgrade at the same time, any track width changes should be taken into consideration when specifying the thickness of the spacers/adapters.

Tobin
KORE3

[camarotony]

Thanks for the help. Those wheels look good but I think I like the C5 ZO6 wheels better . Does anyone know the backspacing on them?

[cheapthrillz]

Not sure if these are exactly the same but these say +54mm offset (http://www.corvetteguys.com/c5z06-chrome-wheel-17x95.html)

On a Corvette forum I saw +50mm, so take it for what it's worth...

[Apogee]

C5 Z06 wheels to the best of my knowledge are as follows:

Ø17 x 9.5 w/ +54mm offset (7.3" BS)
Ø18 x 10.5 w/ +58mm offset (8.0" BS)

C5 wheels:

Ø17 x 8.5 w/ +54mm offset (6.9" BS)
Ø18 x 9.5 w/ +65mm offset (7.8" BS)

Here's a good calculator for finding overall wheel/tire dimensions with various combinations: http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp?postId=906

Tobin
KORE3

[camarotony]

I think 52MM is close to 2", do you think a 2 or 2 1/2 inch spacer will work

[Apogee]

1" = 25.4mm so therefore 2" = 50.8mm.

I edited my post above to show backspacing as well since that seems to be easier for most to visualize and account for when sizing adapters. I really think you'd be better off with the 1997-2004 C5 wheel specs...you can get repro Z06 wheels in the narrower widths. 9.5" up front and 10.5" out back is a lot of wheel for a factory 2nd gen unless it's tubbed and running an aftermarket front sub-frame, but if that's the case, you probably wouldn't be asking relatively basic questions.

Tobin
KORE3

[cheapthrillz]

I think 52MM is close to 2", do you think a 2 or 2 1/2 inch spacer will work

Since a +58mm offset is close to a 8 inch back spacing, I would say 3in sounds about right. If you want to nail your numbers on the head, I would keep searching for some "sure" wheel specs and then use the links from my earlier post to figure out what will work in your specific application.

[cheapthrillz]

For sale on here: https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61296

[kerryt1]

C5 Z06 wheels to the best of my knowledge are as follows:

Ø17 x 9.5 w/ +54mm offset (7.3" BS)
Ø18 x 10.5 w/ +58mm offset (8.0" BS)

These are the correct numbers. The fronts weigh 19.2 lbs each, rears are 21.0 lbs each. 2001 Z06 wheels are forged (made by Alcoa) and slightly darker in color than the 2002-2004 Z06 wheels which were spun cast and made by Speedline. Chrome was not an option from the factory, but the Le Mans commemorative 2004 model had polished / cleared wheels.

[camarotony]

Thanks for the help I will check them out

[bochnak]

Adapters won't be the issue, as you can get them from 3/4" width and up.

The issue will be wheel width. I'm not sure which wheel you choose, or how wide you can go on your car.

I ran a 3" adapter with C6 wheels (rears are 10" with a 285 tire) and rubbed on the stock outer fender lip. I then bought 2.5" adapters and they fit like a glove. I did tear the inner sidewall on 1 tire as some sheet metal was bent towards the tire for some reason. I was able to massage this away from the tire.