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Just installed new rims and tires due to a failure on the old tire and potential disc brakes on my wish list. Factory spec suspension, no drop, they fit great except my exhaust, once installed I had less than 1/2" between exhaust and tire so I had to lose my tips and just cut the exhaust right behind the axle for now, pretty big sound change which sounds OK at idle but I'm not crazy about the exhaust note from the car going down the road.
FRONT:
Wheel: 17x8 with 6mm offset, 4.75 backspace MB Old Skool
Tire: 245/45R17 (25.7x9.6 with 4.3" sidewall) Nitto NT555 G2
REAR:
Wheel: 17x9.5 with 6mm offset, 5.5" backspace MB Old Skool
Tire: 285/40R17 (26"x11.2" with 4.5" sidewall) Nitto NT555 G2
Last edited by laketrash; September 27th, 2018 at 08:26 AM.
old 20's new 15's
Cheap wheels but I like them. No rubbing issue at all, speedo is accurate, works for me.
What is it?
1972 Olds Cutlass Supreme, not lowered.
Wheels: 15x8 Ridler with -12mm offset, link: https://ebay.us/Byp0Wo
Tires: Cooper 245/60r15
Prior wheels were 20x10 with 275/45r20 and they did rub but only when making a hard right turn if a bump was involved. Good gap filler but I didn't ultimately like the look.
I installed Hopsters on my '70 last year. 15 X 8 w/ 255 ET Drag radials & 15 X 4 Sportsmans up front. I also made a template and installed 3M gold vinyl on the spokes.
Since there is not a lot of info on these cars ('75 - '77) and I couldn't quickly find a good post spot for after market tires / wheel fitment...I thought I would post up what I have on my '76 Cutlass Salon. No known suspension mods.
Rear: 15 x 8 Ridler Wheels with -12 Offset. 275/60-15 tires
Front: 15x7 Ridler Wheels with 0 Offset 225/70-15 Tires.
No rubbing issues and no turning issues.
I considered moving to 17" wheels / tires. Jacked around with all of the possibilities but, decided to stay with the 15"....and I am glad I did.
BTW: I bought the car with fugly looking custom wheels, 15". I replaced them within a month after I bought the car. All aluminum but, they looked like they had been chemically treated to a very dull finish.
The Nova has the stock, 14", rally wheels with beauty rings...original. The lug nut countersinks are looking a bit waller'ed out so I am now going through the same stress of trying to figure out what to do. Stay with original size / style since the car is so close to original now. Go with original looking 15"-17" rally wheels but, no rings. Brushed aluminum that doesn't quite capture the beauty ring effect. Or, just go full bore custom wheels.
Or...Have the fugly wheels Black Chrome plated and run those for awhile. I can get them plated locally for around $ 100 - $ 125 each.
The new chrome wheels in the 1st pic. and the second pic...The Fuglies.
Last edited by KW5413; January 27th, 2020 at 01:51 PM.
Fronts are 235/70R15 tires on 15x7 wheels with 4” backspacing.
Tears are 255/70R15 tired on 15x8 wheels with 4.25” backspacing.
Fit perfect and no rubbing. There would be room for wider tires in the rear also. Still have about 2” or maybe a little more between tire and frame rail.
Ok, before I pull the trigger on the tires, I wanted to check here. I have a 71 Cutlass and some 15x9 slotted mags with 4.5 back spacing. Has anyone put these on a 70-72 Cutlass with a 275/60r15 tire and if so, was there any problems? I have stock springs and Monroe load adjusting shocks.
Last edited by Wyocutlass71; April 15th, 2020 at 04:45 PM.
ESR CS15 at 18x9.5 +15mm = roughly 5.84" backspacing but with a 5/16" spacer brings total backspacing to right around 5.5". Tires are 275/40/18 achillies atr sport 2 on all 4 corners (and yes I know these tires are cheap but it got the car on the road). C5 brakes up front and stock drums in the rear. Ride height is the same as when I got the car and appears to be stock. Minor rubbing in the rear over bigger bumps and at full steering lock. I still need a front end alignment to give it a little negative camber. I had to install longer wheel studs front and rear to accommodate the spacer as well as buy extended shank lug nuts from Kieth at Kore3.
