so the other day I picked up a set of early 2000 y2k corvette rims and I had a couple questions.

1. The rims are pitted on the surface, probably from break dust corrosion. Is there anyway I can go about re-finishing them? or just sand them down to look better? They're polished aluminum i believe.

2. And when I go to mount them on my camaro, I'm pretty sure I need spacers to prevent rubbing. do I need spacers for the fronts as well as the back?

 

I'm not sure about if you need spacers for the front but I just wanted to let you know that I had some wide tires on my rear along with adapters which also acted at spacers and when I hit a bump especially if I have over half a tank of gas my fender lip would rub the tire and cut into it. Just be careful. I just purchased some zo6 black rims with polished face with some 245/40/18 tires and I removed my adapters/spacers and they fit perfectly. I like the way spaced wheels look but Ive just learned to try not to space them out or do too much with wide tires cuz i get tired of dealing with rubbing and all. But that's just me.
Good luck

 

Factory 2000 Corvette rear wheels are 18 x 9.5" with a 65mm offset. That calculates out to about a 7.75" backspace. With a wide tire you will be very close to the inner fenders. With 7.93" backspace wheels and 315/35 BFG Drag Radials, I had to cut the projecting edge off the jounce bumper brackets, hammer the inner fenders, and recenter the chassis over the rear axle assembly with an adjustable panhard rod. With the smaller backspace, you might get away with it and you might not. It's going to be a case of bolt them on and try it. The wheels will be so deep in the wheel well there will be no issue of the tire getting hit by the fender lip. I'd consider a 1/2" or 3/4" spacer/adapter to keep the wheels from looking sunk too deep in the wheel well.

The factory 2000 front wheels are 17" x 8.5" 56mm offset. That's a 6.82" backspace and will not be a problem. The edge of the tires will be sitting about 1/4" further out than with the stock 16" x 8.0" 55mm offset wheels.

 

Here's my 2000 w/ some C5's on them, no spacers or anything.

 

Those are C5 Z06 wheels (possibly replicas/possibly 4 "front" wheels). He was asking specifically about the 2000 standard factory wheels. The Z06 wheels have different widths (1" wider front and back) and offsets (58/54mm vs 65/58mm) than the standard wheels.

 

Just recently picked up set of c5 stock/wagon wheels (chrome, but pitted) for my '95 Z28 to experiment with Plasti-dip. Are there any methods of mounting the 18in rears without cutting the rear jounces? Is it only possible with spacers? Thnx

 

I noted that with a 7.93" backspace, I need to cut the edges off the jounce bumper brackets. This is no big deal.... they just stick out a bit more than they have to. The variation in assembly dimensions is so great that other people who used the same wheels I use did NOT have to cut the brackets.

I also noted that the published figures I have seen for the C5 rear wheels are 18x9.5 65mm offset. That works out to about a 7.75" backspace. That means you have about 0.18" less material at the rear of the wheel, reducing the chances of hitting the bracket.

Note that the bracket hits the wheel only when you jack the car by the body, and the rear axle starts to drop. There is no interference at normal ride height.

Since you have the wheels, simply bolt one on, jack the car by the body, and check for an interference as the axle drops, and the jounce bumper bracket approaches the inner/upper edge of the wheel. That will tell you if there is any interference.

Check BOTH sides, because the chassis may not be centered exactly over the rear axle, and if there is a side-to-side misalignment causing a bracket interference on only one side, it can be corrected with an adjustable panhard rod. Note that the side-to-side alignment has to be checked with the body at normal ride height, since the panhard rod swings in an arc, and that means the body will move sideways relative to the axle, as the axle drops.

I don't think you are going to have a problem. Just check it carefully.

This is the edge of the bracket, after cutting:



This is the problem, with a 7.93" wheel backspace: