is this wheel tire combo going to fit?

[stockgp]

this will be on an 82 cutlass. i have a set of these wheels sitting in my garage : http://www.aewheel.com/wheels_detail_specs.cfm?id=57

i know that i will have to have about a 1.5 inch spacer. i know, i'm not crazy about it either. i have them, haven't had luck selling them, and i don't do any hard driving. i'm not worried about spacer failure much.

what i want to know is, with a 1.5" spacer, 255/45 18 tires on the back, maybe 225/60 18 tires on the front, 2" drop on the front and ~2.5" drop in the rear if i'm going to have rubbing issues.

 

[khan0165]

it would be best to first figure out the true backspacing of your wheels... Just use a straight edge on the back of the wheel and measure off it to the base of the mounting surface.

But yes, I assume you will need somewhere between a 1.5" to 2" spacer. Just make sure you use billet allow. And it wouldnt hurt to upgrade to new wheel studs, like ARPs.

But all said and done, that wheel and tire combo should work on your car. But I would not recommend using any more than a 50 series tire... You may not even find large series tires for 18" rims.

 

[stockgp]

Oops. Meant I'd be running 225/40 in the front.

Backspacing, based on my tape measure, is true to the specs on the site.

So that means with a 1.5" spacer, I'll have roughly 4 7/16 backspace.

Still think I'll be ok?

 

[khan0165]

I can't say for sure... but 4 and 7/16 is not too too far off from the stock 4" BS

I've seen alot of guys using 4.5"... so that combo just might work. Personally, I find it wierd... it seems to me the G-body chassis was not built very consistantly at the factory, ha ha.

If 1.5" doesn't work, you may need to use a 2" spacers. It's really something you will need to experiment with. Unfortunately, there's never a definate answer...

 

[gbodyera]

I dont understand the problem people have with backspacing on G Body cars. I put a rim with 6 inch backspacing on my car and the tire just barely touched the frame. Why do most people feel safe at 4.5in bs?

 

[khan0165]

wow, 6" BS ?!?!?

I'm amazed... Even at most extremes, I've heard people rubbing their tires at 5"

Maybe you have a non-stock rearend... I know that swapping in a 12bolt from a A-body is common. Has this been done to your car? If so, that would explain the 6" BS on your wheels. I think the 12bolt rearend was 2" wider than our 10bolt rears.

 

[stockgp]

i guess i should have swapped in the posi a body rear when i was looking for a new center section. i found one not far from me.

still, i would have needed spacers for the front

thing is, i've looked at summit and jegs. it's tough to find spacers bigger than 1 inch. i've found cheap ones on ebay that claim to be made from 6061 t6, but i don't believe it.

anyone know where else i might be able to find some?

 

[stockgp]

I dont understand the problem people have with backspacing on G Body cars. I put a rim with 6 inch backspacing on my car and the tire just barely touched the frame. Why do most people feel safe at 4.5in bs?

that's incredible. the wheels i have are almost 6 inch backspace and i can't even get the mounting flange to touch the studs. the rear lip hits the shoch way before it gets close

 

[khan0165]

i guess i should have swapped in the posi a body rear when i was looking for a new center section. i found one not far from me.

still, i would have needed spacers for the front

thing is, i've looked at summit and jegs. it's tough to find spacers bigger than 1 inch. i've found cheap ones on ebay that claim to be made from 6061 t6, but i don't believe it.

anyone know where else i might be able to find some?

swapping in a 12bolt from an A-body isn't as easy as I made it sound... And since I'm not an expert on this, I won't try to explain. ha ha

6061 T6 is pretty good...

I think I know why you are having trouble finding "spacers". You see, spacers are usually just spacers... What you're looking for are "adaptors", which have their own studs pressed in.

These you bolt to your hub, and then the wheel you bolt to the adaptors. Usually they are made for mounting wheels with different bolt patterns... for example, mounting Ford wheels onto a GM (4.5" to 4.75" bolt pattern).

But, they also make same bolt pattern adaptors (4.75" to 4.75") for large size spacers like 2". These are for application like your's.

Again, avoid anything that is advertised as "universal fit"... these usually have "oval" holes, and are not safe to use. Also, avoid "cast" spacers, which have been made from sand casting. These will shatter (because casting creates a very brittle metal), and are VERY dangerous... Specially when you're looking for a 2" spacer. Only use billet, like 6061 alloy... because this has been machined out of a proper chunk of alloy.

I'll do some research and find out where you can buy some proper adaptors... stay tuned

 

[stockgp]

oh i see. thanks for the info