I'm looking at some rims for my 95 Z28.. A friend of mine has rims from a 03 corvette, Z06 rims. 18x10.5 with 395/35/18 in the rear. And 17x9.5 with 265/45/17 in the front. From what I have been reading I don't think the tires will fit. But will the rims fit, if I got smaller tires?

 

That can't be right. A 395/35-18 tire will be almost 16" wide, require at least a 15" wide wheel, and will be almost 29" diameter.... 3" larger than the stock 4th Gen tires. Are you sure they aren't 295/35-18?

a 395 would require major body work, narrowing the axle, moving the LCA's inwards, mini-tubs..... and then the large diameter would slow your car down unbelievably, make it feel like you had swapped in a much lower numerical rear axle ratio. The back of the car would be sitting a couple inches higher than the front of the car........

With regard to the wheels (which would accept a 295/35-18 tire), the 18x10.5" rear wheel (factory, not repro) will have an 8" backspace. Will require a spacer to move it away from the inner fender, and the spacer will require longer wheel studs.

You need to go back and check the tire sizes.

The front wheels will be fine, but again, there's something wrong with the tire size.... I searched Tire Rack, and they don't sell any 265/45-17 tires. For a 17x9.5" wheel, you would want a 275/40-17.

 

I'm Sorry you are right. I ment 295/35/18. So you think they will fit with spacers and change the nuts. Is this expense? And will it help if I change the tire size too 275/35/ 18?

 

You have to change to longer STUDS, not nuts. The studs are the threaded parts, pressed into the axle hub. Not expensive, and you can change them yourself. Hardest part is finding the right length replacement.

You can run a 275/35-18, a 285/35-18 or a 295/35-18 on a 10.5" wide wheel. It isn't the wide tire that would cause a problem with rubbing.... its the large backspace on the factory Corvette wheels. They sit too deep in the wheel wells. You don't need much of a spacer, and you might not need one at all.... everybody's 4th Gens seems to be a little different. But I put 7.93" backspace wheels on my car, and had to hammer the fenders, cut the edges off the jounce bumper brackets. Others have put the same wheels on their car with no problems.

Get the wheels, try and fit them on the rear, and see if they rub.

Now I'll scare you some more. The 93-96 4th Gen F-Bodys have an oversize rear axle hub. As a result, if you put 97 or newer F-Body wheels on the rear, or many of the Corvette wheels, they will not fit over the rear axle hubs. The solution is to lightly sand or grind the inside diameter of the wheel hub holes to fit loosely over the axle hubs. No big deal - minimum grinding required, will not hurt the wheels or cause any problems.

 

HughZ28 - I have a guy with (4) all black C5 Z06 18X10.5"s for sale.

If your interested in going halfers on a set of these and a set of all black C5 Z06 18X9.5"s let me know.

Then we can both have a set of (4) wheels running 10.5"s in the rear and 9.5"'s up front. Shouldn't have to use any spacers if we use 56-58MM offset on the 10.5" wheels in the rear. But we may have to slightly roll the fender lip and massage the inside of the wheel well with a big effing hammer.

Let me know bud ...



Joe

 

The offer sounds good. But I like the Chome look. BUT I may change my mind. Are they the one's with the chome lip, and what is the price.. Send me a photo if you can to my email adj1242@yahoo.com I do have some thinking to do.