Just put on a set of 8" Snowflakes and they rub on the tie rods.

Hello all,

I just put a set of 8" Pontiac Snowflakes on my 79 Grand Am with 235/60-15 tires. The tires aren't the problem, the inner edge of the rims (which I just had powder-coated) rub on the outer tie rods and the spindle arm the tie rods attach to. I've seen at least a half dozen of these cars with these wheels on them (even the 1978 Grand Am CA concept car had them) so I never anticipated a problem.

Anyone else had this issue? If so, how did you fix it? My thought is to round off the edge of the wheel (it is right where the bead lip is) and possibly a little off the spindle arm but I'm not shot on grinding on the tie rods. I would guess (put them on last night and was tired, so when they rubbed, I just parked it.) 1/16-1/8" should make them clear.

Thanks in advance for any input, Dave

Thanks for the input. I'm sure it's a backspacing issue but I didn't expect it on these wheels because I've seen several on GAs. Unlike the later wheels used on the 3rd Gen F bodies, these don't have a specific front and rear orientation. I am looking into spacers and whether I could/should grind the contact areas.

-Dave

TURNA said:

If possible why not use the 15x7's up front

Click to expand...

That is probably the easiest way to fix the problem, BUT I only have the 4 8", I've already paid for powder-coating, and put 4 235/60-15 tires on, plus I love the look.
I have decided, in part based on opinions here, that spacers are the smarter way to go.

Thanks, Dave