What size wheels can I go with on a 69 Camaro?

[sdkar]

I am doing a pro-tour project and just about ready to order wheels.  I am thinking of 18" wheels.  How big of a tire can I fit on a 69 Camaro and still look cool and not TOO big.  Also, what  backspace/offset do I need to fit under a factory rear wheel well?

Steve

[sdkar]

No one ever answers my questions.  Well, I found out after some internet research and here is the answer.

http://camarotech.com/WheelsAndTires.html


Hope this helps someone.

Steve

[eke]

Thanks for the information. I found it extremely helpful in picking out wheels for my 69 RS.

Eke

[sdkar]

Here is another site in helping determine how to convert mm offsets to backspacing in inches. 

http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

So, can someone please check my math.  If I want to get a set of wheels for my 69 Camaro that are 18x8 in the rear and 18x7 in the front and I need a backspacing of 4" in the rear (rear axle is 58-1/2" AF to AF) and a 4-3/4" backspacing for the front wheels...then I need a 0mm offset for the rear and a +32mm offset for the fronts.  That is what I come up with.  Does this sound right.  Also, does anyone know what mm offset will work for a 69 Camaro if this is not correct?

Steve

[lakeholme]

Steve,

I'm the last person to check anybody's math...  But let me tell you from practical experience that the wider width will cause the occasional scraping problem.  I "inherited" a brand new set of tires on my car from the previous owner.  (And yes, I'm too cheap to not drive on them.)  But I have 8 on the back and yes, 7 on the front.  I actually get more scraping on the front.  It's not that bad and it doesn't appear to hurt the tire or molding on the end of the wheel well.  But it does scrape any time I hit a bump of "significance".  And yes, my springs and shocks are good (almost too firm a ride).
But let me also say, they do grip and drive well.  It does help to get that much rubber on the road.
You cannot tell that much from the thumbnail pic, but you can see they fill the wheel well.

[69OlympicGoldSS]

Steve,

Thanks for posting the links.  Very Helpful.

[hotrod68]

I'm from the Old School--I think 18" wheels SUCK on an old Camaro. Gimme 14 or 15x8s on the back and 14 or 15x6s on the front! Or 15" Weld Wheels.  Anything but these New-Age monster wheels and tires with no sidewall that ruin the cars' lines and stance. I know...the big wheels are to clear the big brakes folks are using now and I understand that and say more power to it if that's your stroke. But damn, I miss the days of Keystones and Cragars and Mickey Thompson L-60s on the back and E-78s in front. Guess I'm a dinosaur, but those were CAMAROS that were loud, spit fire and brimstone, and smoked those bias-ply hard as a rock L-60s out of sight. Guess I just dated myself!  chuckle. Anybody else remember 102-octane Sunoco 260 gas for 32 cents a gallon and cruising Main Street? Those were the days..... 

[Steve68]

Yea hotrod I remember 32 cent 260 and worse yet I long for it again as does the L78 in the garage   

Steve

[69OlympicGoldSS]

Hotrod68 you 'da man!  I too hate the current Big Wheel craze.  To me it makes the car look like  a Hot Wheels toy.  To each their own but I prefer 15's and L-60's.  Sidewall height, baby.  Remember Kelly Supercharger Tires, Gabriel Hi-Jackers and Moroso Traction Bars......  seems like only yesterday.

 

[tom]

Steve,

I know this is not much help, but in the past when fitting tires, I have gone under the car and started from the current wheels and tires, then turned the fronts rack to rack, and measured clearances at each stop. Its a pain in the rump, but so far it has worked I have been able to predict the max tire for the existing rim. Changing rims would take additional calculations that I'm probably not ready for right now. Sorry I haven't done tires yet on my Camaro. Check the magazines, I have seen a couple of articles on what size tire can fit a 69 Camaro over the years.

Good luck,

Tom

[hotrod68]

Man, I had the Hi-Jackers, Lakewood traction bars, Cyclone headers, Thrush round mufflers, Crower solid cam, Offenhauser Port-O-Sonic intake, 8-track tape player, the whole shtick! Those were magical days and nights of looking for a race or if you were lucky, a racy gal. I found my share of both and still have the '68 I did it in. It's more priceless than MasterCard! I hope the guys with the Hot Wheels cars of today will have so much fun. Guess 18" Boyd's attract the ladies now. Either way, we're having a blast with our Camaros. Thumbs-up.

[sdkar]

Okay, here is what I ended up getting and you can not get a bigger wheel/tire combo on a stock 69 Camaro.  I have 255/40-19 on the rear mounted on a 9-1/2" wheel and 245/40-18 on the front with an 8-1/2 inch wheel.  The rears fit perfect and fill the wheel perfectly with just about a 1/4" clearance on the backside of the well.  The fronts just slightly hit the frame, but only on the tightest of turns.  This will probably only affect me when parking with lock to lock turns.  Otherwise, they will work fine.  I got the 8-1/2" because they did not have a 7-1/2 or an 8 in the rim I chose.  I ended up getting the Ruff Racing wheels in hyperblack with Falken 452 tires.  Here is the auction on ebay. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300031822165&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3ARTQ%3AUS%3A1

Adriano was the guy I dealt with and you couldn't deal with a nicer guy without a doubt.

I test fit them on my Pace Car and they look great.  I mounted them on the subframe of my pro tour car I am building and with the wilwood 12.5" drilled and slotted rotors and billet calipers....they look awesome. 

So there you have it....the largest wheels and tires you can get on a Camaro wtihout looking too big or too ridiculous.  The perfect pro tour look in my opinion.