63_GrandSport

I have found a set of wheels for my 78. I want to put 18 in the rear and 16 up front. I want to fit 9in wide in the rear and 7in wide up front. I am sure that 18x9 will fit but I am not sure the back spacing. I dont want to change the trailing arms or anything like that so if I cant fit 9's then I will have to go with 8's.
Thanks
Adam

3JsVette

Why do you want to go with 16s and 18s? 17s and 18s work but 16s really limit tire choises. You have to think about sidewall profiles also. You don't want more sidewall in the front than the rear. There are cars here running 17x8s with 4" backspace and a 245/45 tire in the front and a 18x9.5 with a 5" backspace in the rear with a 275/40 tire. If you are going to go with a 9" wheel you can still use the 5" backspace or even 4.75" if you want. If you error slightly on backspace it's always better to error on the side of a little too much since you can always "adjust" with a small spacer. Do a search using "17s" and then another using "18s". There is LOTS of reading on this.

63_GrandSport

I have thought about using 17s in the front. I just wanted to have it look lower in the front but I think you are right about the 17s and 18s. I will check to see if this will work and if so I will put it up on here. Thanks for your help.

70 LS1

I would think 16s with 18s would be too much of a difference front to rear.

Here is a pic of 17x8 fronts with 18x9.5" rears.

3JsVette

Just keep in mind by going with a shorter (16") overall diameter front tire to make the car look lower you have to go 2" shorter in diameter to lower the front 1". The real negative to that is while the front end is lower the gap between the top of the tire and fender gets larger and is definitely not the look you're after.

enkeivette

Do 17s and 19s. 16s are too small to make the staggered look, look cool. You need a similar profile on each tire to make it look not stupid, and to get enough ride height in the front you can't have a low pro tire, but you'll need one in the back with the bigger rims.

I fit 19x19.5 in the back. You can go about 3/4 further back I think it was, so if you only want 9" wide rims, get some 1/2 further back to fill out the wheel well a little bit. Being, 4 1/2 of backspacing.

jb78L-82

I too was looking for more of a staggered look on my 78 since all the 78/79's have a tendency to squat in the rear. I achieved this appearance by using 17 inch SLP rims (they are made for the C3 and require no modifications at all) by running 255/45/17 ZR tires in the front combined with new Midamerica replacement 550 coils that are 1 inch lower than stock springs and 255/50/17 ZR tires in the rear (this size preserves the rear end gear ratio of 3.70, a smaller tire in the rear would numerically raise the rear end ratio which I did not want to do) which are the same overall diameter as the OEM 255/60/15 tires. The difference in diameter between the 255/45 in front and the 255/50 tires in the rear is also 1 inch. The total reduction in the front height is 2 inch, combined with the fiberglass monospring in the back which raises the height of the rear by about 0.5 - 1 inch, for a total reduction in the front to 2.5-3.0 inches. See picture below! Hope that helps.

http://s894.photobucket.com/albums/a...3.jpg&newest=1

63_GrandSport

Are those 18x9.5's with stock trailing arms? If so what is the back spacing on them? I think this is the combo I want to go with. Any help with the back spacing would be awsome.
Thanks
Adam

70 LS1

Rears are 18x9.5 with 4.875" backspacing on stock trailing arms. There is plenty of clearance and if I had it to do again, I would go with 5-3/8" backspacing to tuck them under a little more.

63_GrandSport

Thanks I may go a with 7 wide up front. I am working on painting my car now so wheels are next. Thanks for your help.

glarior

I just went through the whole tire/wheel setup on my 80.... it was hell and was not cheap. I had 18x9, 5.25 backspace, -7mm offset with 275/40-18 tires. Had to relocated the emergency brake bracket and the tires were a finger width away from my trailing arm on the inside. Also, appeared that it may have hit the frame whent he suspension compresses. I just took the wheel off and wasted 225 bucks. I ended up going to 18x8's with 255/45-18 all around with 0mm offset. Did not have to relocate the emergency brake bracket and only lost about half inch worth of tread on the ground. Keep in mind clearance for the brake caliper.

Also, if you have the steeroids steering kit you have to keep that in mind too. I tried 5 different wheels until I settled on a particular setup. Remember, most places say once you mount a tire... you own that wheel lol. Think I might turn that 225 dollar wheel into a clock for shop wall....

Best of luck!