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    Results 1 to 12 of 12
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Mar 2017
      Location
      DETROIT
      Posts
      11

      1967 Camaro 18" American Racing Billet wheelz - What is the correct size plz

      Hello All,


      Just recently purchased a completely restored 67 Camaro. I am trying to purchase a set of custom made American Racing wheels for the car. The VN327 - (pictured enclosed with the hood up) a billeted 18" diameter wheel (these are made to order - no refunds or exchanges. Once hey are ordered, there is no turning back).

      I've spoken to 3 different shops and they are all telling me something different when it comes to size, backspacing, offset...etc etc. I am all about the appearance of the wheel. That is what I want. Or it is a waste of $3000.00 in tires and wheelz. Aside from fit, function etc....I am all about the look, appearance, stance, rake......

      This what I know:

      1. I do not want the tire to exceed the fender lip
      2. I want the tires to be somewhat lower profile
      3. I want to stagger the wheelz
      4. I will adjust the suspension (rake) once the wheelz are installed. I want it slightly lowered in the front and may bring it up in the back.
      5. I do not have a wheel to measure to. All of it is custom and made to order. I want to make sure that I utilize every square inch of the tub, however, I don't want to order them and then realize, I could have gone bigger. I could have gone wider. I get one shot at this and I am just puzzled on how everyone is telling me different info. I also don't want to modify any sheet metal. I also don't want it to rub.




      I've enclosed a picture of the American racing wheel that I love and want to purchase.

      I currently have a 16 x 8 on there and I don't like them.

      HELP!

      Anthony from Detroit
      Attached Images Attached Images    


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      Georgetown/Austin, TX
      Posts
      307
      Country Flag: United States
      It looks like your options for the VN327 are 18x7, 18x8, and 18x10.

      Given those options and everything you are looking for, I would recommend:

      Front: 18x8 - 4.75" Backspacing - 245/40/18 Tires (25.7 Tall Tires)
      Rear: 18x9 - 5.00" Backspacing - 275/40/18 Tires (26.6" Tall Tires)

      This is a pretty conservative set up, and would work great and still look good. No risk of wasting your money.

      You could use a 245/45/18 on the front and the tire height would match the rear at 26.6". I suggested the 40 series because you want a "rake" look with the front lower than the rear.

      You say you don't want to modify anything, but you could do the 18x10 wheels (between 5.75" and 5.5" Backspacing) on the rear with the same tires if you rolled the outer fender lips. Those tires would go from a good bulge on the 18x9 wheel to a squared look on the 18x10s.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Mar 2017
      Location
      DETROIT
      Posts
      11
      You mentioned a 5" backspacing on the rears. With 5" BS that means that the offset has to be "0". Is that correct? Also, with that BS I would be growing inboard approx 31mm. I would have to check to see if I have that much space inboard from where the current rim sits.

      With the current rear wheel, it seems that I have some room to grow outward toward the outer fender - (approx 3/4 - 1"). What if I went with 4.8" of BS and an offset of -6. My tire calculator (http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp) said that it will cause a growth outboard of 1". How do I determine how close I can get to the outer fender lip? Doing this would bring me 1" closer to all suspension parts.

      Have you ever used the tire calculator at http://www.rimsntires.com? You enter your current tire and wheel and then you input your new dimensions and it calculates the difference.

      Appreciate your thoughts on this. Oh I almost forgot, the reason I want to increase the negative offest is so that the wheel has more depth to it. As illustrated in the top photo. I love the depth of the lip. More offset more lip, correct?

      Thx again

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Location
      Fredericksburg, VA.
      Posts
      3,153
      Country Flag: United States
      You can solicit wheel measurement recommendations all day long but in the end you need to measure your wheels on your car in order to get the fit you want.
      Steve Hayes
      "Dust Off"
      68 Camaro

      Given sufficient initial acceleration, even pigs can fly!

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      Georgetown/Austin, TX
      Posts
      307
      Country Flag: United States
      It sounds like you're on the right track!

      Yes, a 5" backspace on a 9" wide wheel would be the same thing as a "0" (zero) offset. You'll definitely have room for that. Most guys go 5.5" backspacing with 9.5" wide wheels and are totally good with clearance to the inside. I do think you'll find that 5" front-spacing/5" backspacing on a 9" wheel would work great and give your wheels a nice lip.

      I do also suggest measuring your car because everyone is different. Any suggestion you find online for an old car is more of a starting-point. You can hang a plumb line from the fender at what ever maximum point you would want the wheels to come out to. Measure from the plumb line to where the wheel mounts to the rear end; that will give you the "front-spacing". To figure out backspacing put a flat edge against the mounting surface, and measure from there to the inner wheel well, leaving yourself at least 1/2" for clearance. You'll want to make sure your jack stands are under the rear axle to simulate your ride height, and take your measurement at the approximate point where the edge of the wheel will be (18" wheel would be about 9.5" out from the center of the axle).

      As far as clearance to the outer fender lip, the max "front-spacing" you'll see is about 5.5" on the rear (with rolled fenders). If you wanted to push it to 5.5" front spacing that would leave you at 4.5" backspacing on a 9" wheel, or 5.5" backspacing with a 10" wide wheel. Both would get you the maximum lip without narrowing the rear end - but you will definitely have to at least roll the fenders to push them out that far.

      The Rims N' Tires calculator is definitely the best ones I've come across. It's a great comparison tool, and it does take into account the true width of a wheel (a 9" wide wheel is really 10" wide from bead-to-bead, etc.)

