Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum.
I'm interested in putting 17" American Racing Torq Thrust wheels on my 67 Camaro. They are very pricey. Does anyone know of another manufacturer which makes a similar wheel? If so how is their quality?

ED

Hi wanted to give some feedback to your question. Those american tt'2 really are not pricey when you look at 17'' wheels from some of the billet wheel companie's.The best advice I can give is to get a wheel in a std' backspacing and not have to order custom backspacing.I put some 17'' americans on my 71 nova a few years back and they were around 230.oo each for the wheels. I have a buddy who just bought some for his 67 camaro and they were practicly the same price. We both bought them from discount tire company.Hope this helps you out and have a great thanksgiving Joe.

The only problem with using their 17" wheels with standard backspacing is that the only size that would fit correctly is the 17X7". Most people want at least an 8" for the rear, and a 9.5" will also fit in the rear, but the standard offsets won't work.

The best prices on the custom offsets you'll need to get the 8's or 9.5's on the 67-69's I've found is at http://www.wheelsforless.com/

By the way, I believe Cragar now has their five spoke wheels in 17" and I believe they have a larger selection of standard (no extra charge) backspacings. The pricing I saw on them was definitely less than the TTII's.

Jody

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MY CAMARO (http://www.camcojb.com)

Thanks for the replies guys. Based on past postings in this forums, I have concluded that a 17x8 wheel with a 4.5 backspacing is the best way to go. In fact I'm planning to break the rules and put a 275 wide tire on this wheel. The bodywork has been finished for about 15 years now so I'm scared to try the 9.5 wheel. I'm going to look into the Crager wheels.
Jody: when you put the rear disc on that awesome 69 of yours did it push the wheel out any further?

Thanks again,
ED

Baer rotors add 0.200" per side on the rear.

Sorry for jumping in on a question for you Jody, but I'm bored at work today while everyone else is busy shopping. LOL

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Updated Pics of my 69 (http://webpages.charter.net/gulb93/index.htm)

No problem. It does move them out almost 1/4" as posted above. My 17X9.5's have 5.75" backspacing. They work fine with discs but would rub on the inner wheelwell with drums. I think 5.5" b.s. is ideal on these cars.

Is there a reason why you want to run the 275's on an 8" rim? The narrower 8" rim doesn't help with clearance in any way. The 9.5" is almost the same price, and fits the tire much better. The 8's work well with a 255 in the rear if you want something with a little more room back there.

Jody

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MY CAMARO (http://www.camcojb.com)

Jody,

I would like to run the bfgoodrich drag radial since the engine produces 600 ft. lbs. of torque. These tires only come 275/40 R17. I currently have this tire on a 15x8.5 wheel and it rubs slightly both inboard and outboard. When you put a tire on a wider rim the cross-sectional width of the tire increases.

ED

The section width of a 275/40/17 BFG drag radial is 11" If you're running 275/50/15, the section width is 11.3", so the 17" is just a hair narrower. But as Jody pointed out, a .25" in backspacing can make a big difference.

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Updated Pics of my 69 (http://webpages.charter.net/gulb93/index.htm)

I'm running Centerline 17s with 9.5 on the rear with 5.5 backspacing with the BFG 275/40/17 on my 68. Everything fits perfect, but the tires are very close to the inner wheel wells. I have plenty of room at the outer fender edge. There are a few pics at http://community.webshots.com/user/wsm9808

[This message has been edited by kamero68 (edited 11-29-2002).]

Thanks guys. I'm going to go with the 17x9.5 and the American Racing Wheels from wheelsforless.com

ED