ghr4news

Have seen several posts on upgrading to 17" wheels from the stock 16" and in my case its for an '86 Corvette. Like most, I too decided to make the change, not necessarily for appearance, but more because there is a broader selection of 17" tires than the 16's. Planning on getting the 275-40x17's as that size best matches the 255's. The main reason for the change is; as most of you have found out, the 255's are getting harder to come by and because there is a larger volume of 17's to choose from, pricing is much lower, even for quality tires.

Now my question(s): Eckler's seems to be the only one that sells a full kit they advertise was specifically made for the switchover. Has anyone purchased the kit and what was quality like, are you satisfied with its performance, any misgivings? What size adapters are these?
The link below is to the Eckler's site.
If anyone knows of others who might sell the 19mm adapter kit that I need, please advice.

Thanks,
George

http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1984-1988.html

RollaMo-LT4

You don't necessarily need to use adapters just because you want to go to a 17" wheel.
The adapters are needed if you want to use a specific wheel that might have the wrong offset for your car.
Example: Putting a late model factory Corvette Wheel on your early model car.

However if you don't already have the wheels, you could look into purchasing the correct offset wheels to begin with.

Do some searching. You used to be able to find a good selection of wheels in the correct offset for your '86

If not, those adapters are the way to go.
But again, you might be able to find them cheaper somewhere besides Eckler's.

c4cruiser

Adapters don't necessarily have to be used if you are going to put later yest C4 wheels on your '86.

The early C4 wheels had an offset of 38mm. The later 17" C4 wheel had an offset of 56mm. That 18mm difference is 3/4". The later wheels will sit further inside the wheelwell by that 3/4"

The later C4 17" wheels will bolt on and clear the calipers. The 275/40-17 tire has nearly identical dimensions to the older 255/50-16 tire.

I had tried the later C4 wheels on my '87 and I didn't encounter any problems with things like tires rubbing on the frame or fiberglass at a full-lock turn. What I did see is that 3/4" difference was clearly visible when I looked at the car from some 10' away; the tires did appear to be further inside the wheelwells.

If you want a ZR-1-style 17x9.5" wheel, AFS Wheels (ebay) has some very nice wheels that have the proper 38mm offset for your car. No adapters would be needed with these wheels. I use their wheels for street, autocross and track days and have never had a problem with them.

cumbercr

The correct offset is the way to go. The ZR-1 wheel is also available in a 17x11 so you could run 315/35-17 tires on the rear. Those tires are the correct diameter to go with the 275/40-17s.

leesvet

you can use the stock sawblade with its different offset and be appearance normal if you use a 3/4" or 18mm spacer/adaptor to push the rim off the hub that much. There is OTHER reason to do this as well. The wheel/caliper clearance becomes an issues with certain 17" rims, not all but some. The rim is conical shaped, so the more its pushed away from the hub face the more room there is for calipers and rotors.

I used 3/4" adaptors up front, 1" in rear and it looks perfect. Each pair cost appox $60 from EZ-accessory co. Maybe less if you catch a sale. Solid billet and no problems in 3 yrs of hard service.

TBSS/85vette

There are multiple sellers on eBay with the correct offsets for the early C4. I just put wheels that are 18x9.5 C6 Z06 style that have a +40 offset on my 1985. Tire size is 275/35 and they were a perfect fit, no adapters needed and that actually is .5 less than the 255/50 16. There are many offerings for 17's also, unless you have already acquired a set of OEM.

QCVette

Go with the 3/4" or 1".

I had 1.25" and used them on my '85 with '94 sawblades. The fronts (8.5" wheels) are ok with the 1.25" adapter, but would be too far out with 9.5" wheels. The rears are ok with the 9.5" wheels but they are all the way out as far as I would use.

The 1" or 0.75" would be a better choice.

Here is what the 1.25" looked like on my '85.

peyc2

I have an 85 with AFS ZR 1 replica wheels. 17x 11 on rear and 17 x 9.5 on the front. They are the correct offset,, hence no adapters. Nitro 555 all around 275 40 in front and 315 35 in rear. Try to stay away from adapters, one more point of failure. I know many people will say they have had them for years with no ill effect, but I would prefer not to find out with a wheel bearing failure, or hub due to the adapters putting stress on them from the offset.

pushrod-v8

I used those on my old c4 with 17'' c4 wheels. No problems at all. But if you can find the correct offset without using adapters, then that is ideal.

leesvet

I did try a wider spacer on the rears, very briefly. The first time it rained and I saw the rooster tail the rear threw up blinding everyone around me, I took 'em off and got the tire back inside the wheel wells again...where they belong.