I put Wheel Vintiques SSII 15 x 8 and 255/60-15 BFG all the way around but am about to add rear coil over shocks to rear end and go to a 295/50-15 and raise the rear ride height a couple of inches....
/50-15
Not many full size on this post. I have a 1966 Starfire which I have upgraded to 15" wheels. It has 225/70-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T (slight rubbing at full steering lock) on 15x6 3.5" offset steel wheels (from a 1967 Delmont disk brake equipped police car) on the front wheels. It has 255/60-15 MT Sportsman S/T on 15x7 4" offset steel wheels (perhaps from Grand Prix or Monte Carlo) on the rear with plenty of room. The front tires are 27.4" diameter which is real close to the 27.3" diameter of the 8.25-14 factory tires. The rear tires are slightly smaller at 27" diameter. Hubcaps are from 1971 Delta 88.
Hi guys,
I have a 1967 Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupe 442 with a TH400. Currently I am running 235/55R 17 Hankook tires on 17" REV aluminum alloy torque thrust style wheels.
I also have a complete set of 235/60R 15 BFGs on SS1's that came with the car when I bought it.
I ran a poll a few weeks ago on this site and the guys overwhelmingly liked the SS1's better. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to swap them out or not. Everyone who sees the car in public always comment on how sharp the REV wheels are.
Last edited by Dream67Olds442; December 22nd, 2020 at 07:46 AM.
I put Wheel Vintiques SSII 15 x 8 and 255/60-15 BFG all the way around but am about to add rear coil over shocks to rear end and go to a 295/50-15 and raise the rear ride height a couple of inches....
/50-15
I've was researching meats for the back of my 69 442 with stock suspension and 15×8 SSII's when I came across your post. I am considering the 295 50 15's. Did you install yours and if so did you have any rubbing? Your car looks amazing by the way. Thanks in advance!
Doug
I've was researching meats for the back of my 69 442 with stock suspension and 15×8 SSII's when I came across your post. I am considering the 295 50 15's. Did you install yours and if so did you have any rubbing? Your car looks amazing by the way. Thanks in advance!
Doug
I too am working with a stock suspension and am trying to figure this out. Tire width/wheel backspace/wheel offset magic to tuck those tires in without rubbing...
245-60-15 up front & 295-50-15 in the rear. No rubbing at all.
Do you happen to know the backspacing for your set-up? I would like to run a 295 on the rear as well, but tough finding wheels that I like without a ton of negative offset. I have seen between 5 and 5.5 on the rear seems to be the magic sweet spot to not rub when tucking the tires.
This turned out to be more work than l expected, but l like the results. I started out with factory 15 x 6 steel wheels with 235/75 15 on the front and M/T 255/60 15 ET street radials. Perfect fit, probably as wide as could go with the factory skirts in back. I measured everything carefully and settled on Torq thrusts 15 x 7 on all 4. These are 5 on 5 wheels, with an advertised 3.76 backspace. The actual backspace on the wheels l received was 3.5625 which ended up pushing the remounted rear tires out closer to the skirt. Front seems fine. I had to trim the inside lip on the skirt and cut off some of the skirt lever to get what l hope is enough clearance. Since the new wheel hubs are thicker than the steelies, l had to replace the stock wheel studs in the back with longer ones. However, now the threaded portion of the stud was not enough to provide full engagement with the nuts onto the wheel hub. I used ARP hardened washers on the studs to make sure the nuts were fully seated on the wheel. The knurled portion of the stud was still enough to engage the axle. I did touch the inside of the axle holes with a grinder to ease the installation of the new studs. The front studs have an acceptable length; no drum to take up space as in the back. The front caliper bracket rubbed slightly on the inside of the wheel, so some minor grinding on the bracket was needed. I used the following parts:
4 ea Torq thrust 15 x 7 VN1051553
Dorman #610-173 wheel studs (rear only)
ARP 200-8535 hardened flat washers
#71983 Gorilla nuts with locks
stock wheel and wire covers 27.5 lbs
Torq thrusts 18.5
Last edited by pctilden; February 17th, 2021 at 10:16 AM.
