I don't understand wheels

[Rebel Rob]

Hey guys I'm retarded when it come to if wheels will fit on cars so my questions is will a wheel this size 17x9 25(offset)6(backside)5-4 1/2 (bolt circle note)
fit a 87 GLHS here is the web site for the wheels if that doesn't make any sense http://www.americanracing.com/browse_dale.asp thanks guys

[minigts]

A 25 offset is going to push that wheel out and being a 17x9, it may have issues on turns. I know the extra offset will help with the width, but I would stick to 17x7 to 17x8's at the widest. You really won't want to get anything larger than a 225 on there, because once you start going wider, you usually end up going taller. And even if you found a low enough profile tire, that sidewall is going to be like riding on a concrete wheel. You will more than likely bend a rim or damage the tire or BOTH on the first big road hazard you come across. Just something to keep in mind.

I worked at a wheel store for 2 years or something like that, and I cannot tell you how many guys came in with these stupid sized wheels, rubber bands for tires and complained that their rims were bent. And these were chrome wheels, not aluminum or anything.

[contraption22]

And these were chrome wheels, not aluminum or anything.

Huh???

[minigts]

Huh???

DON'T "HUH? me! Just kidding!

:D I was referring to the wheels that came in and were bent. They were Chrome HEAVY wheels, vs. some of the aluminum wheels that are easier to bend. When I was thinking about what I was writing, it made a lot more sense and didn't need clarification. hehe

[turbovanman²]

+offset the wheel sits further out or away from the strut, - is the opposite. Stock wheels are around +38. You want a 17x7, 17x8 is pushing it and it might have to stick out past the wheel well, which plain looks dumb. I think it was posted before, you want around a 45 offset with a 17x7 wheel.

[Turbo3Iroc]

Simon you got it backwards.

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

I don't think anything wider than 7 will fit an L body without modifications.

[turbovanman²]

Simon you got it backwards.

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

I don't think anything wider than 7 will fit an L body without modifications.

Hmmm, that chart backs up what I am saying unless I am understanding it wrong. More offset moves the wheel away from the strut, correct?

[Turbo3Iroc]

Offset is confusing, I miss old school backspacing.

Also if you are shopping for wheels on sites like tirerack you can plug in an early 5 lug neon and come up with some good results for an L body. The results for our cars suck even though nearly all of them cross over.

[minigts]

+offset the wheel sits further out or away from the strut, - is the opposite. Stock wheels are around +38. You want a 17x7, 17x8 is pushing it and it might have to stick out past the wheel well, which plain looks dumb. I think it was posted before, you want around a 45 offset with a 17x7 wheel.

I think the 45 is too much. I'm running +38 right now and my wheels are tucked, which is not what I wanted but had to live with. They eventually did a 32-35 ET for my wheel, which would have put it flush with the fenders. The Shoguns I had were flush and I BELIEVE were a +30 or 32 ET. But I have never run a wheel that was below 30 or above 40.



Simon you got it backwards.

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

I don't think anything wider than 7 will fit an L body without modifications.

You can run a 7.5 as I have previously with a 215/40. With a low ratio rack, you can do this and not have any issues with rubbing on the tranny. Since that time, I have only had 7" wide rims, but I would do a 7.5" rim if they did it in a style I liked.

http://minigts.com/car/charger/front.jpg

It's hard to tell in the photo, but these wheels are about as flush as I would want them to be. The rear is a better example, but the front was just the same. AND I moved the support bar for the front ground effects where it connects to the fender to be flush with the wheel as you can somewhat see.

[Rebel Rob]

thanks guys .. the use a dodge neon idea opened my options up nicely and I found some wheels that I like that aren't so big

[contraption22]

DON'T "HUH? me! Just kidding!

:D I was referring to the wheels that came in and were bent. They were Chrome HEAVY wheels, vs. some of the aluminum wheels that are easier to bend. When I was thinking about what I was writing, it made a lot more sense and didn't need clarification. hehe

I understand what ya mean now. I was thinking "He didn't work in a wheel shop for 2 years without knowing that chrome is just a plating." lol

[minigts]

Cool! Yeah I hated working with chrome wheels. Everyone wanted every wheel available to be chrome plated, but sometimes it just wasn't offered. And people were paying stupid money to get aluminum wheels chromed as well. And if the money was good, we took it. But later when they would come back complaining about curb'ed wheels and the chrome flaking off, we just told them it was the same amount that it was to chrome them in the first place because the wheel had to go through the whole process all over. That did not go well with them...:)

[cordes]

Chrome wheels these days = :bolt:

[fleckster]

umm...am I the only one that saw that he was originally asking about a 4 1/2" bolt pattern? THat isn't going to fit an L Body no matter how wide or narrow it is without some modification!

Here's my article in the Knowledge Center to help a bit with the bolt patterns on our rides:

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/vbarticles.php?do=article&articleid=32

[black86glhs]

I saw that but couldn't remember what the conversion from inch to mm was. Yes, I was too lazy to look it up.:D

[minigts]

umm...am I the only one that saw that he was originally asking about a 4 1/2" bolt pattern? THat isn't going to fit an L Body no matter how wide or narrow it is without some modification!

