greg weld wheels question

[LETZRIDE]

Looking at getting some greg weld wheels for my daily driver...I want to go 15x10 out back all the way around couple questions:

1) is a 6.5" backspacing ok at the the back and front ok?

2) backspacing is the same as offset right? so if the backspacing is ok, Im ok?

3) it says that for these rims some grinding will need to be done on the calipers...is this the same for drum brakes? or do I get lucky and clear drum brakes?

4) what kind of grinding is necessary?

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: greg weld wheels question

Offset is basically the distance from the center of the wheel to the mounting surface, whereas backspacing is the distance from the inside of the wheel to the mounting surface. So at 10" wide, a 6.5" backspacing would be a 1.5" offset, which is about 38mm. Since the stock wheels are 56mm offset, that's 18mm difference, or in other words, these will stick out about 0.7" farther than the stock wheels, but should fit without too much hard ache. You may run in to some rubbing issues when turning and you have have to have the fenders rolled depending on your ride height/tire size/etc, but 38mm is on the low side of the acceptable spectrum for both front and back (still within, if only just).

Chances are the grinding is because done on the ouside of the calipers to get just a bit more space for the 15" wheels, as these cars weren't really intended to wear 15" wheels. I'm not sure about the drums, I'd assume the discs are larger, but you will likely have to do a bit of caliper grinding on the fronts. I've had 15" wheels on my rears without any problems with caliper grinding, but I did have to grind the inside.. I just dremeled out the inside of the wheel hub on the wheel and a bit on the outside of the cars hub to make them fit. I've had two sets of wheels on my car other than the stockers and I had to grind all of them in this way.

[ssms5411]

Re: greg weld wheels question

For my 215/65/15 Weld Pro Stars for the front I have to run 1/4" spacer and longer lug nuts I think their 15 X 6" wheels though.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: greg weld wheels question

longer stud or lug nuts?

also, what is the widest tire you could put on a 15x8 rim? I know for the 16x8 rims you can push it to 255 wide, but it is not reccomended to go past 245...I swear I have seen up to 275 wide on a 15x8 rim?

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: greg weld wheels question

I'm sure he meant studs.

Depending on how much sidewall you have, you have the ability to fit a wider tire on a wheel, but that doesn't mean it's recommended. It also wouldn't work as well, as the tire would be stretched and the tread wouldn't have even pressure distributed across the tread.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: greg weld wheels question

well from the looks of it on tire rack, they have 295 50R15 tires that are reccommended on rims ranging from 8-11"

so, what type of backspacing would I need for a 15x8 rim? is it still 7.5" or can I go with like a 4.5"?

[unvmyrs]

Re: greg weld wheels question

You really can find EVERYTHING on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzD_n3ryAOY

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: greg weld wheels question

To have the same offset, you would want a 5.5" backspacing on the 8 inch wide wheels. Divide the wheel width by 2 and subtract this number from the backspacing to get the offset.

Like I said, with the extra sidewall, it's safer to run a wider tire with the same overall diameter as the 16s, just wasn't sure exactly where the line was.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: greg weld wheels question

so Ive been told I can't go with a 15x8 wheel on all 4 corners? is this true? Cause I would much rather go with a 15x8 up front then a 3.5" rim...I want to have some meat up there so that handling/stopping doesnt suffer.

Is it at all possible to run 15x8's up front? maybe with spacers/longer studs?

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: greg weld wheels question

The only reason I can think of why you couldn't run 15x8 up front would be clearance issues, whether it be to the caliper or the a-arm. I'm pretty sure you would be fine as far as the caliper, and any other issue would be solved by correct backspacing/spacers. Never tried to fit a 15x8 rim to an f-body though so I'm not sure. I'd test fit my 15x7 DRs on the front, but I have LS1 brakes now and I don't think they'll fit.