pat...if you can get a set of steel wheels to try them you'll notice how much faster the suspension works and how much more responsive the car is with a lighter wheel.
Wheels on my malibu (Poll)
- Thread starter patmckinneyracing
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Hey Pat,
have you looked into F-body 16x8 mag wheels? Either the IROCs or the GTAs?
I am running stock form 245/50R16s on my IROC wheels, and the car handles great. I do have good Z rated BFG KDW tires, and they do wonders for grip. I get slight rub in the front with 245s, but wide tires like that really help the under-steer around tight corners.
You could even step up to 255/50R16s if you want to go wider. There are also selections of 16" and 17" wheels from 4th gen F-body and Corvettes, like the WS6 17s or the old ZR1 Corvette 17s. The only thing to watch with these later models is the backspacing. These cars operated on huge 5" or 6" backspacing, and here you may run into using huge 2" spacers.
have you looked into F-body 16x8 mag wheels? Either the IROCs or the GTAs?
I am running stock form 245/50R16s on my IROC wheels, and the car handles great. I do have good Z rated BFG KDW tires, and they do wonders for grip. I get slight rub in the front with 245s, but wide tires like that really help the under-steer around tight corners.
You could even step up to 255/50R16s if you want to go wider. There are also selections of 16" and 17" wheels from 4th gen F-body and Corvettes, like the WS6 17s or the old ZR1 Corvette 17s. The only thing to watch with these later models is the backspacing. These cars operated on huge 5" or 6" backspacing, and here you may run into using huge 2" spacers.
I'm running 245-50-16 as well on Mullens alloy rims and yes they sure do help with cornering..eibach springs, 1.41 GTA bar and Afco shocks help out too
I think the ones you have now look pretty good. But if I had to pick the soft 8s or the torino wheels, id go with the torino wheels. The soft 8's are pretty inexpensive tho, but i believe they're steel so they'd be pretty heavy.
The wheels I'm running now are 15x7 and I'm running firestone potenza tires and handle and grip like a dream. I'm using moog 5660 springs and cut a coil and a quarter out to drop the front suspension. I have every amount of g body bracing and sway bars, rebuilt all front steering components and bushings, and put in a new monte carlo quick steer ratio box. The thing handles great but I think I am considering putting drop springs in the rear to drop the rear end to gain better handling. This is how the suspension is now:
I am also going to be picking up an ss spoiler to put on the front of the car as well, which will help keep air out from underneath the car. Might also be moving my exhaust to come out in front of the rear tire cause all my exhaust is catching in the bumper fillers on my rear bumper and making a bit of a mess.
One last thing, when you compare backspacing say between a wheel with 2 or 3 inch backspacing compared to a wheel with 4.5 or 5 inch backspacing, does the wheel with 2 or 3 inch backspacing have a deeper dished wheel? While the center of the wheel with 4.5 or 5 inch backspacing is not as dished as the other wheel?
I am also going to be picking up an ss spoiler to put on the front of the car as well, which will help keep air out from underneath the car. Might also be moving my exhaust to come out in front of the rear tire cause all my exhaust is catching in the bumper fillers on my rear bumper and making a bit of a mess.
One last thing, when you compare backspacing say between a wheel with 2 or 3 inch backspacing compared to a wheel with 4.5 or 5 inch backspacing, does the wheel with 2 or 3 inch backspacing have a deeper dished wheel? While the center of the wheel with 4.5 or 5 inch backspacing is not as dished as the other wheel?
I believe the Torino wheels are Coys c-67. They come in several different finishes. I think they are the best choice of the ones your looking at, but also the pricest. I would go with the Machined finish ones. The black would be too much and the chrome too bright. Too much gunmetal wouldn't go with your stripes IMO. http://www.coyswheel.com/coys-c67.html
drogg1 said:
Not always. The Coys that I'm running now for example are offered in 4 or 4.5 backspace. The lip or "dish" is the same on either rim. They just increase the thickness on the mounting side to change them. I'm sure plenty of other rims are that way too. Oh and I'm running 4.5 bs.
I too run the Coy's C5s on my Regal. I have 17x8s all the way around with 4.5" backspace and 235/45 and 255/45 tires. It is lowered on 2" ground force drop spindles and Eibach Pro lowering springs, it is pretty well slammed in the front. I will tell you I have no rubbing issues in the rear but if you hit a heavy bump, the front will rub the very outside edge of the tires. This can be corrected with either a camber adjustment towards the negative side(tire leans in towards the center of the car at the top) or dropping down to a 40 series sidewall, which will decrease the tire height by 1inch total (half inch radius[each side]). In other words, backspacing has a lot to do with tire selection, suspension mods, wheel well shape, etc.
That's a very good question,
and it really depends on the design of the wheel. Most steel wheels are 2piece welded, so to change backspacing, they simply weld the centre piece farther in or out, giving that "deep dish" effect with smaller backspacing wheels.
With alloys it's different. Quite often, it's too expensive to redesign a wheel, if you're just changing backspacing. So what they do is add thickness to the mounting surface.
For example, the 17" ZR1 wheels I used to have come in a range of offsets from 36mm to 58mm. To do this, they simply add thickness to the mounting point. So you will notice that the lug "holes" on the 58mm offset wheels are deeper than the 36mm offset wheel.
You'll also find this on the 16" IROC wheels. They were marked "Front" and "Back" because they had different backspacing. The fronts were 5.25" and rears were 4.75" backspacing. When you look at the wheel visually, you will notice that the 5.25" BS wheel's lug holes are much deeper in than the 4.75" BS wheel.
Now some companies aren't so lazy, so they actually spend the money to create different cast molds for each wheel. Weld Draglites are properly offset to give that "deep dish" look.
hope that makes sense...
and it really depends on the design of the wheel. Most steel wheels are 2piece welded, so to change backspacing, they simply weld the centre piece farther in or out, giving that "deep dish" effect with smaller backspacing wheels.
With alloys it's different. Quite often, it's too expensive to redesign a wheel, if you're just changing backspacing. So what they do is add thickness to the mounting surface.
For example, the 17" ZR1 wheels I used to have come in a range of offsets from 36mm to 58mm. To do this, they simply add thickness to the mounting point. So you will notice that the lug "holes" on the 58mm offset wheels are deeper than the 36mm offset wheel.
You'll also find this on the 16" IROC wheels. They were marked "Front" and "Back" because they had different backspacing. The fronts were 5.25" and rears were 4.75" backspacing. When you look at the wheel visually, you will notice that the 5.25" BS wheel's lug holes are much deeper in than the 4.75" BS wheel.
Now some companies aren't so lazy, so they actually spend the money to create different cast molds for each wheel. Weld Draglites are properly offset to give that "deep dish" look.
hope that makes sense...
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