first 4 are 305 45 18s rear on 18 x 10 w/6" BS and 255/45/18 on 18x8 fronts with 5.25" BS (AFX spindles and 13" rotors) and glued on BFG white letters: sbORSEU.jpg UwvrKiO.jpg LTmk6VT.jpg pcOPh5r.jpg
next 2 are shorter (40 series 305s instead of 45 series) 305 40 18s on the same 18x10s and 245/45/18s front on the same 18x8 wheels blackwalls/no letters glued on...yet! M2j3iiJ.jpg shlTLwr.jpg
really old pic 275 60 15s rear on 15 x 8 and 245 60 15 on 15 x7: 28WQSNl.jpg
Last edited by 71 OLDS; February 17th, 2021 at 03:17 PM.
Looks great - like the look of those 325s on the rear - what brand tire is it?
-Joe
Thank you.
Rear are Nitto 555RII, fronts are M/T, Nitto doesn’t make smaller sizes, I had to get M/T which has the same thread pattern as Nitto....or close enough.
Thank you.
Rear are Nitto 555RII, fronts are M/T, Nitto doesn’t make smaller sizes, I had to get M/T which has the same thread pattern as Nitto....or close enough.
Info on your headlights? I've been looking for a modern housing that doesn't look so... modern.
Thank you.
Rear are Nitto 555RII, fronts are M/T, Nitto doesn’t make smaller sizes, I had to get M/T which has the same thread pattern as Nitto....or close enough.
Thanks for the info. Do you have much time on those Nitto 555RIIs? I run the older version 555Rs for my 305/40/18s. I heard the IIs are much safer in the rain and supposedly hook even better. Curious if you have any results good or bad to share. They make them in my 18s too so may swap to those next.
Wow - just looked them up and see those 325/50/15s are a 13.23 SW on your 10" wheels. Comparing to mine with your 5.5" BS we are about the same to the inside but that puts you over an inch more to the outside. I rolled my lip and the chrome trim is rounded and flattened around that but did you do any stretching of the quarters there with one of those roller tools to get a little more room? If not it must be really close! Appreciate any details or info you can provide.
Info on your headlights? I've been looking for a modern housing that doesn't look so... modern.
The headlights were on the 70 Chevelle I bought few years ago. I don't remember exactly who made them, I wanna say Dapper Lighting but I could be wrong. My friend who I bought the car from, bought them at their booth at SEMA. Either way they are no longer available, they were made back in 2014/2015 and no longer being made. I remember calling the company cause I was looking for another set to put back on the Chevelle since I stole these from it. They are not the greatest cause of black housing, but bright enough, especially since I wired all 4 as headlights.
Thanks for the info. Do you have much time on those Nitto 555RIIs? I run the older version 555Rs for my 305/40/18s. I heard the IIs are much safer in the rain and supposedly hook even better. Curious if you have any results good or bad to share. They make them in my 18s too so may swap to those next.
Wow - just looked them up and see those 325/50/15s are a 13.23 SW on your 10" wheels. Comparing to mine with your 5.5" BS we are about the same to the inside but that puts you over an inch more to the outside. I rolled my lip and the chrome trim is rounded and flattened around that but did you do any stretching of the quarters there with one of those roller tools to get a little more room? If not it must be really close! Appreciate any details or info you can provide.
-Joe
The lip on passenger side has been slightly massaged previously to fit 15x10 with 5" backspacing, 295/50 tire. But looking at it, I don't think it would need to be modified with these. They are close but still plenty of room. I was running 305/40/15 on 18x10 with 5.75" backspacing and there was tons of room between lip and tire. Here is a picture how they compare in width. Nitto 555R 305/40/18 vs RII 325/50/15
The lip on passenger side has been slightly massaged previously to fit 15x10 with 5" backspacing, 295/50 tire. But looking at it, I don't think it would need to be modified with these. They are close but still plenty of room. I was running 305/40/15 on 18x10 with 5.75" backspacing and there was tons of room between lip and tire. Here is a picture how they compare in width. Nitto 555R 305/40/18 vs RII 325/50/15
Those 325's are nice. Do you like them ? How are they when its wet ?
