Are their any pro touring look wheel options in the 200-250 ea. range?
 

Im looking to add 17" wheels. or maybe a staggered 18 rear 17 front. You can buy torque thrusts, rally 2 clones, a few others all day long for 150-250 a wheel. But it sure seems to me that all of the budget companies, American Racing, Vision, Riddler, US Mag, even the cheaper line of Foose wheels all just sell copies of the same 5 or 6 wheels. Then for any other model the price jumps dramatically, like more than double. Can it really be as popular as pro-touring is right now that nobody offers any wheels for that niche in the $1000-1250 per set range?

I really want a set that sort of mimics a deep dish version of c5 Z06 wheels. Not at all uncommon so you would think someone would have a reasonable set out there.

Like these

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/w...b48a/overview/

even better the Rushforth Night Train

http://www.pro-touring.com/attachmen...5&d=1351267789


The closest I have found is a 10 spoke that pretty much all of the brands I mentioned above make, but still isnt exactly what Im looking for. Good price with tires though.

http://www.wheelsforless.com/TW1217789063

We purchased Billet Specialties "Win Lite" wheels from Newstalgia Wheel in Chatanooga, TN - 423-899-0227

http://www.billetspecialties.com/ass...17x8_Front.png

We put 17x8's on the from and 17x9.5 on the rear. They are more expensive than the less expensive wheels you list above, but less than your examples. These are available in custom backspace and built to order for you.

The 17x8's were $420 each and the 17x9.5's were $435 each. Complete with lugs, washers, chrome valves stems - $1778 delivered.

For some reason, I can't get to newstalgiawheel.com right not - I end up at an ebay store. That's why I put their phone number up above. I worked with Alex and he was very knowledgeable.

Yeah Im familiar, I think they have decided to just become an Ebay store, they are one of the only vendors that carried those rushforth wheels I linked. I tried to access their site the other day and it just sent me to ebay. Now it seems you can only buy those Rushforth wheels on special order from the mfg website.

I do like those btw, and yeah I could step up to the next level. but man Im just shocked that there isnt something like what Im looking for in the same price range as a nice set of TTIIs or even the more expensive Year One Rally IIs. I feel like I have to be missing something.

The Weld Forged line of wheels is a good compromise. They look nice and somewhat bridge the gab between the traditional styled larger wheels, and the high end boutique wheels you are finding.

If you need cheaper still, many people will adapt knockoff late model camaro or corvette wheels. The bolt patterns are off a little and you need to run enough spacer anyway to get the wheel positioned correctly. For a mostly street driven car, that's fine. I don't like the idea of a 1-2" spacer on 40-50 year old parts and any sort of racing activity.

Yeah, most of the moderm rims though have the face of the rim all the way at the edge. I prefer it to be setback in the centerish of the rim. My c6 is like that with the 5 spoke face pretty much all the way at the front of the rim.

http://us-mags.com/pro-touring-series-b-4142.htm

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...22&_sacat=6028

https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/...Jtr/s-l225.jpg

4" BS on a 17x7" rim wouldn't work for me. I'm running 4.625" BS on a 7" rim right now on my GTO. Before that, I was running 15x7" rims with 4.25" BS. 4.25" was fine until I added front discs - then I started to have a light rub sometimes.

Of course, it all depends on what size rubber you're trying to run. I tend to like the wider tires.

Yeah that’s the same one I linked in the OP. I don’t hate it. But it’s just still not exactly what I’m looking for.

As champ said it’s not the backspacing I think would be optimal either. I’m thinking 7” with 4.5 in the front and maybe like 9” with 5” BS in the back. I’m putting in a nova rear which I think is already a little narrower to begin with. So I’ll lrobably install that first and see what kind BS I can use in the rear.

I feel like I have seen affordable clones of those, though now I cant find any when Im looking for them. I do think those look cool, but I really think to take advantage of that look you need to have a numbered race car look. Ive been half-hearted looking for an early 240z and have seen those on several of the CL cars Ive looked it.

http://www.vtowheels.com/Classic-8-W...5mm_p_396.html

They will drill out to GM intermediate pattern for a small fee. They are very light and well made. They are not as deep as the originals, but those run $400+ a wheel. I ran a set on my fake 71...
http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1510379318

If you do indeed decide to use them mention me and they may cut a deal as we are supposed to be a vendor.

Yeah, I missed that last link.

They also list 4.5" backspacing. Individual wheel price is same as in set of 4 so you can mix widths front and back.

Check out the US Mags website. They have a bunch of Pro-Touring styles.

Yeah, I have a set of those US MAG wheels on the 442, they are 4.5" BS. They make a 18" with 5.250 BS, so might still be able to pull off a staggered set. I found the ones I have online, think it was an ebay store, I paid under $700 shipped, with lugs.

Centerline has some affordable wheels, you can get any backspacing, but you have to wait to have them made.

For a street driven car, one that's driven a lot, personally, I will never buy another billet wheel. Not only are they a pain to maintain, but they bend and dent from every pot hole.

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Unless I missed something, the 4.5" BS is for the 17x8" rims. 4.5" BS on an 8" rim puts the tire in the exact same spot as 4" BS on a 17x7" rim.

Dang, I don't want to have to go measure! But that sounds right to me. And I used a combo of 8" & 9.5" originally, the 9.5s using the 5.250 BS. On a 68-72 A-body, you can run 9.5 with 5.250 on the front, if using aftermarket upper a-arms. (Think I outlined that on that CPP review thread)

Some wheel manufacturers list wheel widths different, like if you measure from outside of the wheel lip to outside of a wheel lip, it's 8.5", same wheel if you measure inside of the wheel lip to inside of wheel lip, it's 8". But US MAG lists 8 and 8.5 widths, so they may actually be + 1/2" lip to lip. (Maybe I put that info too in the thread, will have to check)

Anyway, if you want stuff in the price range mentioned, it's going to be a cast wheel, which should help narrow it down some.

Before you think about going staggered, make sure the tires are available in the sizes you need. 17s are starting to get harder to find in a wide range of sizes, if possible, I suggest not staggering, and going all 18s.

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Yeah, with the tall spindle and a global west upper, I had the 18x9.5 5.250 BS wheels all around:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...&highlight=CPP

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Right now I have a 15x7 Rally II with a 235/60/15. It sticks out a bit, and makes me rub on hard bumps. I think the Rally II has a 4.25" backspacing. Also the aftermarket disc kit I used causes a 3/8" protrusion on either side.

So Im thinking a 7" rim with 4.5" BS and sticking to a 225 wide tire should put me back inside the wheel well. Or maybe a 15x8 with a little more BS.

As I said the rear I want to see how close the narrower Nova rear puts me to the shocks before I buy a wheel for it.

You have a Rally II on there now and a 235/60 is rubbing? Something doesn't sound right. That's only 7 1/4" wide tire. What rear do you have in there now?

I bet if you go to a 215 tire and a 6" rim it won't rub. But do you really want to go in that direction?

You just plain need to measure it out, you can't be just taking stabs at it or you WILL end up with a 216 on a 6" rim.

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If you're talking about the outside (fender side) edge of the tire, 4.5" BS on a 7" rim would be the same as 5.5" backspacing on an 8" rim. If you're talking the inside (suspension) edge, the 5.5" BS brings the rim in 1" (closer to suspension components).

You are right that the 5.5" BS on an 8" rim would pull the rim in by 1".

But the tire would not be centered like it was before.

When you add 1" in rim width, you only want to add .5" of backspace to keep the tirel centered in the same place.

The wider wheel does not change the width of the tire tread. It might affect the "bulge" of a tire a tenth or two.

You don't need to worry about the wheel contacting the suspension pr fender lip, it's the tire.

I dont think your right on that one there, Im tracking a 235/60/15 as 9.3 inches wide. https://tiresize.com/calculator/

Both of you are close to right and both of you are wrong....;)

Using a BFG T/A radial as a spec tire:

The tread width is 7.8".

The sidewall width is 9.5".

Link to BFG T/A specs:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

When it hits the tire on bumps I think it technically comes down just outside the tread. I’m not sure what they are calling section width. Ive been stuck in the armpit of the world for like 4 months so its not really fresh in my memory. I know that tire isn’t exactly a pizza cutter.

As I said part of the problem is The Right Stuff brake kit I used locates the tires 3/8 of an in further outward.

It was really bad with factory springs. I since put in a moog replacement 1967 400 car spring. But it was a shot in the dark. The correct spring I want should be maybe a tick shorter but significantly stiffer. I think I’m just going to end the nonsense and go with coil overs in the front.

That being said I still want to buy rims backspaced to get the whole tire back inside the well.

The section width is the widest area of the tire - the sidewall "bulge".

The tread width is most important to contact as the wheel turns if the tread area is the culprit of any tire rubs.

The sidewall "bulge" is more of a concern with possible contact with the fender lip as the tire moves up and down due to the road surface and also for contact with frame rails or other suspension components on the inside.

