What 17 inch rims look the best on a 82 C3?

JeffP1167

JeffP1167

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I'm thinking about rims now in 50mm and 56mm offsets. Thought maybe Z06 replicas might look good.

I plan on painting the car two tone white over silver with a silver interior so prefer silver rims.

I suppose maybe C6 rims might look good or some other GM rim. I don't want staggered rims though and prefer 17x9.5

17 probably is the minimum I can go since I will have J55 13" brakes, I've heard c6 vettes don't use 50/56mm offsets.
 
I can't say who remembers what, but this olde tyme phardt remembers the Crager SS rims of way old, and they were 5 spoke all chrome, and I never liked them.....

the ones I liked had nearly the same what I call Argent Gray spokes that had a rough cast look to them, with a brushed aluminum rim and I always thought they looked SO much better, less bling, more subtle.....

today, I just use '89 vette rims, and paint the 'spoke' area black metallic and keep the brushed aluminum look, another plus is price....cheep....

:3rd:
 
Negative offset wheels look like crap on C3s. What you need is fender flares and some nice deep dish wheels. Your J55 brakes will fit 16" wheels, not all but wheels like IROCs will fit.
 
Twin_Turbo said:
Negative offset wheels look like crap on C3s. What you need is fender flares and some nice deep dish wheels. Your J55 brakes will fit 16" wheels, not all but wheels like IROCs will fit.
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I'm not a fan of fender flares though, would like to keep my body somewhat stock looking.
 
There are good reasons why so many have the American Racing TT2 wheels.....
17x9.5 is a little bit much for the front under stock fenders, I know you said you don't want to stagger but 17x8 and 17x9.5 would be the better fit, relatively inexpensive and the stuff fits without much headache .... :D:D
 
MYBAD79 said:
There are good reasons why so many have the American Racing TT2 wheels.....
17x9.5 is a little bit much for the front under stock fenders, I know you said you don't want to stagger but 17x8 and 17x9.5 would be the better fit, relatively inexpensive and the stuff fits without much headache .... :D:D
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which is exactly what I have on mine 285/30 17 rear, 245/40 17 fronts
 
I will be having C4 suspension so that is why I won't need staggered sizes. Also why I need 50mm offsets.
 
Ok, you don't "need" the staggered size but do you just not like it or why do you prefer same size front/rear ??

Most other GM rims look out of place, just the other day I saw a C4 with Camaro rims..... didn't look very good IMO .....

The 5 spoke C6 rims might look ok on a C3 but you need spacers to fit them correctly and the 18"/19" tires are quiet expensive.....

this Centerline wheel would look pretty good but no idea if it clears the brakes....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cll-9197804547/overview/

cll-9198959547_w.jpg
 
He won't need spacers with his C4 suspension, same 50/56 offsets if orderd for a C5
 
I prefer the same sizes for when it comes to tire rotations is all. Is also nice in the event of a flat tire (one thing I hate about 17x9.5 & 17x11 on my 97 camaro)

I also have to keep in mind in the event of a flat or what not, mine is a convertible so super wide tire may not fit in back of it.

That why I am try to stay around 275/285 40/17
 
That 9.5" rim you got on the Camaro should be a good start to see how that offset fits.... just throw it on the C3 to see how it fits, then you can estimate what offset you need to get the fenders filled. You have the ZR1 style, right? These have straight spokes (no curve) on the back side where it's getting close to the calipper.... this should give you a pretty good idea what design wheels fit and what does not.
Is your track width wider than stock with the C4 suspension?
 
MYBAD79 said:
That 9.5" rim you got on the Camaro should be a good start to see how that offset fits.... just throw it on the C3 to see how it fits, then you can estimate what offset you need to get the fenders filled. You have the ZR1 style, right? These have straight spokes (no curve) on the back side where it's getting close to the calipper.... this should give you a pretty good idea what design wheels fit and what does not.
Is your track width wider than stock with the C4 suspension?
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These are the zr1/gs rims I have. My track width will be whatever a 1990 vettes is.

97camaro001-1.jpg
 
That's why I'm asking: if your track width is a lot wider than stock then the same wheel that fit a stock C3 might stick out past the fender with your C4 suspension.
Fitting wheels can be complicated :confused::nuts:

You also have to check if the wheels rub at full lock, any chance a 9.5" rim could hit your frame ?
 
MYBAD79 said:
That's why I'm asking: if your track width is a lot wider than stock then the same wheel that fit a stock C3 might stick out past the fender with your C4 suspension.
Fitting wheels can be complicated :confused::nuts:

You also have to check if the wheels rub at full lock, any chance a 9.5" rim could hit your frame ?
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I don't think I will have that issue since I will be using a grafted c4 frame section and rack. The only problem I forsee is the stock c3 fender wells. But I have also pondered with integrading c4 splash shields.
 
Personally, I think the "sawblades" look pretty damn good on the later c3. The integrated front and rear spoilers give the car just enough modernism to pull it off. I ran sawblades on my car for 7-8 years before I eventually swapped them out for c5 wheels. Go with the base car and you still have 17" all around so you don't have to worry about the stagger. Having 8.5" 255 on the front doesn't rub but the 9.5" on the rear will allow a 285 to fill out the well.
 
clutchdust said:
Personally, I think the "sawblades" look pretty damn good on the later c3. The integrated front and rear spoilers give the car just enough modernism to pull it off. I ran sawblades on my car for 7-8 years before I eventually swapped them out for c5 wheels. Go with the base car and you still have 17" all around so you don't have to worry about the stagger. Having 8.5" 255 on the front doesn't rub but the 9.5" on the rear will allow a 285 to fill out the well.
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I still have the stock 1990 17x9.5 rims off my donor vette for test fitment. I have looked into track widths and came up with this.

1982

front 58.7 rear 59.4

1990

front 59.6 rear 60.4

If necessary I guess I could go with some off the wall offset to keep my tires inside the wheel wells. But stock offset with the 82 rims they are about even with the outsides of the wheel wells.

The passenger side rear tends to stick out a bit further so that might be a problem area. Some have said since this car has had rear 1/4 damage that it might have the wrong suspension part or halfshaft causing this. I have seen other 82's like this as well.

DSCF1172.jpg

DSCF1170.jpg

If someone could photochop the fence out of this picture and add different rims that would be nice. This is the only good side view of the car I have.

DSCF1169.jpg
 
Jeff, I always liked the '90 rims. When I first put the sawblades on my car, I was really looking for those rims.
Because of the backspace, I have to run adaptors. In my case, I have 3" all around but did run 2.5" on the front at first. With an 8.5" rim/255 tire, the fronts had no clearance issues but as soon as I put on the 9.5"/275-285 fronts, I started to get rubbing. I put 3" adaptors on the front and that took care of the rubbing on suspension parts but it will rub the inside of the fender if I really load the suspension. Of course, the only time I've noticed that was when I spun on track and seesawed the car.
If I remember correctly, I still have the pair of 2.5" adaptors I took off the front. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see if I can locate them.
 
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