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18 inch tires and wheels

Old 05-22-2013, 11:08 PM
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Roadworn
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Default C3 1971 18 inch tires and wheels

Just got my new BOZE wheels
18 X 10 , 5.5 neg offset
295-45-18 rear
18X8 4 inch offset
255-45-18 front
Nitto 555
Had to grind about 1/8 off the frame in the rear, just above the trailing arm mount.
front fender height at center of wheel well 27 1/8 inch
rear 29 inches

BEFORE
centerline 80s 17 inch rims 245-45 17 front and rear




frame grind

Last edited by Roadworn; 05-22-2013 at 11:22 PM.
Old 05-22-2013, 11:42 PM
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Roadworn
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Old 05-23-2013, 12:20 AM
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iokepakai
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Looks amazing!Fills the wheel wells nicely...These C3's need the right size tires in order to look great....Good going.... See Wilwoods under those wheels! Six piston calipers up front? Looking forward to your write up..I'm headed for those same upgrades.....

Last edited by iokepakai; 05-23-2013 at 12:24 AM.
Old 05-23-2013, 09:54 AM
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qwank
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a lot better, mostly due to the taller tires more than anything though
Old 05-28-2013, 03:17 PM
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Roadworn
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I live on a crappy dirt road, so I cant really lower the car any more or the bellhousing will hit rocks. So I chose to fill the wheel wells with rubber. I also prefer the look of taller side rubber on these older vettes as oppose to the 35 side walls. Just my personal prefs.
Old 05-28-2013, 04:15 PM
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william43
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Originally Posted by Roadworn

That's what mine looks like with the 17'' tires,i hate the look and thinking about going back to the original tires, but got two much money in the rims and tires. Don't want to cut the front springs.Yours looks like the way it should.
Old 05-28-2013, 05:31 PM
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Love the color and side pipes!
Old 05-28-2013, 07:20 PM
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7t9l82
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2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified

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would 5" work instead of 5.5 ? I'm thinking of going 285-40-18. maybe 9.5 " rim instead of 10"
Old 05-28-2013, 07:21 PM
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3JsVette
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WOW. That's a lot of tire back there.
One of the main aversions on this forum towards large diameter wheels is the tire sidewall looking like "rubber bands". That is not at all the case here. Very nice job of filling the wheel wells and being aware of what types of roads you have to drive on. Nice work.
Old 05-28-2013, 08:14 PM
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billcarson
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yet another super sweet look for our cars.nice work!
Old 05-29-2013, 05:29 PM
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7 t9182 I cant tell you what will work for you.. It seems that all of these cars are just a little different. I have offset trailing arms as well. but for 17 or 18 inch rims this should not matter and you really dont need them.
I ordered the rims and then ordered 8 different tire sizes. 295-45, 285-45 , 255-45 and 245-45 two of each,
Discount tire in my home town was very kind to get them all for me.
I did lower the coilovers about an inch front and back before we put on the new tires and rims.That was all I thought it could take without the bellhousing hitting the ground on my road. Iam overseas right now for about 3 weeks, but when I get Home I will mesure the bellhousing clearance to ground.
I got to the tire store and started with the largest first. When the 295-55 rub'ed a bit, we tried the 285.-45 ,but it just did not look as good. Almost the same gap as the 17 inch rims I had before. . So I opted to grind the frame a bit to fit the 295's.
There are a couple of wheel offset tools out there,perhaps see if anyone locally has one that you could test fit.
I really dont want to tell you that some combo will work or not. its really quite a crap shoot

Last edited by Roadworn; 06-08-2013 at 03:11 AM.
Old 05-29-2013, 05:38 PM
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Old 05-29-2013, 06:15 PM
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roscobbc
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Originally Posted by 7t9l82
would 5" work instead of 5.5 ? I'm thinking of going 285-40-18. maybe 9.5 " rim instead of 10"
On rear I have 285/40/18 on 9" rims with 5" backspace - and it just clears frame and fits within outer wheel well - although spirited cornering does seem to allow the inner tyre to 'polish' the frame. 285/40/18 measure up at 27.2" diameter which I believe is very close to stock tyres that would have been fitted new. Mine does sit a little high as it has F41 suspension. Any lower and I would have serious header and exhaust issues!

Last edited by roscobbc; 05-29-2013 at 06:30 PM.
Old 05-29-2013, 06:16 PM
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glackore
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Looks great! Love the brakes too!
Old 05-29-2013, 06:17 PM
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7t9l82
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we have a custom wheel shop in town i am sure they can do some measuring, the bad thing is i was going to order direct from centerline. i guess i can always get the tires local. i would not feel right asking a shop to do that and not buy from them. your car looks great and i agree that the tires do not look like rubber bands, which is normally an issue.
Old 05-31-2013, 10:00 PM
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Those new wheels/tires fill the back 1/4 much nicer
Old 06-01-2013, 12:56 AM
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OMF
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I'm not a fan of 18" wheels on these cars,but....that look and stance you have there looks Right On

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Old 06-04-2013, 06:11 PM
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tektrans
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VERY nice. Love the look!!! What a difference!
I have 18's as well.
Old 06-04-2013, 06:31 PM
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gdh
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Originally Posted by njmax
VERY nice. Love the look!!! What a difference!
I have 18's as well.
Very nice, what brand and width?
Old 06-04-2013, 08:25 PM
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7t9l82
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2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified

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