I have American Racing Torq Thrust M 17x8 4.5 inch back spacing with 245/45r17 Tires. This configuration cleared at roughly stock ride height. I have air shocks on the back and typically ran them at minimum psi.
when i installed disk brakes a few weeks ago i went with stock height spindles and added tubular upper snd lower control arms. The control arms dropped front by 1.5 to 2 inches. Also added 2 inch drop springs to the rear. Everything still clears.
Here's mine! 1970 Cutlass S with 18x11 Rocket Racing Wheels attacks (6.5" backspacing front, 6” backspacing rear). Tires are 315/30/18 BFG Rival S 1.5 front and rear. The car is on a umi performance cornermax front suspension, and their tubular control arm rear suspension. The car is lowered around 2.5" in the front (it's on coilovers so hard to know exactly how much) and around 2" in the rear. In the rear I opened up the wheel well so it sits flush on the frame, and I trimmed the outer lip. There are no mods on the front end. It rubs on the sway bar at full lock, but that could likely be fixed by going to a splined sway bar. Aside from that, there are no clearance issues.
Last edited by TheOldsmobeast; January 12th, 2022 at 10:15 AM.
Hi Pat, is the 6.5" for the BS a typo? I saw your 315 squared video you had said 6" BS front and rear. I know on my 442 a 6.5" BS w/a 315 tire would be against the frame in the back and would crash into the sway bar at about 3/4 turn in on the front. Just making sure so no one orders wheels with a 6.5" BS thinking it might work (assuming it should in fact be 6")
Hi Pat, is the 6.5" for the BS a typo? I saw your 315 squared video you had said 6" BS front and rear. I know on my 442 a 6.5" BS w/a 315 tire would be against the frame in the back and would crash into the sway bar at about 3/4 turn in on the front. Just making sure so no one orders wheels with a 6.5" BS thinking it might work (assuming it should in fact be 6")
-Joe
Slight typo on my end, I’ll update it to be correct! It is 6.5” in the front and 6” in the rear. I updated my front wheels since that video came out, as I wanted more clearance to have freedom to change brake kits/offsets, and get more clearance to the fender.
Oh OK didn't know you had made the change on the front. My 315/30/18s w/6" BS front wheels should be arriving and ready to be mounted in a few weeks. I'm sure there will be lots of mods required to prevent hitting/rubbing on the fender wells and fenders to the outside. Because my fenders are glass, hopefully that part will be a little easier but we'll see. Also my drop in the front is only 2" so hopefully that will help a little too. As far as turn-in hitting on the swaybar, going to try cutting a hallow Hotchkis front sway bar in half, taking about 1.5" out of the center, and welding it back together to get the sway bar to "tuck" closer to the frame for more turn-in clearance. We did this once before on the sway bar for my son's 70 Supreme (but only took 1" out) and it worked out great but never tried with a wheel tire combo as large as the 18x11/315s. As a side note I called several of the splined sway bar companies to see how much those sway bars stuck out from the frame since everyone said that's all you needed to prevent hitting at full turn in. I thought they would all have "zero stick out" meaning they were directly in line with the frame or inside the frame. I got some of them to tell me and apparently they all stick out the same or even MORE than the Hellwig bar I have on there now (around 3/4" to 1" from the frame). Tony at ABC was one of the guys that gave me the measurement. I think he said the one he sells sticks out about 3/4" from the frame and that's as close as they come and none of them are even with the frame. So I'm not sure if the "splined sway bar allows more turn in" rumor is true or not. Plus they range from $600 to $1,000 so if not would be an expensive purchase to find out it still hits. I believe the Hellwig bar is the tightest to the frame for our cars for turn in on a "stock looking bar". However, because it's a solid bar it can't be cut in half w/o destroying it. The hallow Hotchkis bar sticks out more then the Hellwig as-is but once you cut it in half, and take about an inch out you can make it about the same as the Hellwig. I'm hoping we can get about an additional .25" turn in clearance on both sides by customizing a Hotchkis bar (and taking a full 1.5" out of the center) so I can have full turn in lock to lock with zero hitting. We'll see what happens.
September 27th, 2018, 08:02 AM
