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Wheels and tires for a 69 Z

11K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  melav8r 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm thinking of putting these Vintage 48 16" x 8" 4-1/2" backspace (0 offset)This wheel has 3/4" clearance from the axle plane to the backside of the spokes rims on my 69 z and was wondering if this is a good setup and what size tire should i be using
thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
Re: wheels and tires fo a 69 z



First off,I'd strongly recommend not going with 16" wheels because tire selection right now is very limited and promises to only get worse as time goes on.
17's are the sweet spot in terms of handling,tires are plentiful and cheap.

VWW makes some awesome,well-made wheels and are an excellent choice.:yes:
4.5" of b/s on a 8" wide wheel though will have you very close to the outer front fenders,4.75"-5" would be better choices and VWW offers custom b/spacing,unlike their cheaper off-shore competition.An 8" wheel really won't fill out your rear wheelwells too well,but if you want to run the same width wheel all-around,I understand.
I would suggest 245/45-17's in front and 255/40-17's in the rear.

The V-48 wheel is a cool-looking minilight-like wheel...
 
#3 ·
Here's my old 68 with the VWW V45 16x8 with 4.5" backspacing running 245/50/16 up front and 255/50/16 in the rear. Great combination and most people looked at the car and thought they were 15" wheels. The handling was great. 16" tires are a lot less expensive than 17" but I haven't really looked at the availablity recently. Modern 16" tires are a huge improvement over 15", but 17" is just marginal over 16" unless you go quite a bit wider like 275 compared to a 245.

 
#15 ·
Here's my old 68 with the VWW V45 16x8 with 4.5" backspacing running 245/50/16 up front and 255/50/16 in the rear. Great combination and most people looked at the car and thought they were 15" wheels. The handling was great. 16" tires are a lot less expensive than 17" but I haven't really looked at the availablity recently. Modern 16" tires are a huge improvement over 15", but 17" is just marginal over 16" unless you go quite a bit wider like 275 compared to a 245.

Woooow, those rims are just the combo I was looking for !
You should post it at the 'sticky' tread ;)
What does VWW stand for and could you give me some more info ?

Thanks !
 
#4 ·
I had 16x8 on my last 67 Camaro. 255/50 on the back, 225/55 on the front.. It looked really good, and drove great. I really wish that tire manufacturers would provide a better selection in 16" tires... They look great on Muscle cars and add a lot to its performance.
I am trying to decide which way to go with wheels/tires on my new car.... I would do 16" again in a heartbeat if it weren't for the lack of tire selection..
I just cant get into the 17/18" wheel thing
 
#5 ·
I just cant get into the 17/18" wheel thing
Come on man...it's 2010!:yes:lol.

17's with the proper stance can look killer on these cars,so can 18's...but don't get me started.:noway:Wheels and stance are everything.
VWW V-40's here:




Absolutely love these wheels and Rusty & Eli are great guys to deal with.:thumbsup:
 
#8 · (Edited)
IMO the 18" is the perfect size when combined with the right tire sellection and most of all the right stance. My wife has 17/8 and 17/9.5 TT2's on her 69 and they look reall good but we both agree we should have went with 18".

That yellow Z/28 looks amazing!

Although I think 20's are overkill for any combo here is a picture of my new 69. It came with 18/7 and 20/8.5 Coys with gun metal grey centers and machined lips. They are for sale now as im putting the original N66 wheels back on the car.
 
#17 ·
There are a lot of myths on larger diameter wheels/tires that have been disproved several times over.

As for ride quality... I have put 17" wheels on the last four 69 Camaros I have owned and noticed no bad affects on the quality or harshness of the ride. Depending on the wheel/tire combo you could improve both handling and ride quality with larger 17-18" wheels/tires. Those original wheels weigh a ton, unsprung weight has a big affect on ride comfort.

As for traction... My last car had a set of 18" IForged Aeros with Kumho MX non drag radial tires, that car ran a best of 11.35 @130Mph. Several magazines and other sources have performed testing and determined the same results.

I wouldnt be concerned with pot holes until you get into 19" or larger combo. It would take one hell of a pot hole to damage a 17" wheel. An impact like that would likely damage any wheel reguardless of diameter or sidewall.
 
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