I just got the new issue of Popular Hot Rodding and on the cover is the meanest 67' vette with HUGE rear tires........ man, do they look good. The rims are 18''x13'' and the tires are 345/35/18's. I would like to know if any one has ever fit something this wide under a F-body.

If you did, how?

If nobody has, how would you go about doing it. I know a ton of people that have 17x11's and 315's and those were tight. Would there be enough room under there for 13" wide rims, or would the stock suspension start getting in the way? If the suspension was not the limiting factor could you mini tub the rear just a few inches to clear the tires? And if all that could be done, how about ordering a 12-bolt from strange that has the axle's shortened up a little so you could run deeper dish wheels (of corse they would have to be custom, but you get the idea).

 

it would not even com close to fitting on a stock car... you would have to tub the hell out of that thing...

 

Oh that's fine, I can live with tubbin the hell out of the car. I would just like to know if there would be any other hangups. I would be more than happy to spend a few K's to get that look.

Another plus to doing this is the fact that there is now 335/35/18 drag radials on the market. I would imagine that those would hook pretty good at the track!

 

So, am I the only person who want's to put Viper size steam rollers under a Trans Am/Camaro?

 

There are a few sites out there that show how to do the 17x11" 315x35x17 tires on the back. I would recommend that you look at theses site, and then plan from there. (can't remember what they are, but I'm sure if you do a search you'll find it)

My guess is it would cause a little more clearance than with the 315's.. but your probably not talking about a HUGE difference. You could probably buy the rims and tires, then take the car to a good Chasis shop and have them work the back of the car. They could probably get away with cutting out the existing Tire well in the back, and welding a piece of sheet medal up in it's place about 1" farther back. You may also have to relocate your LCA's. Thats about it, I think your spring location would be ok.

If you do this, I would recommend that you go ahead and get a 12 bolt now.

It basically comes down to you being willing to spend some money at a shop to have it done for you. I don't think any interior mods or anything would need to be done, and your not talking about a HUGE difference compared to the 315's clearance wise.

Jason

 

I think you're going to run into all sorts of suspension geometry problems. You'll have to move the LCA mounts inboard, probably have to sorten the PHR and move the mounts for it inboard as well.

Once you start tubbing the rear, you're talking about gas tank issues, fuel line issues possibly as well. Plus you're talking about probably giving up what little back seat you have.

I realize that you're probably willing to deal with this stuff, but you asked for opinions and insight.

 

And.... what about the diameter?

A 345/35-18 is 27.5" diameter.... 2" larger than stock. Raises the back of the car an inch higher than it is now. And requires a swap to 3.73 gears just to have the same performance (neglecting the inertia loss of the larger tires) as a set of 3.42's has with stock diameter tires. With 28" QTP's, my Formula has a pronounced "rake".... sits pretty high in the back. What looks "OK" at the track, doesn't necessarily look right on the street.


I have 13.1" wide ET Drags on the back right now, and they fit in the same hammered space my 315/35-17 street tires fit into. I don't see how you could go to the 13.9" section width of the 345/35's without a much bigger hammer. I think "KMook" had 335's on his car for a while. Might want to see what his experience was.

 

There's a shop in Dallas doing 335's right now, the same process applies. http://www.mmtracing.com/

They are doing it to a T/A.

 

I'm sure they would fit fine if you did a mini-tub. You might want to look at a shorter side wall though. That 35 series would get pretty close to rubbing your fender.

 

I know the ZL1 Camaro that Jon Moss did had 335 wide rear tires on 18" Fiske wheels. He ended up staying with the Grand Sport offset, but flared the rear quater panels so the wheels (12") wouldn't look like they were sticking out and out of place. It looked pretty good to me! Sorry I don't have any pics of the ZL1, but I am sure somebody on the board does.

Jeff

 

I also think this would be the wiser thing to do. Flaring the fenders to fit the wheels would cause no problems as far a suspension geometry is concerned and would also probably cost less.

345 is humongous though !! My buddy is running 315s on SLP 17x11" ZR1 wheels in the back on his lowered 98 Z28. What really surprises me is that he did not have to modify anything to make them fit. I read about installing ZR1 wheels with Grand Sport offset on fourthgens and it seems like almost everybody had to trim the bumpstop, tub the fenderwells and roll the fender lips. This guy's car has no issues with clearance on the inside. He does need to roll the fender lips though because the tires will catch the lip under high compression.

 

i am running 315s on 17x11 TT2 wheels, and i didnt have to do anything to my car to make em fit, they never rub either. There seems to be planny space for some 335s

 

I ran 335/35/17s for a while. I had to do a good amount of beating on the inside wheel well to make them fit. This was with the gransport offset too.

I still had some rubbing when going over a bump or dip at high speed. I switched to 315/35/17s and didnt have that problem after.

Also BTW i had 10x better traction with 315 nittos than 335 street tires