Wheels size

[70 Ed]

Hi Friends,

I posted a question a few days ago and had excellent answers. Thanks !

Now another question : I don't understand very well the dimensions of the wheels in the american catalogues such as Cragar or American Racing and I wonder the optimal size I can use on my '70 Chevelle in 15 inch diam. : Width ? Offset ? what is "Backside" ? ... anything else ?

And where can I find that type of wheels in Europe, new or second hand ?

Thanks in davance, rgds

Ed

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo 70 Ed,

 

kennst du schon Wheels size (Anzeige)? Dort ist vieles zu finden.

 

US Cars Ersatzteile (Anzeige) | US Cars Zubehör (Anzeige)

[thepolarfoxqx]

2nd hand in europe? my guess is doubtful, i know not many cars like yours ever made it over there, but you are lucky, that is an amazing car, and there is lots of flexibility as to what kind of rims that car will take on it. I wouldn't quite say i'd put anything like American Racing rims on a classic like that, i personally would keep my rims stock, or close in appearance, but hey, whatever does it for you.

[70 Ed]

Lucky ? Of course !

and as I'm the second owner of this car, sold new in nov '69 in Verviers, I met the previous owner and took her for a short drive last year which made her happy. (just to see her old car of course !)

The wheels currently on this car are later models, probably mid seventies and I wich I could come back to original models or wider with a sports look.

Next step : "good" V8.

Chevelles are rare in this country as at that time european cars like alfa romeo, bmw, ford capri, mini and others were cheaper and faster on tracks and for rally racing. Just stangs and camaros were appreciated. (if only they had had good brakes !)

Ed

C:\Mes Docs\Mes images\Ch 70j.JPG

[jterp]

70 Ed-

Sounds like a great car, 70 was an awesome year! What size rims are on your car now? You may be able to go to a taller rim, but as your tire gets taller you have to take into account the proximity to wheel lip. Offset refers to the distance from the edge of the wheel to the section that bolts to the axle... the bigger the offset the further into the wheelwll the wheel sits -- which accomidates a wider tire. It's kind of hard to explain in words.. hope this helped a little bit.

[thepolarfoxqx]

taller tires adversely effect handling though :roll:

[jterp]

it does?

[thepolarfoxqx]

c'mon now, you don't honestly believe M3s, Vettes, anything fast have low profile tires for a reason? Low profile tires have little sidewall to give when you are cornering, and will keep handling very tight and crisp, taller tires have lots of sidewall to flex and pull on the bead, which makes a huge difference in handling.

My E30 went up 4mph through the slalom off wheels and tires alone, i went from 14" rims with 195/65/R14s on them (65 being average height) to 17" rims with 205/40/ZR17s, the 40s being very low profile, it made a world of difference, if you started with the 60 or 65s the chevelle has on there and went to 75 or 80 (which are taller), it would have all the handling crispness of a car riding on jello and the handling prowess of a school bus.

[jterp]

I'm an old car guy -- we don't expect much in the way of handling ..(soon to be changed when i get my m3).. I've had various tires in different heights, 60, 65,70's on my cuda-- i never really noticed much difference in those. I can understand that going from a high profile tire to a low profile would yield some handling difference... but in an old car, a change up or down 1 or 2 sizes will have a very nominal effect on handling

[70 Ed]

for sure lower profile increases the feeling on handling but when you consider the 33 years old suspension and solid rear axle, 4 drum brakes etc be sure the youngster driving (52 !) is very careful.

Taller tires are essentially for a better look.

Ed

[thepolarfoxqx]

for the look of course, i'm just saying, it might be prudent to stay close to the original size specifiied for the car, if they say 65 series, 85s might be iffy, i'm not saying go get a set of those 20-series they're using on saleen S7 and slap them on.

the nice part of tall tires is they give you the ripple wall effect on launch

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo 70 Ed,

 

schau doch mal hier zum Thema Zubehör für US Cars (Anzeige)? Eventuell gibt es dort etwas Passendes.