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Aug 2015
      Location
      NJ
      Posts
      282
      Country Flag: United States
      I just dropped $5k on some custom wheels being built right now. Don't know about you, but I wanted to be sure they were measured right for my car and if anyone was to blame for messing it up, it was myself! I bought one of those Wheel-fit tools - best investment I could have made if anything else just for the piece of mind knowing that my tires would fit with no issues. No better way to fit than to actually have the tires you are trying to fit right on the car and still have the ability to adjust the backspacing while it is on the car - Great tool! Good luck and be smart

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Mar 2017
      Location
      DETROIT
      Posts
      11
      Quote Originally Posted by TheJDMan View Post
      You can solicit wheel measurement recommendations all day long but in the end you need to measure your wheels on your car in order to get the fit you want.


      you are 100% right, I just don't trust myself......plus the wheel will be made custom. I have nothing to use as a template

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Mar 2017
      Location
      DETROIT
      Posts
      11
      thx for your help

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jul 2017
      Posts
      3
      i have a 67 Camaro rs with foose wheels 18x9.5 in the rear 5.25 back space with a 275x40 nitto 555 tire. in the front I have 18x8 with 4.5 backspace with a 235x40 tire.i have the hotchkis tvs system and speedtech control arms the car is lowered 3 inches all around.it is tight in the rear but I have not rolled or cut the inner fender lips and there is no rubbing.the stance is great.

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Jan 2016
      Location
      Torrance, CA
      Posts
      39
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by MY 3 BOYZ View Post
      you are 100% right, I just don't trust myself......plus the wheel will be made custom. I have nothing to use as a template
      I'm in the same boat.
      I tried putting the car up on ramps to measure but then I can't turn the wheels so measurements are moot.
      I tried putting the lower control arms on jackstands but didn't get the correct compression to measure.

      For tire/wheel/offset comparison, I prefer https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ -- type in your current setup, then start playing with sizes and offsets. It doesn't seem to account for sidewall flex but it'll give a pretty good idea of what you need.

      I wound up finding a piece of hard foam. I cut off a chunk and used spray adhesive to stick it to the inside of the front tire. By shaving down the foam, I could see what would clear. I even drove around the block with it attached!-- this gave me a reasonable measurement of how far in I could go on the fronts. For me, I want to stay with the same height so that's easy.

      In the back, I could put the rear end up on jackstands, that's the same as on the tires. I tried the foam block trick but my wheelwells curve inwards so it's hard to get an accurate measurement on tire height, especially with people in the back seat. I've resigned to getting the height I want and modifying the wheel wells if needed.
      In the rear, I have almost 3" of width clearance between the tire and the frame so I could go really wide even without a minitub. After talking to lots of folks here, they pointed out that uneven widths are bad for PT/autocross. More grip in back means understeer-- that's gonna be bad in the LA canyons! Instead, I'm figuring out what width I can fit in the front (I think 295), then I'll keep that same width in the rear. For rear height, I've got a comparison google doc going between the different tire manufacturers I'd consider.

      I'm picking the tire first, then I'll see if I can find reasonably-priced wheels to make those work. Since staggered-offset usually aren't an issue, I'll probably have to go custom as well. Ballin' on a budget!

      Here's a link to my spreadsheet, so you can see what I'm doing:
      https://goo.gl/VsYioi
      1966 Pontiac Tempest
      Two-door, no post. Fixing things one-by-one. Daily driven when it's not up on jackstands.
      UMI Stage 4 suspension. Manual Z06 brakes from Kore3. 275/40r18 and 275/40r19 rear. Currently building a Pontiac 400 stroker.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Mar 2017
      Location
      DETROIT
      Posts
      11

      Wheelz have been ordered.....

      I ordered the American Racing VN327 all polished. Chrome was not an option. I assume I will polish it to the point to where it looks like chrome. Had it professionally measured by a guy that eats lives tires.....18x9 in the rear and 18x8 in the front. We are going to incorporate the rake in the tire sizes like recommended....Can't wait...10 weeks before they come in...more to follow





      hjkh
      Quote Originally Posted by ignaro View Post
      I'm in the same boat.
      I tried putting the car up on ramps to measure but then I can't turn the wheels so measurements are moot.
      I tried putting the lower control arms on jackstands but didn't get the correct compression to measure.

      For tire/wheel/offset comparison, I prefer https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ -- type in your current setup, then start playing with sizes and offsets. It doesn't seem to account for sidewall flex but it'll give a pretty good idea of what you need.







      I wound up finding a piece of hard foam. I cut off a chunk and used spray adhesive to stick it to the inside of the front tire. By shaving down the foam, I could see what would clear. I even drove around the block with it attached!-- this gave me a reasonable measurement of how far in I could go on the fronts. For me, I want to stay with the same height so that's easy.

      In the back, I could put the rear end up on jackstands, that's the same as on the tires. I tried the foam block trick but my wheelwells curve inwards so it's hard to get an accurate measurement on tire height, especially with people in the back seat. I've resigned to getting the height I want and modifying the wheel wells if needed.
      In the rear, I have almost 3" of width clearance between the tire and the frame so I could go really wide even without a minitub. After talking to lots of folks here, they pointed out that uneven widths are bad for PT/autocross. More grip in back means understeer-- that's gonna be bad in the LA canyons! Instead, I'm figuring out what width I can fit in the front (I think 295), then I'll keep that same width in the rear. For rear height, I've got a comparison google doc going between the different tire manufacturers I'd consider.

      I'm picking the tire first, then I'll see if I can find reasonably-priced wheels to make those work. Since staggered-offset usually aren't an issue, I'll probably have to go custom as well. Ballin' on a budget!

      Here's a link to my spreadsheet, so you can see what I'm doing:
      https://goo.gl/VsYioi

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      Georgetown/Austin, TX
      Posts
      307
      Country Flag: United States
      Awesome! Can't wait to see what they look like on the car.





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