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Comments overheard at a car show

8K views 78 replies 31 participants last post by  kcmk 
#1 ·
A couple of weeks ago I went to a car show and was looking at approx. 20 69 Camaros. As I was looking at each car I heard several people say that the wheels really set the cars apart. Everyone seemed to like the new wheels that everyone is using and overlook the nice cars with rally wheels. I have been thinking for some time about changing and now I'm really confused as to which wheel looks the best. 15", 16" or the 17"s. Could I get some opinions please. Help me make a decision. I was looking at either the popular torque thrust II's or Eagle 211's. Thanks
 
#3 ·
I was thinking about changing my 15" ralley wheels recently to 17" wheels, but I could not find anything that I liked better than the ralley wheels. I elected to stay with the 15" ralley wheels. The other thing that influenced my decision was that I like more tire sidewall showing than the 17" wheels with 40 profile tires have. Additionally, the 15" ralleys are timeless and should allways be in style.
 
#4 ·
When I was at a photo shoot for my yellow car there were 20-30 other first gen Camaros there. I was talking to the Super Chevy photographer and said "Man, there's sure a lot of nice Camaro's here". His first comment was "yeah, but they all have friggin' rally wheels!"

I personally like them, they fit the car. But the magazine guys hate them. Not sure if that even matters to you, just thought it was an interesting comment.

Jody
 
#5 ·
Why not have both???

a half hour and you tatally change the look of your car...

rallies for car shows by day

17" billets for cruise nights.

It's a no-brainer (if you got some extra bucks)

The hardest part is choosing the right wheel and sizes and getting the right stance.

JD
 
#7 ·
I also think the Rally wheels looks great, I guess everyone thinks they are too common and the new wheels look nicer, at least that's the way people are talking. The ones I overheard talking were younger people and I must admit there were a lot of nice looking Cars at the show. It also seems that the ones with nice wheels were the ones who earned the awards. So what wheel sizes and makes look the best? Comments welcome.
 
#9 ·
Originally posted by Joe Harrison:
What about 16 or 17 inch Rally Wheels. The only problem I know of is they do not make trim rings.
Wheel Vintiques makes 16 & 17" Chrome (so you don't need the trim rings) Rallys.
I've used 2 sets of their "68 Series" so far - but none on a Camaro. They are available in lots of widths and offsets and in all the common bolt patterns.
They are available in Primer or Silver but the Chrome finish is excellent and the fact there are no trim rings reguired means they won't be stolen of come flying off on corners!
Here is their link - http://www.wheelvintiques.com/wheels/rallye.html

I've been giving serious thought to a set of these on my rag - something still classic but not quite stock.

John
 
#10 ·
OK I've heard from a lot of you with the Rally wheels but no one with 17" wheels have said anything about theirs, what about you guys with the 17" or 18"? Do you like what you have and why did you choose your wheels?
 
#11 ·
I think "Bootlefoot" has 16 or 17" TT-2's on his car now. I remember pic.s a while back and they looked

Maybe he will chime in or you could check his web from his profile ( http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/ )
Try checking the galley section on the main page for photos of members cars with bigger bling-bling... (luckily I haven't stumbled on any cars with 'spinners' on this site! :rolleyes: )
 
#12 ·
OK, here ya go then... Tires are Eagle F1's, 16x7 w/225-50 front, 17x8 w/255-45 back, from 15x7 rallys w 215-65-15 firestone radials

Before: I could smoke the tires at will, with as little as 2000 rpm clucth dump. Now, if I dump it at 5k, I burn the cluth, not the tires.

Before: Steering feel was vague, response to wheel corrections was slow, tended to overcorrect and seesaw. A road I drive every day, bumpy 2 lane with sweeping left, before it got scary at 55... back end would come out if i let off the gas, front would understter if i gave it throttle.

Now: Steering is tight, response immediate, no overcorrecting, no understeer ever, can make it oversteer with the throttle, but only when / how much I want it to. Same turn, 75 mph, comfy and secure, can ease or feed the throttle at will without any uncomfort.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUE FOR MODERN RUBBER IF YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR CAUSE IT'S FUN!

