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17" Wheels (again, sorry)


Tim Reatta

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Hi all. I have decided to make my Reatta my 4 day a week car and in that regard it is time to get new tires. I thought I would get new 17" wheels, also. I have spent hours searching, reading and trying to learn from the past post, but I am still hesitant to pull the trigger. I have found some 17" wheels that I like and the vendor states "guaranteed fit". But, the bolt pattern is 5X114.3 and I am sure our cars are 115. They are 17' x 7.5' with a +40mm offset with a 73.1 mm hub. From my research on this forum the offset may work, but the bolt pattern scares me. They are suggesting a 235/50R17 tire which is 26.3', 768/mi. or about 1.04% off, not the best. So, how important is the bolt pattern? I would think very, but I am far from an engineer. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Regards:

 

Tim

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As Dave says, the oem stuff is hard to beat for fit and quality. The 114.3 is the 4.5" standard bolt circle, such as on a Mustang. They do work with care to be sure they are centered and the hub being a close fit, but your results may vary.

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GM wheels are also hub centric which means the wheel centers on the hub. The Ford (114.3) wheel has a larger hub. You may bet them on but they may also vibrate. Get the right wheels.

 

ps I have a set of correct 17s but would be pick up only.

minilite.jpg

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Thanks Guys!

The decision is made, stick to the factory bolt pattern. I will look into GM factory wheels. Many of the later Buick wheels are attractive. Any other correct bolt pattern aftermarket suggestions would be great. My Reatta is white with the blue interior and a matching blue pin stripe. I had found some sorta snowflake, but with spokes wheels that had blue shadows that was a close match. I will dump those in favor of correct fit. Padgett, yes I would be interested. I live in Ohio but my daughter lives in Saint Petersburg, so a pick up might be worked out. If you could share photos, price, condition it would be appreciated. 2 Seater, I love you went in a different direction, turbocharged as opposed to supercharged. I have a 68 MG MGC GT that I have all the components and pipes for turbocharging. That, I hope will be next years project. 

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Thanks Guys!

The decision is made, stick to the factory bolt pattern. I will look into GM factory wheels. Many of the later Buick wheels are attractive. Any other correct bolt pattern aftermarket suggestions would be great. My Reatta is white with the blue interior and a matching blue pin stripe. I had found some sorta snowflake, but with spokes wheels that had blue shadows that was a close match. I will dump those in favor of correct fit. Padgett, yes I would be interested. I live in Ohio but my daughter lives in Saint Petersburg, so a pick up might be worked out. If you could share photos, price, condition it would be appreciated. 2 Seater, I love you went in a different direction, turbocharged as opposed to supercharged. I have a 68 MG MGC GT that I have all the components and pipes for turbocharging. That, I hope will be next years project. 

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I had Mustang wheels with the 114.3 bolt pattern on my Reatta. I recommend you don't go that route.

 

The wheels on forum member KDirk's car are my favorite wheels for a white Reatta.  I believe they came off a Riviera. They are 16".  If you like spoked wheels you might like the 16" 7 spoke that came on the big Buicks. A lot of folks here use them.

 

kdirk_feb.jpg.4a025d564c417e3e5546e25c8f69fb79.jpg

 

1142401050_7-24-18(4).thumb.JPG.fac0f01bb3aa96de269dc46557383156.JPG

 

 

 

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Ronnie is correct on those chrome wheels.

The white one below is the 1991 Reatta wheel and that design was first used on the 1991 Reatta...standard was silver, white was an option on white cars.

In the late '90's  Buick chrome plated the casting, and made it an option on the last series of Riviera, also available on LeSabre and Park Ave.

In the attached pictures,  the oval opening looks larger on the chrome wheel but that is mostly the reflection of the chrome.

Also note they did not put the fake black rivits in the chrome rims.

This wheel casting on a Reatta was 16" x 7  but some of the chrome ones are 16 x 6 1/2,  not sure why the size change.

PS the size is molded into the wheel... on that flat surface by the lug nuts.

silverwheel.jpg

 

1991.jpg

PA16.jpg

Edited by Barney Eaton (see edit history)
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Thank you for all of the help, but after a long weekend and the beginning of this week I think it would be best if I stick with the stock wheels. The data I found indicated that if I am not going to increase the horsepower, I would be better off sticking with the stock wheels in terms of performance. Perhaps I will look at plus 0 sizing the tires to get a little more rubber on the road, but not increase the weight too much to the detriment of acceleration, handling and braking. If I get the "hot rod" bug, and add some decent horsepower, that might be the time to look at the 16's or 17's. Well this did not turn out as I expected. I thought I would be uploading some pictures of the Reatta with new 17" shoes by this weekend.

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Since you seem to be leaning toward performance,  that has been address several times and you can probably find something of interest to you by doing a search.

BRAKES.. there are some pretty easy brake upgrades using parts from other GM cars.   They are  rotor/caliper upgrade one of them can be use with the 15" wheels,  the others require 16" for clearance.

2seater and Daniel have done some serious changes to 3800's  and can give you help.    The ECM chip can be reprogramed to give a little more performance.

The firewall side exhaust header has some restrictions and you can free up the exhaust with a different muffler.   The final drive ration is 2.97 on everything but

the 1991 which is 3.33.......if you know your transmissions,  you could change the final ratio.

I suspect they make a shift kit for the 4T60 transmission......the factory transmission was built to shift like a Buick...nothing fast and hard, but you could change that.   

91 header.jpg

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Barney, thank you for the directions on performance. I will do the search after I get the Reatta road worthy. As you can tell from my turbocharged MG MGC project I have a little of that in my blood. Although, the Reatta is marvelous just bone stock, a great car. I have most of the parts for the MGC turbo project and they were test fit. The only thing missing is the final exhaust under the car. I moved and the new house needed a garage extension. I picked a bad contractor and it took 2 years to finish. I am turning in my company lease next Saturday and thought I would drive the Reatta. Unfortunately it set in a British Car Museum for two years without love. Now that it is back, besides the oil change, brake fluid, check hoses, belts, exhaust and gas line, it needs a new oil pan gasket. But, that is pretty easy on the Reatta compared to some cars. I am sure on road testing I will discover a few more fixes that are need. Then, I hope to get to the MGC project and get it back on the road. After a year or so with the Reatta, I might just be ready to up the performance a bit. I will always want to keep the original wheels so I don't see my current plan of a plus 0 as a loss. 

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