20's on first gen?

[third base]

Is it possible to tuck 20's in the rear stock fender wells of my 69'? I am still kicking around some ideas and read that it may take some modifications? Is this true? I am thinking about an 18-20 combo at the moment with no tubs.

[yody]

man, why stop at 20's? Just do what this guy did;

[third base]

I have heard of lifting your vehicle to fit bigger tires, but that is just wrong.

[yody]

you should of seen the paint job YUCK. You are going to catch some flack for asking about putting 20's on a stock suspended non tubbed first gen here, as that has no performance attributes whatsoever. HOWEVER for some actual answers we need more specs, like your rideheight, tire size you plan, wheel width, etc...

[third base]

hotchkis drop in the rear, 255/35/20 (27.0 x 10.4) in the rear, 215/35/18 (23.9 x 8.5) in the front w/ QA1 coilovers. As for suspension upgrades I just have poly bushings, hotchkis sway bars, frame connectors, and side-a-links. Not too hi-tech. But, a vast improvement from stock.

[indyjps]

yody: thats a real car, i thought it was photochopped
third base, there was a pic of a yellow 69 with 20" ralleys posted around here somewhere recently

[turner69camaro]

I just put 20's on the rear of my stock Pace Car and 18's in the front. No rubbing or anything and they ride great. I didn't even lower the car. I wanted to be able to return it back to stock quick and have the best of both worlds.

[third base]

what about a 20-17 combo? Anybody ever see a first gen with this setup? I know it isn't exactly pro-touring, but I am thinking it would look mean lowered, with a slight rake.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

what about a 20-17 combo? Anybody ever see a first gen with this setup? I know it isn't exactly pro-touring, but I am thinking it would look mean lowered, with a slight rake.

In my opinion that would look absolutely terrible. Too much of a stagger between front to back. How about a much more functional 17/18 combo? 18s look so much better on the back of a first gen, IMO.

Also, 215 is an extrememly narrow tire. You can get atleast a 245 up front with no rubbing whatsoever, a 255 with some slight rubbing, and as big as a 265 or 275 with steering stops.

[third base]

Picked up this photo from intros web site. anybody know who owns this car and/or what size combo he is running? IMO it looks mean. I would like to do something similar without as much lowering. I just want to tuck the tire, not the rim. as for the front tire, your right, a 215 is pretty skinny. how about a 235/40/17 (24.4 x 9.4).

[turner69camaro]

I looked at that car at GoodGuys Columbus and I believe that it had 22's on the rear and they were 12" wide and 18's on the front. The car sported a dash out of a 59 Chevy and I believe the car was from Alabama or Georgia.

[baz67]

IMHO that car looks like what I just flushed. The only time that car moves is on and off of the trailer. You cannot get that low with that large of rims w/o major metal and suspension work.

[CAMAROBOY69]

Contact the member by the name of datsbad. He runs 20's on the rear of almost all of his first gens and every single one of his cars are driven and look awesome. His blue one just had coverage in Popular hot rodding mag. I will be back with pics of it in a minute...

[CAMAROBOY69]

Here are the pics of the blue car... As I stated he has had several 1st gen camaros running 20's and I think they all look absolutely sick!!!
Here is the thread the car was located in.
https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=11261

[Travis B]

Picked up this photo from intros web site. anybody know who owns this car and/or what size combo he is running? IMO it looks mean. I would like to do something similar without as much lowering. I just want to tuck the tire, not the rim. as for the front tire, your right, a 215 is pretty skinny. how about a 235/40/17 (24.4 x 9.4).

Scott Whidby camaro.....A customer of ours bought the car! It does in fact have 18's and 22's! Stuffing 22's is not an easy task the wheel openings have to be changed extensively along with the suspension And that car has air ride on it thats why its that low...so it can be aired up or.......... flushed I guess..... :bsjerk:

[Jim Nilsen]

It's kind of odd that when I was looking at the Ferraris,Lambos,Salleen's and some of the other exotics I kept seeing 20's on the rear of them. They had 15" brakes or maybe bigger for all I know but I believe that if you have the bigger brakes you need the room and the performace is a gain or they wouldn't have gone with them. Maybe I keep missing something when I look at the overall package these cars use but if it works for them , why can't it work for us?

I do understand that if you just go with 20's and don't go the larger brake package that there is probably not an advantage in the braking aspect but wouldn't the cornering and straight line traction benefits be there? It would seem the numbers the exotics put out that the 20's work well. It would sure be a shame to give up cornering and straightline performance for the added braking but brakes are the next most important thing to tires and traction and brake fade is a common reason for crashes so maybe it is the trade off that they go with?

Just an observation and not a detailed investigation of what I have been seeing.

Jim Nilsen

[DeepBlue68]

I do understand that if you just go with 20's and don't go the larger brake package that there is probably not an advantage in the braking aspect but wouldn't the cornering and straight line traction benefits be there? It would seem the numbers the exotics put out that the 20's work well.

Are you asking if 20's would provide benefits in traction and cornering regardless of whether you add a bigger brake package?

Keep in mind that the exotic cars are constructed of large amounts of lightweight (read: expensive) materials to offset the effects of larger wheels, far-from-gutted interiors, etc. Undoubtedly those cars would put out better numbers if they were running 17's or 18's (assuming all other aspects of the wheels were the same).

[Rybar]

Is it possible to tuck 20's in the rear stock fender wells of my 69'? I am still kicking around some ideas and read that it may take some modifications? Is this true? I am thinking about an 18-20 combo at the moment with no tubs.

A few local buddies are running 20's on thier stock well cars. if you run a narrower rim/tire combo it will fit. Check my site for pictures.

More pics here: http://groups.msn.com/camarofolder/shoebox.msnw

[ViperBlue68]

Go with the 20s if you want its YOUR car...imho I think it looks pretty sick! I'd probabally go 20s in the back with 19s in the front like prodigy that stagger was pulled off perfectly...btw what happened to Kens body shop? I saw it was torn down...they did finish your car right?

[Steve1968LS2]

Technically anything over a 17" wheel is a performance compromise but who cares.. if you like the "look" then go for it. As stated Jason ran 20's on the back of his with minimal mods (if any).. I personally don't like anything over an 18 on a Camaro. The bigger wheels work better on bigger cars (like some Mopars). It also depends on the wheel.. some designs look bigger than they are and some smaller. Oh, and nothing looks worse than small brakes behind huge wheels IMO..

If you do it just know that it is hurting your performance.. If that is ok with you then great. It is just funny when someone tries to act like thier 20's or 19's are somehow not putting form over function.

How about 19's and 18's? You could still mount up huge ass brakes, look great and perform better than the 20's.. just an idea.. Most of all, do what YOU like