1969 Camaro 18" Wheels.. Need Help

[69CamaroSyC]

Hi,
I have a 1969 Camaro, would like order the wheels .. thinking in 18*8 4.5 Bakspacing 245/40/18 front
18*9.5 Backspacing??? Wheel 285/35/18

I do not want make many adjustments in my car.. Do not have many budget.. $$... what you recommend?

Thank you so much for your help!
Armando.

[usa-69z]

Hi,
I have a 1969 Camaro, would like order the wheels .. thinking in 18*8 4.5 Bakspacing 245/40/18 front
18*9.5 Backspacing??? Wheel 285/35/18

I do not want make many adjustments in my car.. Do not have many budget.. $$... what you recommend?

Thank you so much for your help!
Armando.

5.75 on the rear with the 9.5 rim

[69CamaroSyC]

Thank you USA-69Z!

[Neil B]

The 'standard' recommendation for these cars is 18x8 with a 4.75-4.875" backspace in the front and 18x9.5 with a 5.5" backspace in the rear. Measure from the axle flange to the inner wheelhouse in the rear. Don't be surprised if the axle is shifted to one side. If it's not centered (and most aren't), it's difficult to fit a 9.5" wheel without rolling the fender lips. I don't think a 285 tire will fit in the rear without rolling the fender lips. I believe most people go with the 275-40-18 on a 9.5" wheel.

[68Formula]

Brakes are also a factor (disc vs. drum). Even cars with the exact same configurations vary on what can fit. Our cars aren't perfect from the factory (fender variance, ride height, axle to axle distance, centering, etc.) On my '68 (5.5" on a 9.5") I have witness marks on the driver side showing tire contact (I do push it in the corners now and then), but not on the passenger. When I switch to discs I should get a little more clearance.

Best is to use the advice as a guideline, but take plenty of measurements on each side. Even better if you can find someone with nearly the same tire/wheels you plan to get and bribe a case beer or something to let you do a test fit.

[69CamaroSyC]

Thank you all for your help!
About the disc brake conversion.. Is the C5 corvette a good option.
There are in the market few vendors that sell the kit for 1st gen camaro

[69CamaroSyC]

More help
Wondering if somebody knows if I add a 20*9.5 wheel in the back with 275/40/20 will fit in my 69 stock camaro.. Whant backspacing do I need>?

[class67]

Stick with the 18's, it looks better on these cars....jmo!

[Taylor1969]

Where are you in Texas? Maybe we can do a test fit. I am running 18x8's and 18x9.5's. Front have 5" and rear has 5.5" backspace

[69CamaroSyC]

Thank you Taylor for the offer.. I am way ago from Houston.. I am in Eagle Pass .. border with Mexico..

[69CamaroSyC]

My proposal is the following
Front 18*8, 4.85 backspacing.. Tire Nitto 235/40/18

Back
18*9.5, 5.5BS
Tire Nitto 285/35/18

What do you think?
Again thanks in advance everybody fro the help & support!

[buickfunnycar.com]

My proposal is the following
Front 18*8, 4.85 backspacing.. Tire Nitto 235/40/18

Back
18*9.5, 5.5BS
Tire Nitto 285/35/18

What do you think?
Again thanks in advance everybody fro the help & support!

What wheel company are you working with and will they offer specific offsets?
You need to check and see what they offer first then determine if that will work with your car.

Here is a pretty baseline setup for a stock 1969 Camaro:

Front 18x8 (4.75"-4.875" b/s)
235/35 or 245/40-18's

Rear 18x9.5 (5.5" b/s)
275/40-18

More than 5.5" rear b/s will have you rubbing on the inside under hard turns and steep driveways.You can run a 285/40 rear tire (I do with certain wheels I own) but a 275/40 will work better on most cars.

*Do you have wheelhouse mouldings?
*Do you have or are planning to switch to rear discs?
*Have you measured the rearend to see how centered it is in relation to the chassis?

All these cars are off by between 1/2"-1" so you should take all these into consideration first before assuming what works on one '69 Camaro will work on another.I've run a 18x10 with a 305/35's on a stock '69 Z/28 with rear drums w/o issues but my car's a freak...I bet that won't work on yours though.

[Neil B]

Hi,

I do not want make many adjustments in my car..

Based on your desire to not make changes to the car, I would not recommend a 285 tire unless you're willing to roll the lip. 275's will likely fit without rolling the fender lips if the rearend is centered. As others have said - measure twice, buy once - because every car is different.

[69CamaroSyC]

Thank you both..
Let me measure first.. Thanks again!

[Scooby]

I used 4.75 on the front of mine, wish I had gone maybe even up to 5

[Scooby]

speed tech a arms and ridetech drop spindles, dunno if that matters, oh and a wilwood superlite 6 front kit with 13" rotors

[Scooby]

sorry to hijack your thread, my bad!

[Scooby]

sorry to hijack your thread, my bad!

[69CamaroSyC]

Thanks!

[elwaupo]

Good information on this thread. I want to change out my stock 15x7 & 15x8 for 18 in wheels to.