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Wheel Choices for Aftermarket?


ReattaTType

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What is the largest wheel our Reattas could use on them. I am thinking 17" but I do not know if 18" will fit or not. I am doing the LS4 swap in the Reatta and am wondering as I may use the GXP brakes which are quite large so they may require having the 18" wheels. Thanks. Let me know rim sizes and even tire sizes. Thanks.

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Guest F14CRAZY

For a few days I ran 18''s on my coupe. I forgot the size but they were pretty skinny...40? No rubbing but the thing is with a wheel that big the car looks a little lifted

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Guest Stormin

I agree with F14s comment on the 18s. They do make the car look a little lifted. I just installed a set on mine yesterday and it looks great with the possible exception of the raised look. My wheels are actually 18x8 in the front (42 mm offset) with 18x8.5s in the back(37mm offset). The wheels came off of a rear wheel drive car that actually runs the correct size front tire that I needed to keep the speedo correct(225x45/18). The rears on this car are 245x45/18, which I also decided to run.I took some pics on my camera phone,but the battery is recharging as I write this. I will hopefully get the pics loaded into here this afternoon. Then.....we will see if anybody recognizes my new wheels grin.gif?

Norm

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Guest Stormin

Thank you grin.gif. WE thought so too ( had to satisfy her...ya know). Good guess. I actually don't remember the year of the wheels. We haven't really had a chance to drive it much but what little we have has been a pleasant surprise. Much smoother than I had expected. I wanted 45 series tires to get as much sidewall as we could get.I know a lot of the purists may not approve, but the one who drives this car daily.....just luvs them. Now I have to modify those Nissan center emblems.I have a set of 3 inch bullets on one of my other rides....may go that route.

Thanks again..Norm

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Guest Stormin

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TommyH</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nice. Pix of the blue car in the garage, por favor! </div></div>

That ole thing grin.gif? Thanks.....still under construction. 58 Eldo convert (Biarritz) kustom.Only 815 ever made.Norm

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Guest Stormin

Oh yea....one more thing on the Z wheels, well 2. The center hub is too small for the Reatta and the bolt pattern is 114.3. I had read all the posts about the 114.3 wheels being used and was still a little concerned. When I realized the hubs would have to be opened up I figured that was the time to correct the pattern also. An acquaintance here in Socal (MC Motorsports) just happens to be in that business. I dropped the wheels off and we discussed what I wanted done.He was already aware that most GM FWD had a 70.3 hub size (which I didn't know until searching on here grin.gif). In one operation they increased the hub diameter and in the other they redrilled and tapered the bolt holes.They came out perfect, not a problem installing them. Just a little more info. Hope it helps.

Norm

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Guest F14CRAZY

I was about to suggest Solstice but maybe I'm mixing them up with something else anyway

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Guest Faust

If the Reatta is 5 X 114, they should take the Mustang "Bullit" wheels, same appearance. Also available with polished spokes.

I have them on my Mercury. I don't have a picture so I grabbed an identical car off the 'net.

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The Reatta is 5 x 115, wich, from center is .3mm off from a 5x114.3. Althogh a mustang/114.3mm will bolt up but may cause other issues, such as vibration and lug nuts comming lose. On the other hand people have used them with no side effects.

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Guest Stormin

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dnt</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Stormin,

Very nice setup. Can you give those of us with "inquiring minds" an approximation of what that ended-up costing?

Thanks </div></div>

Weeelll.....I did actually spend a lil bit more than I wanted to, but I had seen these wheels on a few Z's and were very impressed with them. When I found this set for sale on Craigslist I showed my fiancee the pics of them and she really liked them too. I had been researching this for awhile and knew that I could buy several different aftermarket wheels for less, but not necessarily as good as quality or definately not as light( they are a cast aluminum). I wanted a lighter wheel for braking reasons (upgrades to come)and also being aluminum if we didn't like the painted look we could get them polished. They were asking $600 for the wheels, I got them for $500. My original intentions were to run the wheels as purchased, but even with all my research I had failed to realize that the center bore would be too small. I did know that the wheels "should" be ideally located off the hub. As I mentioned before they didn't fit in the bore, so luckily my friend with the shop was able to take care of that and at the same time (since I was there)correct the slight bolt pattern difference. Wheel mods....$80. $10 per wheel for bore and $10 per wheel for bolt pattern. Now , that may have been a "goodguy" price, not sure.

Now,as for the tires.....Through my research here I knew I needed 225x45/18 to keep my speedo correct, but was having difficulty finding some for a decent price( read that as...cheap grin.gif). I found this pair, also on Craigslist, as front takeoffs of a 350Z. They were close to me and were in excellant condition. Paid around half price for them...$120.Since I saved money (in my eyes)for the fronts, I searched online for some tires to match and found "Online Tires.com". I wanted to step up on size for the 8.5s in the rear, mainly for looks. I knew I wouldn't be able to rotate the tires, but that wasn't going to be possible anyway because of the wider wheels in the back.When I saw the shipping rate for the rear tires was only going to be $18,to my door,I knew they were close to me. I checked and was able to pick them up locally. Rear tires...245x45/18....price,$270.

My addition sez that comes to....$970. As I said, this was a "lil bit" more than I wanted to spend, but I think the end result was worth it and well spent. Now, I have almost doubled the original purchase price of the car grin.gif.

Thanks again gang for all the valuable info that I used from here on this car. I'm no where done and will be utilizing this site much more.....Norm

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Guest Stormin

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: F14CRAZY</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Can you borrow some Trishield logos to replace the Nissan logos? </div></div>

The one thing I haven't done was research the logo replacement. She really wants the stylized "R", so I will probably be looking in that direction. The Trishield is an alternative tho....Thanks

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Norm, where in SoCal are you and where is the shop. Would be nice to know someone who will fix the hub bore on wheels for $10/wheel. Daniel, in light of the fact that the Mustang wheel fits the hub bore snugly, I am curious why you think one would have wheel vibration and lug problems.

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Guest Stormin

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Richard S</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Norm, where in SoCal are you and where is the shop. Would be nice to know someone who will fix the hub bore on wheels for $10/wheel. Daniel, in light of the fact that the Mustang wheel fits the hub bore snugly, I am curious why you think one would have wheel vibration and lug problems. </div></div>

Richard I'm in Ontario, not far from the airport. The shop is about a mile or two from me. My guy that balanced and mounted my tires(forgot to add that to the total, that puts me over a grand)also repairs wheels. Cracks, dents and so on.

Daniel....."now don't take this as gospel", but my wheel guy told me that running with that slight difference in bolt pattern can actually bend the studs over time, and eventualy break them. Say that it does bend them slightly....that would make them almost impossible to balance.Just a thought.Didn't you say that your stock wheels run fine? That could lead back to that center bore thing.Norm

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Here is the route that I took on aftermarket wheels and tires for my 1990 black Reatta convertible. I was able to pick up off E-Bay a set of 17" chrome Lucerne wheels and tires. The tires had 12 miles on them. The wheels came with the Tri shield center cap. For less than a thousand including freight I was able to give the Reatta a nice look. I priced out a new set through the local Buick dealer and you are talking close to $3000 with the correct chrome lug nuts,wheels and tires.

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