I understand your problem with the disc brakes - I personally went through this. My 235/60/15's that I used to run on my car were fine before the conversion. After the conversion, I would get a rub in certain situations. That's why when I went with my 17's - I added 3/8's of an inch BS to alleviate my problem.

I think a stiffer spring is going to solve most of the rub issues, but I also want to lower just a tick, more for stance than performance. so I want to get the whole tire back inside that wheel well. Between going one size thiner on the tire and adding a little backspace I think it should get me there no problem.

I was planning on going with the QA1s with like the 550lb spring.

Look at my post in the street section I paid less than 200 a wheel for mine thru Summit and they have them in polished too. Company is us wheel

I was hanging out at Discount Tire getting my rims mounted and noticed they had a pretty nice selection of wheels at reasonable prices.

Yeah, but I think they are mostly for cars like 4th gens. Where say if you have a 5 spoke wheel the spokes are all the way out to the face. Even putting 17-18s on a classic car they look better when they have a deep setting of the face of the rim. Im sure there is a proper term for what Im describing but I dont know it. I will probably just save up and buy those black Welds that I liked. That being said Im very much considering buying a new classic to be a daily driver so I might buy some trim rings and roll with the 15s on the bird right now.

If I do that I might take the 245s off the back and go to 235s. They stick out a little more than I like.

I know what you're saying. My old 17x8 5 spokes looked like the spokes were flush with the rim.

I bought 18x8 torque thrust style wheels except the spokes aren’t as curved and they are more v shaped than rounded for less than 200 a piece from us wheel thru summit. They have the magnesium look centers but are polished and cleared with no “texture”. The guys at the body shop were blown away when I told them what I paid for them. I have less than a thousand dollars in wheels and tires

For the record though I will buy a nicer and wider tire when it comes time to replace these. I just bought them cause they were guaranteed fit and I didn’t think the first set would last very long anyway

Ohh zombie thread.

FWIW I ended up going with Race Star Dark Stars in the Black Chrome with sadly are no longer in production.

I originally went with a reverse stagger 17" in the front and 15" in the rear with the drag radials out back. I had plans to purchase some 17x9.5 rears for normal street tire rears. Then my front 17inch cracked. Maybe bad luck, maybe a forging weakness. I don't recall ever making a pot hole hard. I had 45 profile tires so its not like I had rubber bands. But long story short it spooked me on using light weight racing 17" rims on the front of a car that doesn't have a more modern fast acting strut suspension. So I bought some 15x8 fronts because they had already sold out of the last of the dark chrome 15x7s. I had to use a small spacer to get the 8 inch wide rims to work in the front.

I still have the 17s, which I should repair the one and be on the lookout for a used rear set to match that I could use on another car down the line.

If I were still in the market for a pro touring style wheel, these are killer looking and are on a pretty sick sale right now.Way back when I made thing thread I was considering paying almost double this for a Cosmis wheel.

https://cosmisusa.com/products/cosmi...hoCNCUQAvD_BwE

This thread is too old to really talk about wheels in the $250 ea. range anymore. For the most part those days are past.

Rocket Racing Wheels does have both the Attack and the new Racing Flair that launched not too long ago. Both are slated in the auto-x wheel category and can typically be had in conventional sizes and backspaces for around $450.00 per wheel.

In some instances you can also look at BMW wheels designed for cars like the E36, then use a spacer as necessary. That has always been a go to in the pro-touring scene.

There's still some in the 250-300 range when you buy 4, but selection can be limited.

You can still get a set of 18s of US Mag wheels in the 1100-1200 range.

Some clearance wheels you can still get for around 200-250 a piece, like these REV ones:

https://www.holley.com/products/whee...s/110S-8906100

REV, Ridler, Vision, and even some American Racing ones are in the $150-$250 range.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/are-51088034400

https://www.summitracing.com/itemgro...diameter=18-in

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vsw-1438861gmml1

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rid-607-8861g

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rwg-110s-8806100

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rid-650-8861g

Just gotta shop it. eGay has sets that include lugs even, free shipping, under $1200.

You can always keep an eye out for used, too.

IMO, it's pointless to shop anything smaller than 18" for a driver-type car. Tire selection is starting to get tough on those even.



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Color me surprised. I thought these were long past that price point. Though I haven't looked recently.

I agree that 18's are the key right now. Good tires in the 17" sizes are definitely becoming harder to find and are now in some cases as much, or more than the 18" size equivalent. One of the reasons I upgraded wheels last winter. I'll be set again on wheel and tire choice for another 7-10 years.

