LS1-Corvette00

Hey gang,

I am no where near the "chasis/suspension/engine" phase of my 68's mod/
over restoration process but I have things planned out in my head on how
i want the car to look , handle and feel.

When I get to the Engine/Drivetrain/Suspension I have a new 450 Horse
350 going in, mated to a TH350 that will be totaly rebuilt with new clutch
packs,band, bearings, seals, 2500 Stall and a mild street/strip valvebody.
The suspension will probably be Mid America's Road Race kit with the Fiber
Mono Rear leaf and tubalar Heim Ended strut rods and camber rods. Bilsteins
all around and dropped about 1.5" lower than stock. I want to run the offset
trailing arms and I would like to run 20" x 10" Rears and 20" x 8.5" fronts
if these will fit...

Anyone here have 20's on yet? I would like to see pics.. (I have seen Steve's
Merlin on 19's)

I am thinking about Torque Thrust II's in all chrome or with argent centers
or Torque Thrust D's in all chrome if I can get those in 20's. I am not ruling
out all of the new Centerline offerings either.

Am I nuts?

I want this sum bitch to outhandle the 2000 Z51 Coupe parked beside it
and I want people to look at it and go "DAMN!"

:)

e3pres

I saw a pic of a C3 with 20" wheels on it. I thought it looked :U! I think if you're going for better handling 17" would be plenty. TTII's are nice. If you're going for looks, do whatever you like. It's your car.

LS1-Corvette00

The right rim and the right "stance" can make or break a car's look. Perhaps
you just saw a poor example.

SmokedTires

The C3 pictured with the 20" wheels looked like it was at stock height which gave it a 4x4 look. Lowered I think it would have looked MUCH better. GroovyJay just got 20" wheels for his C3, but he now has to wait for the tires to arrive :( . You start clearing a lot of suspension parts with the bigger wheels, because things can now fit inside the wheel. If your going with offset t-arms, I don't think you'll have a problems fitting these wheels to your car, under your stock fendors :) .

terryrudy

I think from a handling standpoint 16-17" wheels are about optimal. I read in a mag a few months ago where they had a professional driver take a car around the track with different size tires to see what his lap time would be. They would stick on 15,16,17,18 inch wheels (unbenownst to him). The order of best lap times went like this: (slower to faster) 15 - 18 - 17 - 16. (though diff between 17 and 16 were really small).

Of course thats not to say that if I saw 20"ers on a C3, I wouldn't say DAMN! :yesnod:
-terry

gkull

Before you do anything. I would price out the cost and availiabilty of correct size (width & Dia.) and ratings of tires. That's what kept me from getting getting 18 or 19's. At the last Vegas auto show they had clear up to 23 inch rims for ultra sports. For all out - less sidewall is the way to go if you have equal tire compounds.

I managed to blow two front tires and destroy my front 17 inch rims from road debrea (sp?). With even shorter side walls the ride and possibility go up even higher.

LS1-Corvette00

Gk,

I will most certainly research this as much as humanly possible before I
lay out the few thousand that it will require. I want the highest performance
tire I can get without sacrificing wet traction. Something like a shaved BFG
R1 or similar Yoko wouldn't be feasible. I want something like BFG G-Force KD's
or similar.

I am sure 20" Tire choices are very slim at the moment but with more manufacturers
installing "dubbs" from the factory. I would imagine they will become much
more main stream.

By the way.. Awesome ride..

Fevre

You shouldn't have to worry about affording them. Just sell white powder to all the crack heads who will be approaching you thinking you are a dealer.

1Bad69

...

norvalwilhelm

I was going to make the switch from 15 inch wheels to 18 inch. The price of a good 305 15 tire was $85 CDN. If I wanted 295 18 tires he had a few instock for $325 each. If I went the 335 18 route it would cost me $825 per tire. The cost of the rims was almost the same 15 through 18. For this price in tires I stuck with the 15 inch.
This picture was posted a while ago. A C3 with 20 inch tires.

gkull

I don't even think to much about pouring down rain. When you buy the ultra wide Z-rated tires with AA traction A temp. They put nice deep rain grooves. Lateral G-force is less in the wet, but forward traction is only marginally down. It's actually more fun because you know your not smoking your tires. I never get more than 5000 or so miles on 180-220 treadware tires

These 20's are going on your "00" right? The C-5 guys have to have somebody that has them.

Turbo-Jet

now that aint right...

sorry, IMO

KorbenDallas

That example is normally used to ward off C3ers wanting to put 20" rims on there. IMO? :U

Stingy74

Usually when one put's larger diameter wheels on his car you get a shorter sidewall that would equal your previous tire height. When you get into 20" wheels I don't think it's humanly possible to get a tire that's 26" tall or less. The sidewall would be like an elastic band. The C3 posted above is probably as low as it will ever get so there's now way to get rid of the 4 wheel drive look.

LS1-Corvette00

Okay if those are really 20's then I guess I am going with 18's :)

But for some odd reason that looks like a photochop job.. Those look more
like 26's than 20's!

rambler323

I think that phenomenon is a function of an optical illusion: it is rare to see a C3 with rims that large. In fact the norm is like 15 or 16 right? So the sudden increase in size plays tricks on the eye and makes the wheels seem MUCH larger than normal.

Personally, I'm not a fan of 20's, IMO they give the car an almost unnatural look (new rams are a slight exception due to their already massive size). For me, 17 or 18 is about as big as I'd go. But, its not my money or my car, so just do whatever makes you happiest. Good luck with whatever you choose.
:seeya

74-Roadster

FYI, That photo was in a recent issue of Corvette Fever. Hmmm? Several members have gone to 17's or even 18's and those sizes definately look the best IMO. Look at Gkulls car. . . it just looks right! Better than when it came from GM.

Jvette73

IMHO, and with all due respect, although there may be performance advantages with 20" wheels, they would not look that good on a C3.

PrarieShark

It looks like they stuck wagon wheels on that car I have seen a number of erly C3s with 17ni wheels and I love the look.

theandies

:U :U :U
Looks like a Ricers got a hold of this one. Probally took out the 350 and put some VTEC piece of crap in it and now thinks its fast. What a shame. I like the look of a tall sidewall. I wouldn't go ovet 17 if it were me.
JMO
John