New wheels for the Impala. Any ideas?

[SuperBuickGuy]

Saw this Camaro,and thought about this threa.17 inch slotmags has potential to look good..simple old style..too bad they dont offer them wide...like 10 inches.

As recently as 10 years ago, you couldn't give slotted mags away.... in unrelated news, that is why I haven't turned some 15" mesh wheels into scrap

[Whelk]

I always liked the slot mags, but I've never been able to find them in 17". Bummer

[Scott Liggett]

After trying out those 18's. I'm thinking that I will need 40 series 18" tires to fill the big wheel wells.

[milner351]

Not sure what is available, may be able to get a 45 or 50 even. More sidewall looks better on older cars, just like older cars need some "dish" to the wheels to look right.

[fast Ed]

After trying out those 18's. I'm thinking that I will need 40 series 18" tires to fill the big wheel wells.

At least 40, probably 45 series. On my Thunderbird Super Coupe, which has pretty big fender arches, I had 255/45R18 at all 4 corners. They were about 27" in diameter.


cheers
Ed

[Scott Liggett]

At least 40, probably 45 series. On my Thunderbird Super Coupe, which has pretty big fender arches, I had 255/45R18 at all 4 corners. They were about 27" in diameter.


cheers
Ed

I'm thinking more like 285's and 305's.

[fast Ed]

That would be good ... 285/40/18 would be around 27", and if anyone makes 305/4018, that would be about 28". Not sure you would find that 305/40 though.


cheers
Ed

[TC]

I got to be honest here Scott, I hate them, I don't know what it is, but they just don't look right...... It looked way better with the wheels it had on it before...... I think it's the them being black, just to much black, you need to offset all that chrome in the front with something......... The wheels did it before, maybe just have these wheels chromed........... But hey to each their own right...... Still love the car!!!.....

[Scott Liggett]

I got to be honest here Scott, I hate them, I don't know what it is, but they just don't look right...... It looked way better with the wheels it had on it before...... I think it's the them being black, just to much black, you need to offset all that chrome in the front with something......... The wheels did it before, maybe just have these wheels chromed........... But hey to each their own right...... Still love the car!!!.....

I wasnt interested in the wheels. They just happened to be mounted on the size tires I wanted to try out. They just happened to fit my car as well. I am kind amazed people keep missing that point. They keep focusing on the wheels. This was a tire fitment test. They arent even for sale. I took them off that 99 Camaro in front of my Impala. The owner was putting them back on his 69 Camaro. The 99 is currently getting torn apart for parting out.

My choice of wheels will mostly be based on what I can afford. I may have to make a compromise based on what I can find in my budget.

[1badmonkey]

only thing i am finding in a 305-40-18 is a nitto 555r drag radial.


also, did you happen to do any measuring when you had those tires and wheels on the car? lots of room left behind the tire??

[JOES66FURY]

18" rally wheels?

[CDMBill]

I had a set of those 305/45/18 Nitto 555R's. Great tire and they lasted a long time. But, they were under 200 tread wear rating which knocked me out of a lot of Auto-x and other road course events like the Run to the Coast that usually have a minimum 200 tread wear requirement. So I went with 275/40/18 Nitto NT05's on the front and 295/45/18's on the back. I like more sidewall on earlier cars as well. 35 series just looked to rubber band too my eye for the front. I also like a little bit of tire rake. I have the same 18x9 wheel front and back so I can't run the bigger rear sizes.

[Scott Liggett]

only thing i am finding in a 305-40-18 is a nitto 555r drag radial.


also, did you happen to do any measuring when you had those tires and wheels on the car? lots of room left behind the tire??

There is a frame bulge that is for the rear spring pocket. If I cut that back with a flat plat, I would have room for 325's and then some. If I had those wheels on 2 1/2" spacers, there would have been rub issues. The nice thing about 17's or 18's was they cleared the shocks. I had to move the Caprices shock mounting hole up and in 1" because the 15x10's would so close the shock, they would knock the weights off the wheels.

[Scott Liggett]

I had a set of those 305/45/18 Nitto 555R's. Great tire and they lasted a long time. But, they were under 200 tread wear rating which knocked me out of a lot of Auto-x and other road course events like the Run to the Coast that usually have a minimum 200 tread wear requirement. So I went with 275/40/18 Nitto NT05's on the front and 295/45/18's on the back. I like more sidewall on earlier cars as well. 35 series just looked to rubber band too my eye for the front. I also like a little bit of tire rake. I have the same 18x9 wheel front and back so I can't run the bigger rear sizes.

I always liked your wheel/tire setup. What wheels are those?

[CDMBill]

They are Borbet Type TD. They have been discontinued for years, they were on close-out at Tire Rack when I bought them eight years ago. Those close outs at Tire Rack are a good way to get pricey wheels cheap.

The center caps aren't on them in this picture, but they have a snap in center cap that covers the lug nuts which I like the look of, but you have to pull when you work on it and you always have to remove them like you are supposed to do with hup caps at auto-x and road course events.

I'm just a sucker for a five spoke wheel.