[glenn911]

I recieved my US Bandits yesterday. Very nice they are.....made in US they are not. Made in China right on the wheel.

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by glenn911

I recieved my US Bandits yesterday. Very nice they are.....made in US they are not. Made in China right on the wheel.

interesting

China Mag Bandit?

haha jk

I am wondering if the tooling was made in the US, but then shipped to China where they are mass produced

[glenn911]

It actually is cast into the wheel on the backside. "Designed in the US" "Made in China" Also these are advertised as 0 offset, the boxes say 8mm offset. Not sure if it will make any difference?

[quicksilver97ta]

Originally Posted by glenn911

It actually is cast into the wheel on the backside. "Designed in the US" "Made in China" Also these are advertised as 0 offset, the boxes say 8mm offset. Not sure if it will make any difference?

So you ordered 0 offset? Would you mind laying a straight edge across the back of the wheel lip and measuring to the wheel mounting surface?
It would also be great to set a PMD cap on the center of the wheel and see how it fits. Thanks!

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by quicksilver97ta

So you ordered 0 offset? Would you mind laying a straight edge across the back of the wheel lip and measuring to the wheel mounting surface?
It would also be great to set a PMD cap on the center of the wheel and see how it fits. Thanks!

+1 please

[hada76]

Originally Posted by quicksilver97ta

So you ordered 0 offset? Would you mind laying a straight edge across the back of the wheel lip and measuring to the wheel mounting surface?
It would also be great to set a PMD cap on the center of the wheel and see how it fits. Thanks!

read on another thread that the PMD caps do fit.
also don't forget that backspace and offset are 2 diff things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K1lUlv9ZOA

[glenn911]

I just read that backspace and offset or 2 different ways of measuring the same thing. The 17x8 wheels are 0mm offset or 4.25" backspacing, the 17x9 wheels are +8mm offset or 5.25" backspace. The place I bought them from said he messed up the listing, he was selling a staggered set 17x8 and 17x9 and listed them all as 0 offset.

[72blackbird]

I like the PMD caps too- after seeing them on the Bandits they look like they belong on them. It's not a huge priority to me, but down the road I will get some. I'll check the big brake clearances once my wheels come.

Geno

[DevoBuzz]

Did you get a chance to weigh them? Thx

[Captainofiron]

Originally Posted by glenn911

I just read that backspace and offset or 2 different ways of measuring the same thing. The 17x8 wheels are 0mm offset or 4.25" backspacing, the 17x9 wheels are +8mm offset or 5.25" backspace. The place I bought them from said he messed up the listing, he was selling a staggered set 17x8 and 17x9 and listed them all as 0 offset.

hmmm

from what I remember for a 1st gen Firebird you need a 5.5 back space to fit the 17x9s on the back and a 4.5 on the front to get 17x8

I wonder if they have those backspacings

[72blackbird]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Can someone provide the caliper measurement as outlined in the attached pic for the 17x9 and the 18x9s please?

EDIT: Guess it would help if I attached the pic!

I just got my 18 x 9 Bandits today- big brake fans will be pleased to know there is plenty of clearance to run any style of large diameter caliper and rotor, as there's 3/4" of clearance between the wheel mounting surface and the spokes. There is a 3/8" radius from the spokes to the wheel mounting surface, but it tapers back to a 6 7/8" diameter to allow good caliper clearance. Wheel ID where the rotor would reside is close to 16"- plenty of room for 14" rotors.

The wheel holes are also .625" diameter, making fitment on aftermarket hubs using 1/2-20" studs a bolt-on deal.

Geno

[67GTO4SPEED]

Originally Posted by gotyorgoat

There is another guy on here that is running these wheels. 67gto4spd. Sorry for taking the liberty of posting a pic of your car...just trying to help!

I don't mind at all, man. Here's a few more of my car, and a few pics of a '66 with 18's I found on the web. I am going to run 245/40 and 275/40 redlines from Diamondback, and I wanted a little more sidewall, so I went with 17's.








It is possible to retrofit Pontiac caps. I am going to end to go with a new set of the red lucite centers.





Here's the '66 GTO with 18 X 8's and 18 X 9's.





For comparison's sake, here is a '67 LeMans with the 17 X 9 YO wheels.





I prefer the Bandits myself. As someone else aid, the YO wheels look good, but they appear too sharp or squared off looking to me. The Bandit seems to flow better and I prefer the bigger openings in them.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by 72blackbird

I just got my 18 x 9 Bandits today- big brake fans will be pleased to know there is plenty of clearance to run any style of large diameter caliper and rotor, as there's 3/4" of clearance between the wheel mounting surface and the spokes. There is a 3/8" radius from the spokes to the wheel mounting surface, but it tapers back to a 6 7/8" diameter to allow good caliper clearance. Wheel ID where the rotor would reside is close to 16"- plenty of room for 14" rotors.

The wheel holes are also .625" diameter, making fitment on aftermarket hubs using 1/2-20" studs a bolt-on deal.

Geno

That is fantastic news, thank you! I was hoping to go to 17s, due to tire choices. Wonder if the 17s are similar?

.

[hada76]

Originally Posted by 67GTO4SPEED

that's a tough choice, the YOs seem to have a wider "dish".

[72blackbird]

Originally Posted by hada76

that's a tough choice, the YOs seem to have a wider "dish".

I agree- both look good to me, but being a Pro-Tourer made the choice real easy. The Bandit is lighter, cools and shows off big brakes better- plus Year One doesn't make a Rally II style in 18" sizes.

I would also be curious to know how much the YO 17" Rally II weighs in comparison to the 17" Bandit. The 18 x 9 cast 1-piece Bandit weighs about 30 lbs.- I would imagine the 17" would weigh a little less.

Geno

[67GTO4SPEED]

Originally Posted by hada76

that's a tough choice, the YOs seem to have a wider "dish".

The Bandits are pretty deep in the rear, but I can't see how the guy with that blue LeMans is getting away with running 9's on the front. My 8's with the 245/60's are very close to rubbing, and I am still is going to lower the front of my car more to match the rear.
At the end of the day, they both look good, I just like the Bandits a little better. I'm just glad with have options with these Pontiacs. I built a '69 Firebird in the early 90's and parts were hard to get to Pontiacs then. It's amazing how much more aftermarket there is now compared to 25 years ago for these things.

[HWYSTR455]

I did a little homework, it's not verified, but what I came up with so far is the C5/C6 brake setup has a caliper offset of .790 - .812, so not sure these will clear. I have ATS AFX spindles, and the Touring Classics brake setup, which may be a hybrid setup, that too is not clear, Touring Classics is out of business, so templates are not available.

I guess I'm stuck having to measure, unless I can find someone with one of the templates. Maybe I will post over at pro-tour, see if someone over there can come up with something.

.

[HWYSTR455]

I have the hybrid setup, it looks like the caliper measurement is .711, and luckily, I found and archive site that houses old websites (https://archive.org/) , and was able to download a template.

Any chance I can get someone to check the wheels with the template? It would provide others with exact measurements for future reference, sure would help!

.

[mbwicz1]

The US mag website has 'made in USA' on the forged 2/3 piece version of the wheel, and this line is not present on the cast 1 piece version of the wheel.

Good to see options on wheels like these.

http://www.mhtwheels.com/mht-luxury-...el.cfm?id=2782

Mike

[glenn911]

Made in China.....