Revisiting from last Fall... Tires and Rims, The Last Major Purchase For The Wagon

[mikester]

Getting down to the end. Finally.
Now that the suspension is pretty much done its time to figure out what Im buying as far as tires and wheels. Ive always liked the AR Torque Thrusts. Ive also looked at Rev and Ridler wheels. Think I'd prefer polished over chrome since the Draglites have held up really well over the years. Most likely going with 17".
What are you guys using as far as size and BS ?
And tires ? Ive got 26" to the bottom of the front wheel opening. Dont want anything that will rub the inners. I saw some guys running 45 and 50 series on their Chevelles the other night. The 81 was easy. 215 65 15s on the front on a 6" wheel and 275 60s on the back on an 8". Its been a long time so Im going to check the BS on the rears but the fronts being a narrow wheel theres plenty of room.
What fits ?

 

[Injectedcutty]

My setup is as follows on my Cutlass:

Front-17x7 w/ 3.5" BS and 225/50ZR17 tire. Could go 235 and be fine.

Rear-17x8 w 4.5" BS and 255/45ZR17 tire.

I have zero rub issues, center of fender opening is 26-1/2" from ground at rear, 27" at front (hoping to address over winter).

 

[Streetbu]

😂 JK!

 

[mikester]

Anyone else ?

 

[melloelky]

I'm not sure if there's a difference wagon/el camino/sedan but I'm running a 17x7 4.5 backspace 225-50-17 in ft and 18x9 275-45-18 4.5 backspacing RR.all bfg sneakers.those are the widest I'm comfortable running all around.

 

[565bbchevy]

On my 86' Regal I have 17" x 8.5" all around with about -10 mm offset and Nitto 275/50 rears and 235/50 fronts, the car is lowered slightly but other than that no special mods on the suspension and no rubbing anywhere. I also like taller tires that fill up the wheel wells.

 

[Ribbedroof]

Had 17x8 (4.5"b/s)with 245/45 all the way around on one of the Bonneville wagons, the other Bonneville and Malibu wagons have run 245/50-16s on First -gen ZQ8s as shown on avatar

I'll mention again that the Malibu is somewhat limited on diameter due to the more squared-off wheel opening as compared to some of the other bodies...especially Regals and Montes.

 

[mclellan83]

 

[mikester]

On my 86' Regal I have 17" x 8.5" all around with about -10 mm offset and Nitto 275/50 rears and 235/50 fronts, the car is lowered slightly but other than that no special mods on the suspension and no rubbing anywhere. I also like taller tires that fill up the wheel wells.

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Your car looks great but as ribbedroof mentioned the Malibu wheel opening is slightly different. I didnt really think about that until he just brought it up. Maybe from the factory all G bodies all shared the same tire and wheel size but now that the wagons been dropped 2" so now Im honestly not sure whats going to fit.
The 81 was so easy. The wagon, not so much. One thing that didnt have to deal with back when I bought the Draglites is offset. It was width and BS. Now every manufacturer lists offset. Whats up with that ???

 

[motorheadmike]

On a Malibu I'd do these in a heartbeat:

5 Spoke Rally Staggered Wheel Kit

YEARONE Classic Car Parts for American Muscle Cars | Barracuda Cuda Challenger Charger Chevelle Road Runner Camaro Super Bee Dart Duster Valiant Firebird GTO Cutlass 442 Mustang Nova GM Truck Skylark GS Monte Carlo El Camino Mopar Chevy

www.yearone.com

245s front/275s rear.