Here's my article in the Knowledge Center to help a bit with the bolt patterns on our rides:

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/vbarticles.php?do=article&articleid=32

Maybe it will with JUST will power....YOU DON'T KNOW!!! :blah: Well...good point. So scrap the idea and start over. :)

[Speedeuphoria]

I would not go larger than a 17x7 wheel on a L body

Personally i would stick to 16" max and get some decent rubber.

minigts: love the car and paint, I would love to see more pics as its the cleanest L I've seen:hail:

[minigts]

I would not go larger than a 17x7 wheel on a L body

Personally i would stick to 16" max and get some decent rubber.

minigts: love the car and paint, I would love to see more pics as its the cleanest L I've seen:hail:

I'll say 17x7.5 Superior Scoundrels were the best wheels I had on my car. I ran a 215/40 and those things fit PERFECT. Compensated a little for the extra sidewall too, but not much. ;) But going larger is risky with the rubbing potential. Just make sure you get something light weight.

And thanks for the compliments, although if mine is the cleanest, you haven't been looking hard. :p Just kidding. Kevin Isenberg has a SWEET sliver/black Charger that is for all intensive purposes, perfect. I have seen the car up close and I can not imagine a better paint job from even the factory than what his car has. Links to the pics of my car and Kevin's is below. Mine is a web page, his pics are in a folder. Just didn't take the time to build it....maybe I will. :D

www.minigts.com/car/charger/exterior

http://www.minigts.com/car/kevin/

[Rebel Rob]

When I first posted that I just copied and pasted it right off the web site of american racing wheels... it was 5-4 1/2 ... so i figured it was 5/100 or 4 1/2 i dunno like i said this stuff is so confusing for me lol

[Vigo]

5x100mm = 5x4 in

5x114.3mm = 5x4.5 in

those are the only two you need to remember for the most part. covers 95% of all common fwd's between the two.

[Vigo]

got more time so some stuff you need to know:

wheel widths are in inches, but offsets are in millimeters, so you need to know ~25mm = 1 inch.


offset is measured from the centerline of the wheel. if it is positive (+) offset, the flange area is moving towards the 'outside' of the wheel or away from the inside of the car, but that means that when you bolt up the wheel, there will actually be LESS clearance on the inside because as the flange moves out with positive offset, the rest of the wheel effectively moves in. Thus, to gain more clearance for a wider wheel or tire, you need LESS positive offset.

if you have a 6 inch wide wheel, the centerline would be 3 inches from the inside (technicall either side), and if you add the offset to that half-width, you get good old backspacing. i.e on a 15x6 +40mm, backspace= 6in/2=3 inch + 40mm (40mm/25mm = 1.6inch) = 4.6in backspace.

Now if you go with a wider wheel with the same offset, it will not necessarily fit.

Watch. 17x8 +35mm backspace= 8/2 =4inch +35mm (35/25=1.4in) = 5.4in. backspace. almost a whole inch LESS clearance on the inside.

When you widen a wheel, you need to take half the width increase out of your positive offset to have the same inside clearance.

i.e. 8 is 2 wider than 6, but only one inch is inside, the other is outside (the kind that hits the fender lip instead of the strut).

so 1 inch = 25mm. So if you know 15x6 +40mm fits and you want the same clearance with a 15x8, you need to take 25mm out of the offset to compensate for the added width, so you'd need a 15x8 +15mm offset to maintain the inside clearance. In practice, though, you dont have to maintain stock clearance. i run 17x8 +35s which as stated have much less clearance everywhere but fit without spacers.<< K-CAR ONLY. L-bodies have much less room to work with but also have less size and less weight so you can run a smaller tire and still have it look bigger on the car than mine, perhaps.

You do get to a point where the added width of the tire bulging out from the rim gives you less clearance than you can account for with this math. How much a given tire will bulge beyond a given rim's edge is much harder to judge accurately without seeing it, but if you go slightly too big you can get little 5mm wheel spacers for cheap off ebay that you can use your stock studs and lugs and still stay hubcentric without risking anything. Sometimes that'll be all you need.

It's more math than old backspace but once you learn it its all mental math and you'll rarely have to bust out a calculator to figure it out.

[Turbo3Iroc]

Nice writeup!

[Speedeuphoria]

And thanks for the compliments, although if mine is the cleanest, you haven't been looking hard. :p Just kidding. Kevin Isenberg has a SWEET sliver/black Charger that is for all intensive purposes, perfect. I have seen the car up close and I can not imagine a better paint job from even the factory than what his car has. Links to the pics of my car and Kevin's is below. Mine is a web page, his pics are in a folder. Just didn't take the time to build it....maybe I will. :D

www.minigts.com/car/charger/exterior

http://www.minigts.com/car/kevin/

Oh I have seen Kevins car, I just like your much better. Sorry if you think yours is not as good, you must be humble:hail::thumb:

[minigts]

Well I appreciate that. I think mine has some appeal in terms of being like a race car or something. Kevin's car is just ridiculously clean and a top notch paint job, which is where my "humility" comes into play. :D But seriously, thanks for the compliments. Now if I can just get the time, money and tools to paint it myself....:rolleyes: