Wheel Poll On My Mission to Turn and Stop

[Canon_Mutant]

Well, you start looking hard enough and there are some other possibilities . . . Unlike the $600 Sabers, these are in the $175-$225 range.

No matter what I do, I will have to make them look like they belong on a 442 but I am really liking these U110s. They also have a gunmetal gray version [below] that might look good on my gray/silver '87 [??].

 

[xitabl442]

Those both look sweet. But personally, I would paint the parts where the lug nuts go to anchor it to the OE design. Who makes and sells those?

 

[Injectedcutty]

Those both look sweet. But personally, I would paint the parts where the lug nuts go to anchor it to the OE design. Who makes and sells those?

Not to hijack the thread, but those are Us Mags rambler's.....i too love the look and just recently sold off my 15" centerlines to my brother so i could upgrade to 17's as i would like to get bigger brakes and better handling down the road. My new wheels are getting delivered this week yippee!

 

[Injectedcutty]

Well, you start looking hard enough and there are some other possibilities . . . Unlike the $600 Sabers, these are in the $175-$225 range.

No matter what I do, I will have to make them look like they belong on a 442 but I am really liking these U110s. They also have a gunmetal gray version [below] that might look good on my gray/silver '87 [??].

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Canon, I've been following your thread since I've been in the market for 17's. I love the rambler's and seriously considered them. If it helps, here is what i have getting delivered this week for my 87 cutlass. Prolly gonna paint the black to match but wanna see how they look first with my charcoal metallic car once painted. These are american racing vn501's....17x7 front, 17x8 rear and planning on a 225/50zr17 and 255/45zr17 front and rear. Not to hijack but hope it helps!!!!
Scott.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Back 10 years ago when I built the engine/transmission, suspension and brake mods were rare as were ANY wheels I would consider putting on a 442. Almost overwhelming now that I am looking again but nice to have so many nice options now.

And then I found these yesterday [also US Mags] . . . but they are even higher than the $600 per wheel Sabers. With a 442 center cap, these would look amazing!

Here is a [literally] 30 second mark up adding a 442 center . . .

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Those both look sweet. But personally, I would paint the parts where the lug nuts go to anchor it to the OE design. Who makes and sells those?

Funny, I was going that route too and then thought about being same color scheme but just a little different. Either way, I like them. Even the gray ones would look good at least on my gray/silver.

InjectedCutty: I have seen and considered those 501s too. Since I want to add the gold highlight to whatever wheels I get and 442 center caps I may have to fab myself, I thought that might be too much gold and a more difficult center to work with.

The Hurst wheels I started all of this with are almost an afterthought now because I think they would look OK but again I now think there is just too much gold on them too.

 

[oldmansmonte]

My opinion I say don't do it.

It seems like you've come across these online a few times and you're trying to convince yourself it's worth the money. I've done this before too. I know we all want new stuff and new stuff to talk to our car buddies about.

The stock Monte Carlo LS came with 185/70(or 75?/14's. I owned 2 of these cars. Let me just say thank god the car came stock with a 140(or 130 depending on year) HP 4.3 with 2:73's because this pizza cutters barely held the road. I upgraded to 225?60/15 fronts and 235/60/15 rears with Billstein HD shocks installed and it's night and day. The car is stuck to the pavement and I can handle it with tons of confidence. I would only need an improvement if I intended to run times at a road course. So unless you plan on running a hard track day, I can imagine nice tires(that I'm sure you have) on your stock 15" Rally wheels handle above and beyond what's needed for street driving and occasionally running the quarter mile in a G-Body car. Plus you said you love that factory look.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Well, thanks for the input and don't think I am somehow offended or chastising you for expressing another view because I am NOT!

But, your premise that this is all about just getting new toys to show and tell with others is [at least with me] completely false. Other than the interaction here discussing it all and frankly just sharing what I've found with others that might be in the market too, my desire for larger wheels is purely two fold:

1) The factory SSIIIs are junk. Always have been. They look almost new, just like the rest of the only 28K miles car, but you cannot spin balance them worth a damn [unless you go buy your own $500 lug-centric adapter and even then it is somewhat hit/miss] AND my 245/60/15 BFGs I just got are quite splashy, only S-rated [hell my ATR tires on my Tacoma are T-rated], take a ton of balance weight and we removed the 111mph ECU limitation when I put in the big block.

2) I am upgrading suspension and brakes so I can actually start getting 500lb.ft. to the ground, do some occasional auto-x for fun [so kinda need to both turn and stop] and that will likely take larger wheels to get higher quality rubber.

Though semi-retired and blessed to be living comfortably, I can assure you I don't just have money burning a hole in my pocket nor am I looking for cool new stuff to share on my nonexistent Facebook page. Clearly, if that were the case, I would already own a $2400 plus caps and shipping set of those 17" Sabers.

I am just exploring wheel/tire options along with all the new suspension and brake toys that are now available that were not even 10 years ago. Which ones are mandatory, preferred, optional, and completely not necessary to get the car to hook up, turn, and stop?

With the new wheels/tires part, I have clearly moved beyond "completely not necessary" teetering past "optional" at the moment to the point that they are seeming certainly "preferred" if not "mandatory" to get where I want to go. I still "hope" to get the suspension and brake mods done so the car will still accommodate the SSIIIs [like limiting to 12" rotors] so I can still go back to that factory look if I ever want to? Now, if someone convinces me that I will never stop good enough with 12" rotors and 4 piston calipers, then the decision to move to larger wheels gets easy rather quickly. That hasn't happened yet . . . check back tomorrow, though!

 

[Injectedcutty]

Well, thanks for the input and don't think I am somehow offended or chastising you for expressing another view because I am NOT!

But, your premise that this is all about just getting new toys to show and tell with others is [at least with me] completely false. Other than the interaction here discussing it all and frankly just sharing what I've found with others that might be in the market too, my desire for larger wheels is purely two fold:

1) The factory SSIIIs are junk. Always have been. They look almost new, just like the rest of the only 28K miles car, but you cannot spin balance them worth a damn [unless you go buy your own $500 lug-centric adapter and even then it is somewhat hit/miss] AND my 245/60/15 BFGs I just got are quite splashy, only S-rated [hell my ATR tires on my Tacoma are T-rated], take a ton of balance weight and we removed the 111mph ECU limitation when I put in the big block.

2) I am upgrading suspension and brakes so I can actually start getting 500lb.ft. to the ground, do some occasional auto-x for fun [so kinda need to both turn and stop] and that will likely take larger wheels to get higher quality rubber.

Though semi-retired and blessed to be living comfortably, I can assure you I don't just have money burning a hole in my pocket nor am I looking for cool new stuff to share on my nonexistent Facebook page. Clearly, if that were the case, I would already own a $2400 plus caps and shipping set of those 17" Sabers.

I am just exploring wheel/tire options along with all the new suspension and brake toys that are now available that were not even 10 years ago. Which ones are mandatory, preferred, optional, and completely not necessary to get the car to hook up, turn, and stop?

With the new wheels/tires part, I have clearly moved beyond "completely not necessary" teetering past "optional" at the moment to the point that they are seeming certainly "preferred" if not "mandatory" to get where I want to go. I still "hope" to get the suspension and brake mods done so the car will still accommodate the SSIIIs [like limiting to 12" rotors] so I can still go back to that factory look if I ever want to? Now, if someone convinces me that I will never stop good enough with 12" rotors and 4 piston calipers, then the decision to move to larger wheels gets easy rather quickly. That hasn't happened yet . . . check back tomorrow, though!

Well stated....i definitely agree with you on the added perks of upgrading to 17's. My cutlass is sitting on the factory rallye's with the normal bfg white letter radials that EVERYBODY has....just while the resto gets completed (in bodywork and paint stage now). I ran with the 15" centerline telstars for years and originally bought them because i didnt see any cars in louisville that had them, until i bought them and the 1st show i went to i literally saw at least a handful of gbodies alone running them! I love doing something different like yourself. I love them sabers and looked at them but too expensive for sure. Also, foose makes a wheel called the four42 that would look killer on our cars but at $830/wheel it's just ridiculous!!! At the end of the day it's about what you want for your cutlass and how to make it look awesome, handle great and stop well. A set of wheels can make or break the look and i agree with many it's one of the hardest decisions when upgrading for sure! Keep us all posted and i will keep following.
Scott.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

My car is lowered 1" on 17s if you want to see the stance. My wheels out back are 17x9 though, had to roll the lip of the qtr for the 275s.
The wheels are C67s from Coy's Wheels. I painted the gold, they were grey. http://www.coyswheel.com/coys-c67.html
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I meant to ask you what kind of tires are you running and are you happy with them?

Thx!