And yes, I still have the rally's, half an hour will put em on if I want or need a stock look.
 
#13 ·
Originally posted by Camcojb:
When I was at a photo shoot for my yellow car there were 20-30 other first gen Camaros there. I was talking to the Super Chevy photographer and said "Man, there's sure a lot of nice Camaro's here". His first comment was "yeah, but they all have friggin' rally wheels!"
Ahh, Mr. Lee, clill's favorite best buddy friend in the whole wide world :D He's wrenching on Classic Truck Magazine now. He'll be at SEMA also.

I too originally had 15" rallys on my car. It was really hard to take the plunge into something different since I was set in my mind to stick wtih rallys. After driving on good, larger modern rubber (not BFG T/A, but a Comp T/A or better) I would now rather choose a rim to fit the tire choice.

Tire availability for 17's is much better than 16's. Before buying either make sure that the tire you want now, and perhaps in the future, is available. For example, 275/40/17's are likely the most popular tire around and can be found in just about every configuration that you might need. However, a 255/50/16 has very limited availability and styles. Finding a road course or autocross tire is tough.
 
#14 ·
"yeah, but they all have friggin' rally wheels!"
Well, I guess at a photo-op for first-gens, maybe so, but at local cruise nights, or just boppin' around on the Sunday drives, its rare to see the rallys. Lots of Cragars, here in L.A. anyway, and a few TTs and billett wheels. I like the chrome Cragars, gives the car a bit more attitude, and still looks period correct. And you can get 'em in lots of sizes.
I may, at some point, grab a set for my car, I think they'd look good, but I'll hang on to my rallys too.
 
#16 ·
Originally posted by Vintage 68:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Joe Harrison:
Wheel Vintiques makes 16 & 17" Chrome (so you don't need the trim rings) Rallys.
I've used 2 sets of their "68 Series" so far - but none on a Camaro. They are available in lots of widths and offsets and in all the common bolt patterns.


I've been giving serious thought to a set of these on my rag - something still classic but not quite stock.

John
</font>[/QUOTE]I have also been thinking about going to chrome rally wheels when I get the car finished next year. I originally had some chrome American Racing Wheels on the car when I bought it about five years ago. I was in high school and my young friends still think I am crazy for going to the "boring, old rally wheels". I think they set the car off.

Does anyone have a picture of the chrome rallys on a first gen Camaro?
 
#20 ·
There is a time and place for both. For the guys that have a 100% (or close) correct factory cars, there is no other option. They (I included) are the guys at the local car shows who watch people run to the chromed out engines with the aftermarket rims (no bashing intended) as the pure stock guys kick back and glare at their 69 RS headlamp washer pump and admire how difficult it was to get that part. The chrome wins at the local shows but there are many Camaro only shows where the factory cars get the attention they deserve.
To each his own, diversity makes the world go round. Wow, I think I'll write that one down!
 
#21 ·
I swapped out my rallye's for a set of 17 inch Into GT sports. 245's in front, and 275's in back. As far as handling is concerned, there is no contest. But I still go back and forth about what looks better. Keep both and swap em back and forth like I do depending on my mood.
 
#22 ·
Greg, how do the 275's fit in the back? And what backspacing do you have on your wheels?
 
#24 ·
I was thinking of going with the TT II's or even the American Eagle 211's. I will keep the Rally wheels but just don't want to look like every other Camaro around. There are three cars just like mine here so I thought I would change the looks. I can't decide on the size of wheel yet but thinking 245/40 or 45 on the front and 275/ 40 or 45 on the back. I have 245/60/15 on the rally wheel front and 255/60/15 on the rear now.
 
#25 ·
The 275's with a 5.5 inch backspacing fit fine with my current stock mono-leaf suspension set-up. I'm about to install a Hotchkis drop spring in the rear. I don't have any way to post pics of my car but here is the link to the wheels that I have. This car is the reason I went with these wheels. They look killer if you ask me.
http://introwheels.com/gallery/album01/SS_Camaro
 
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