Rims for Big Brakes

[JR_Charger]

Trying to nicely ask about modern rims without provoking vintage rim fans. I like the 60's look too, but imagine how much it would suck if I spent 5 years and much $ building my 72 Charger only to have it make my 90's Buick feel fast.

I think I can accept the look of this rim -

Kinda sucks seeing it on Toyotas, but I doubt I'll see another one IRL anyway.

I've seen 4 1/4 backspace and 8" rim 255/60 tire as the widest that will fit up front, and on the rear maybe a 10" rim with 5 1/2" backspacing and 275-295 mm tire.

The XXR 555 comes in three sizes -

17 X 8

18 X 8.5

18 X 10

The backspacing of the 17X8 is 5.88 inches. Too much for front and back? The others are even higher, 5.73 and 6.48 inches.

 

[Purepony]

If you can get that wheel with the nice lip in the back for that staggered look, I think it’ll look great.

I have a few pictures of some bodies and bodies with some big wheels

How do you feel about torq thrust 2s ?

 

[JR_Charger]

Is Torq-Thrust II available in gooooold?

Black is a possibility, grey not so much.

Is that a 19 or 20? I don't want to go over 18.

I prefer the XXR 555 I posted, if it will fit. If nothing else, it's more affordable than $4-500 rims. Takes some of the hit about it being not-quite-perfect. Whatever I end up with, someone will hate it anyway. A few days ago I talked to a guy who hates slotted mags. Hates 'em. I guess it takes all kinds . . .

 

[JR_Charger]

perfectly good look on a modern muscle car -

The modern Challenger is not a whole lot more modern looking than the 3rd gen Charger.

You could almost sell this as the next modern Challenger -

I think that rim is Year One's Rallye for the modern Challenger. I don't think it fits without adapters. If it did, it'd be a stronger contender.

 

[JR_Charger]

This doesn't look bad, but a bit large for my taste-

 

[JR_Charger]

DanielG's rims look pretty good -

 

[JR_Charger]

So DanielG's front backspacing is 4.375 on an 18X8, and the 17X8 XXR 555 is 5.88. Is that too much? Does it push the tire in or out?

DanielG's rear backspacing is 5.375" on a 18X9.5. The 18X8.5 XXR 555 backspacing is 5.73, and the 18X10 is 6.48. Too much backspacing?

 

[andyf]

I have custom Fikse rims on my Coronet. The five spoke design is a very classic Fikse design that looks good on a lot of muscle cars. CLASSIC FM5 - Fikse Wheels

 

[JR_Charger]

"Starting at 1,539 per wheel," come drive where I drive.

 

[33 IMP]

So DanielG's front backspacing is 4.375 on an 18X8, and the 17X8 XXR 555 is 5.88. Is that too much? Does it push the tire in or out?

DanielG's rear backspacing is 5.375" on a 18X9.5. The 18X8.5 XXR 555 backspacing is 5.73, and the 18X10 is 6.48. Too much backspacing?

Is that too much(bs)? Probably. More backspace moves the tire toward the leaf springs.
The ten inch rims that I have heard to fit have something like 5.5 backspace (which for modern kids is Zero offset [ten inch rim is 11"overall, so 5.5 is right in the middle, so zero offset])
8.5 rims seem to work well with 4.5 backspace on our cars.
The thing about too much backspace is that it can be fixed with spacers. If you had too little backspace, the tire crashes into the fender.
Guess what I'm saying, is if the wheels you want have too much bs, spacers can put the wheel exactly where you want it to be.

 

[JR_Charger]

The safety of spacers is hotly debated.

Maybe rear spacers are temporary, and leaf springs are eventually relocated? 6.48 backspacing is o.k. then? But I wouldn't want the outside of the rim to be deep inside the wheelwell.

I'll do another rim search, but it's tough to find a gold finished rim that looks good and doesn't cost $400+.

 

[33 IMP]

I think the 6 1/2 backspace is too much, and the tire will be against the leaf spring.
Unless you move the leaf springs. I wouldn't move the springs just to use a particular wheel.
I would move the springs to get lots more tire under the car.

 

[andyf]

The safety of spacers is hotly debated.

Maybe rear spacers are temporary, and leaf springs are eventually relocated? 6.48 backspacing is o.k. then? But I wouldn't want the outside of the rim to be deep inside the wheelwell.

I'll do another rim search, but it's tough to find a gold finished rim that looks good and doesn't cost $400+.

Spacers are just fine when they are designed correctly. When I do a custom hub design, or narrow a rear end, I always design a matching spacer. Having a small spacer in the mix just adds another degree of flexibility for the car owner.

 

[Purepony]

Have you considered getting a different colored wheel and then just plasty dip in the star?

My challenger has chrome wheels, but the star is black and it’s held up really well and looks nice

My 69 same thing it’s held up really well. Most people think it’s powder coated when they see them and if I don’t like it, I can just peel it off. They also have a nice bronze or gold finish

 

[JR_Charger]

Spacers are just fine when they are designed correctly. When I do a custom hub design, or narrow a rear end, I always design a matching spacer. Having a small spacer in the mix just adds another degree of flexibility for the car owner.

O.K., let's deal with the backs for now.

The XXR 555 18X10's have 6.48 inch backspacing, what size spacer do they need?

(Crazy when you're shopping for 10's in the rear and realize a Viper will have 10-10.5 in front and 13 in back. But the Ferrari California had a reasonable 8" in front and 10" in back so I won't cry too much)

Looking at tire height, DanielG had a 45. Will that throw the speedometer off?

With a height of 45, a 295 mm tire is recommended (but I know a guy with 10" rims on his Chevy truck and 315mm tires?). DanielG had some rubbing on one side with his 295's, and Paul G in this thread had enough rubbing with his 295's that he was considering grinding the springs down (which other users talked him out of).

Can the 295/45 be made to fit with the right spacer?

If not, could a narrower tire be used until I can get the springs moved in?

Purepony​

- Hadn't thought about plasti-dip on the rims. I'd have to do it myself. I haven't had much luck getting anything but basic repair work done around here.

But, the less finishing work the better. I'm not equipped for a dust-free paint job.

 

[andyf]

You need to measure the car to know what backspacing is required to fit that tire in the wheel well. Once you know the required backspacing you can figure out the spacer dimensions. Typically Mopars want 0.50 offset so a 10 inch rim would have 6 inch backspacing and 5 inch of front spacing.
But that is just the rule of thumb, when you are trying to cram as much tire as possible into the space you need to actually measure it. And be sure to measure both sides since Mopar rarely built the cars perfectly centered.

If your car needs 6 inch backspace then you need to fabricate a pair of 0.480 thick spacers. They should be hub centric so you need to measure the wheel hub and the brake hub and take all of those dimensions to a machine shop.

I covered all of this in the B body book: https://www.amazon.com/Mopar-B-Body-Performance-Upgrades-1962-1979/dp/1613252501

 

[JR_Charger]

I imagine a nearly 1/2" spacer would require longer studs as well.

Makes me think I could live with something like this -

Especially if it would take a spinner instead of the little chrome center cap. I have no idea how spinners install.

 

[andyf]

Yes, the wheel studs need to be longer. When you do a custom rear end you narrower it a little more than it needs and then you install long studs so you can use spacers to put the wheels exactly where they need to be.