bullheimer Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 (edited) it would be great to know. i have some wheels available to me. need adapters, that's probably obvious. but would also be nice to know max amount of offset and max wheel that will fit in each wheel house front and back. they make wheel adapters in 2" 1.25" and 1" and probably other sizes. I'll try to get the wheels over here. they are huge. 20 or bigger i think. not much offset to them. Edited October 10, 2021 by bullheimer add stuff (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 I would like to know this as well if someone could help please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 i guess i would be (we?) happy just to know what kind of wheels anybody else has put onto these pigs. there is a co that makes adapters here: https://www.uswheeladapters.com/shop/5x__-to-5x__-bolt-on-adpt-hc/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Short of going out to the garage and measuring axle width and wheel well opening yourself, I don't think anyone will really have anything to offer. There seems to be little knowledge about these cars; especially as it relates to custom options. I measured WMS to WMS on my 62 last year. Mostly this was for a possible axle swap. I came up with 60 3/4". I know that oftentimes the 64 Rallye wheels are used. So they work. Using that offset may be a good starting point. Be aware that these cars are lug-centric mounting versus hub-centric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 1, 2021 Author Share Posted November 1, 2021 WHAT does that even mean? what's the diff? 4.5" adapters for a 115mm lug centers is either 1 or 2mms off. the adapter co said they are ok but hotrodders.com says no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 What are you referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 HUB centric and LUG centric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearheadengineer Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Hub centric means the wheel is centered by the hub. So the wheels should have a center hole that matches the axle or hub diameter. The nuts hold the wheel on but they aren’t designed to center it. Lug centric means the wheel can “float” on the hub until the lugs nuts are tightened. The lug nuts are conical and they need to mesh with wheels that are countersunk at the bolt holes. A lug/hub centric mismatch can result in vibrations. A good wheel shop will have gauges to measure what wheel width and backspacing/offset are required. Or you can measure your current wheels and any extra room on both sides of the tire and do the math. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearheadengineer Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 FWIW, in my experience most RWD American cars of the sixties work best with near zero offset. Large positive offsets as used on many modern cars don’t work well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 "Offset" and "backspacing" are different things, but related. In dealing with custom wheels, backspacing is the normal spec which is mentioned. RWD wheels on cars with replaceable front wheel bearings usually have "0 offset" or similar. But rwd cars which have front hub assemblies, end up with wheels which are more FWD in appearance. With flat wheel covers rather than being able to use "deep dish" wheels covers or center caps and trim rings. You might have better luck as to a reasonable answer to "what fits", with the '61 Chevy enthusiasts. I've seen some of those restorods which larger and staggered-size wheels/tires on them in several auction websites. Buicks would probably be similar, other than the bolt circle of the wheels. Wheel spacers are not needed if the wheels have the correct backspacing. Used to be that wheel spacers/bolt circle adapters has a bad rep of the bolts holding them becoming loose and causing related issues. Best to not use them, period, although it might seem like an easy and safe thing to do. Remember, too, that the widest wheel/tire is NOT always the best combination to put on any vehicle. Just my observation. Enjoy! NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 3, 2021 Author Share Posted November 3, 2021 right. i been given a set of wheels and tires of daughters car which is why i'm going thru all this. they would be close to fitting if not for bolt pattern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfconsult Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 (edited) I think if you posted this topic in the "Performance and Modified" section, you might get a few more responses from folks that have fit larger wheels to their cars. Edited November 3, 2021 by dmfconsult (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 If it were my car, the first thing I would do is measure the rims on the car. At the same time see where and how much clearance you have with what you have. If you have a 15 in wheel now and want to go to a 20 you 2.5 inches just for the rim change. Then you need to decide what tire you are going to put on a 20 in rim. There are several sites that give dimensions of tires..... try powerdog.com it will not give you the clearance, but will tell you the diameter of the tire. Next as noted above, there is rim width and offset.... offset moves the rim out or in so you can compared to what you have now with the alternatives available. Your 1962 LeSabre will have a 5 in bolt pattern.... GM used that on all there full sized cars and pickups that had 5 lugs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 BEFORE you settle on a 20" wheel, price tires in the diameter you need for the car. Reason I say that is that the same diameter tire in a 17" wheel can give close to the same look at a more reasonable price. In the www.TireRack.com tire spec charts, look for a tire with about 750 revs/mile (which is basically what a G78-15 tire would have been). Enjoy the search! NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 (edited) Here is a pretty good example of plus sizing..... if you want to keep your speedometer close to accurate, as you go to larger rims the aspect ratio (amount of rubber between the rim and road) goes down. As you go from a 14" rim to a 15" then to a 16" etc the first number of the size gets larger, that is the cross section, then the second number (aspect ratio) gets smaller. Willis points out that larger tires are more expensive and in the case of passenger tires, as the aspect ration goes down the price goes up, mainly because the lower aspect ration is used more on performance tires and the choices of available tires gets less. Lower aspect ration tire generally ride harder and because you have less rubber between the road and rim, the rims are more susceptible to damage from pot hole, railroad tracks etc. Edited November 6, 2021 by Barney Eaton (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Smaller wheel-size diameter tires, with the same revs/mile as the larger sizes, can be $30.00-40.00 LESS per tire, as I found out. I was looking at options for my '77 Camaro. BFG Radial T/As like I have on it now, in P225/70R-15 are now about $170.00 at TireRack, whereas "modern rubber" P235/55R-17 BFG G-Force COMP A/S Plus are about $130.00 at TireRack. MORE performance for less money. Now comes the issue of a 17x7 wheel for them to go on. I was considering something lighter than the OEM Z/28 15x7s on it now, already, so going to 17s could already be "in the budget" for something OEM looking, or similar. Kind of almost like getting 4 wheels for the price of three? FWIW NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) Willis........... I think some Corvettes (which have the same bolt pattern as you Camaro) ran 15 x 8 some of the earlier ones had steel wheels standard then alloy became the standard. I would think old Corvette wheels would be around and probably inexpensive. One source says corvettes had 15 x 8 from 1969 to 1982 Edited November 7, 2021 by Barney Eaton (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 Yes, the Corvettes of that vintage did use a 15x8 wheel, with "0 Offset" by looking at them. But they are steel and heavier than I want, but lighter than the factory 15x7 Z/28 wheels now on the car. PLUS, they also require trim rings and such, which are extra. IF the Radial T/As had not gone up so much, they would be my natural choice as they have been good (80K+ miles, usually, in my driving patterns and such), but close to $800.00 (just for the tires!) for a set of 4 is more than I desire to spend for what has become a "limited use" vehicle. Problem is that I remember buying them for $75.00 each. Be that as it may, NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 thanks for the info guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 Another consideration: The steering geometry of cars of this era was optimized for tall narrow tires with flexible side walls. Going to a wider tire the contact of the tire in turns is less, if not visually but weight wise. I replaced (and removed) the 75 series tires on my 76 Olds with 70 series and only had 2/3 tire contact in a tight turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 Pretty sure this is what Willie is talking about......... from the factory, the wheel and tire combination should have "0" scrub When you start changing things, lots of things can happen and the scrub radius will change if you do not do your home work. most people live with it because when you are going straight it is not an issue. A taller or shorter tire on a stock rim will change the scrub radius, then when you change wheels and backspacing all that needs to be taken into consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 As I understand it, the scrub radius determines how much tread is scrubbed from the tire in a turn. FEW people really go around corners fast at full lock, by observation. Wheel width should not affect scrub radius very much, but offset can. The OTHER issue with tire contact in turns is caster. More positive caster and the more the outer tire is braced for the turn as the inner tire is too, which means the outer wheel is in negative camber and the inner wheel is in positive camber. Combine THAT with a too-wide rim and tire and it easily puts just the outer/inner tread ribs as the ones really working in the turn . . . with the steering wheel doing more than just a simple lane change. Of course, as the car leans, the more perpendicular the tire is to the pavement (which is good). I'm not really cognizant of just how big the scrub radius "circle" really is, but it must be reasonably large. If the same front suspension geometry can live with wheel widths ranging from 5.5" to 8", then the radius certainly must be "forgiving", I suspect (as in the case of my '77 Camaro and similar Firebirds). In some respects, I suspect the "Steering Axis Inclination" angle is for determining if the front suspension mechanism has some bent or damaged items in it. As there is no spec for "scrub radius" in any manual I've ever seen. Yet with some visual images of the front suspension, the scrub radius can be easily seen by projecting a line from the upper ball joint through the lower ball joint and to the tire contact patch. Or, similarly, a line through the king pin to the pavement. I know that many who ask the question of "How wide can I go?" are usually interested only in cosmetics rather than the engineering of the suspension system or vehicular performance in turns "at speed". In many cases, it is usually better to err on the side of caution as as the car sits still, the factors of suspension rubber bushing deflection in turns and bumps is not apparent (even with new items installed). Front and rear. NOR might the widest tire provide the best lateral performance on a skid pad! NOT to forget wet weather performance, either! By observation, I suspect that a 7" wide rim with a 70-series tire might work well on an older vehicle, PROVIDED the offset/(backspacing is in the 4.0"-4.25" range) allow that to happen. As in many available 15x7 and 17x7 available wheel sizes. Of course, some reaseach to find a tire size that is the same revs/mile (diameter) as the OEM-spec tire can take some doing, but is generally possible. Additionally, looking at some of the Wheel Vintiques repro wheels, most of the GM wheels in 15x7 had a 4.25" backspacing or a 4.0" backspacing. Wtih the narrower 5.5" or 6.0" wheels, the backspacing would be appropriately less. Of course, whenever going to a wider wheel/tire combination, best to get the front end alignment adjusted for the wider tires/wheels, too! Enjoy! NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 yes, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 19, 2021 Author Share Posted November 19, 2021 (edited) i guess the price i quoted was for US to custom make them. they have what i need in stock here https://www.uswheeladapters.com/shop/1-25-5x5-0-5x115-wheel-adapters/ buying 4 of them. this helps too: https://bolt-pattern.com/ and this is a more comprehensive one: https://www.uswheeladapters.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Bolt-Pattern-and-Hub-Centric-Guide.pdf Edited November 19, 2021 by bullheimer add info (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 Are you converting the bolt pattern to '5-on-5' for the full-size road wheels, or are you looking for a plain spacer to adjust the offset? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullheimer Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 (edited) going from 5x5 to 5x115mm Edited November 29, 2021 by bullheimer (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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