Forged wheels are off the charts, not sure how there's even a market for them. Like who spends $10-$20k for a set of wheels? Might be a small niche of people but don't think you can make a living on selling those.

I remember Centerline used to have super affordable wheels, and they had a wide range of backspacing, but that started fading away, and now, even looks like they may be going under.

Musclecar and race car markets are still pretty big, but many are focusing on modern muscle and 'custom' cars. That now has a baseline of basically 20" and larger wheels. I understand that tire tech is moving in that direction, but uhg, looks pretty ridiculous to me.

I remember folks not liking anything over 15s, guess I'm in that next group of crusties that don't care for 20"-up.

Trucks too, that's a big market right now, and is probably driving a lot of the manufacturers.

Soon as flying cars finally hit, it's going to crush all but the hardcore era and 'vintage/antique' groups. And that will be within 10 years, I'm sure. There's already companies that have some consumer 'craft'.

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There are some Forged wheels available that aren't stratospheric, but still not cheap. My set of BC Forged wheels was just over 5K with tires. Wheels themselves were $4250.00

I realize that's actually a lot of money as I'm typing it. Certainly not everyone can actually afford that.

I know the Wheel Pros bankruptcy is also causing a lot of issues. Anything under that brand may have limited availability and may really only start to stock high volume off the shelf stuff. The problem with that is getting anything wider than 8" becomes unfruitful when you're talking about 0 offset wheels.

There's still some that make 6" backspacing on 10" wide, but zero really would only apply to 7 or 8" wide wheel on our cars. Anything more than 4-4.5" from the hub face out is going to rub, depending on tire.

Unless you narrow the rear, but then you have to worry about rubbing the lower control arm or the leaf spring (in the back).

Unless you run tubular arms up front, 6 or so inches inboard is max. And you will still have to mod the inner wheel well. There's still other stuff to deal with too, depending on how far you go, like sway bar, frame, etc.

When it comes to max effort, if you go to an aftermarket chassis, but then you have money to do whatever wheel you need. And fab anything that needs to be.

As a reminder, it is possible to actually have too wide a tire/wheel. Contact patch downforce is the limiter, unless you are just going for looks.



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I could be wrong, but I think all Race Stars are forged, and they are regularly on sale around $200 each. Maybe Im mixing up terminology.

I want to use their Bronze "Mirage" wheel that looks like a salt flats wheel on my gasser project. But class rules state that only cast wheels are allowed. I did some poking and it seems that all of Race Stars wheels are considered billet.

Interesting that you went with a star pattern after mentioning a pro-touring look. I was hesitant to go with small manufacturer that might not be in business in a few years or no longer make replacements, if I had an issue. So...I went with 18" US Mags Rambler in gunmetal (see pic below). I really like them and readily available for a good price.

http://nebula.wsimg.com/9c6d3ace2111...&alloworigin=1

This thread was from 2017 and I think I bought wheels in 2020 or so. The shape of the car changed a little bit in that gap.

I changed jobs and washed up in Indiana from California. More local drag strips here. So I leaned into the street strip thing a little more. Honestly with the car lowered a little, the 275/50 drag radials rub a little over hard bumps in the rear and it gets irritating. This spring I want to chase an 11 second time slip and I might decide to change wheel/tire combination again. Once I can say its an 11 second car Im happier to race some other stuff and maybe go a bit more touring with the Firebird.


That said. While I wasn’t happy with Race Star not warranting my cracked wheel, they really do look good on the car. Even if they weren’t what I originally imagined in 2017

It's hard to beat a 5 star wheel. I like the multi-spoke stuff, that's what's on my wife's corvette, but a simple star design will tend to hold up in style over the years.

Attachment 643996

Attachment 643997

TARE https://transamraceengineering.com/c...ions/superlite
als E-T mags https://www.etmags.com/index.cfm

I'm thinking that site could be malicious. It *looks* like
https://tiresize.com/calculator/ at a glance, but throw a
couple hyphens in there, and use a .net address... New
guy bumped a seven year old thread to point us at it.

I have TARE Superlites on my car, very happy with them. Currently have 17x8 4.5” BS, 245/45/17 all the way around. Car is fairly low, some rubbing here/there. Clears Kore3 C5 vette brakes.

I have a 69 Chevelle 12 bolt in the back, bit too wide. Planning on narrowing the 12 bolt and getting the 9.5” wide Superlites and 275 tires.