OMG WHy am I the only guy in the world that can't get GTA wheels to fit my car???!!!

[turbobuick]

Seriously, I have spent more time and $$ on these wheels than I care to discuss and I still cant get them to freakin fit. The rears fit perfectly. I have all four fronts. I previously had the rear rims on the front with spacers I had custom made that where machined to be hub and wheel centric, super trick. Wheel fit great looked great was flush with fender etc. Only problem is the car has bell tech spindles and the tire would run on the steel inner fender going over dips and bumps. I even went to a 225 tire from the 245 and it didnt work.

SO I bought two fronts, had them refinished they look great. Mounted up the tires and now the freakin tire rod ends rub

I have NAPA heavy duty tie rods now Im thinking the rod ends are just bigger, IDK. Looking for suggestions other than run a spacer on the fronts.

A new set of Billet Specialties wheels are looking better and better.

Pic of fronts with spacer and rear rim and 245 tire

Rears fit perfectly this pic has 225 front tire which Im not a fan of

 

[turbobuick]

Ok I have now tried a BS from 3.75 to 4.5 in .25 increments and everything still rubs. Looks like I would need 4.5" to not rub the fender but the tie rods hit the back of the rim. Anyone know of a combo with bell tech drop spindles and 17" wheels that doesn't rub? If I go with a new rim and a 4" BS I am still going to have the same problem. Does anyone make a large or adjustable bump stop for the LCA that I could use to keep the rim from rubbing?

 

[charlief1]

One option you might consider is to switch out to the Blazer spindles and brakes Chris. Bigger rotor and dual caliper pistons and it will clear the tie rod. Then cut no more than 1/2 of a the coil off to get the right height.

 

[turbobuick]

I'ld really like to know why the tie rods rub on my car when I can't find anyone else complaining about it with a 4.5 BS. I have been messing with these rims and tires for over a year now and they are not going to fit this car at least not in a way I am going to be happy with them.

I was at Summit today and would've bought new rims but Im still not sure how to eliminate the problems all together. I think I am going to have to go to a 4" BS run a taller bump stop on the LCA. I can get taller ones from Energy Suspension. I the stock one is 2.5" with 1.5" of travel. The 3" might be enough to keep the tire off the fender.

 

[pacecarta]

, your ride seems high for a 2" drop spindle my guees would be the springs arent in properly
the spindles are the problem with the tie rod clearance and 16x8" rims , get rid of the drop spindles and go with a stock spindle and properly installed spring and if you want a little drop go eibach -1 front springs

with standard spindle if you mount front gtas and they wont hit the tie rod but with a 245tire they will rub the fender liner on full turn and the top of fender on dips ,
front gtas mounted up front put the rim too far out for my tastes ..and not far enough out when mounted at the rear axle
with spindles changed to stock you can also run the gta rear with a 5/16 spacer (you can run a longer stud or et lugnuts) and then the wheel will be in closer to frame but still not on the tierod and turn and dip rubs will be lessened
a 235 55-16 will also free up some clearance and still be as tall as stock

 

[turbobuick]

Thanks, the springs are in correctly the ride ht is a touch over 25" which is about right for a 2" drop. The stupid 225's in the front make it look goofy with the 28" tall tire in the rear it gives the car a stupid looking rake. Plus I REALLY don't want to pull the suspension apart on this car.

Well, I cant live with the rubbing on bumps. At 130mph in the shut down at the track the car bounces and rubs, that can get pretty serious so I think I am going to bail on the GTA rim idea and go with BS Street Lites. I would prefer 17's anyway. I'm thinking 17x8 4" BS in front and 17x8 4.5" BS with a 275/50/17 M&H Racemaster Drag radial

 

[pacecarta]

not cheap fix but you could have the rims thinned to 7s or 6s by truedesign which was what claude (toofast) had done

as to your ride height being good because its 25" whats the front tire size (") ...with a taller tire thats closer to stock height the ride height would also be taller

heres a pic of a 245/50-16 on a rear rim (5/16 spacer) with stock spindles and a eibach -1 front springs (rears are 295-50-16 27.7")
http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50172&d=1313330716

 

[turbobuick]

Somebody mentioned having the centers moved in the two piece non-dimpled wheels. I may do that if I can find someone who does it.

I have had 225 and 245's on the car. First pic is with 245's. IF I keep them I am going back to the 245's.

Springs are definitely in correctly, not my first rodeo,lol. Car sits pretty low even with the 245's, almost as low as my TSO did and you can't get it much lower than that.

 

[pacecarta]

moving the centers wont change the fact that the rim is 8" and the drop puts it in interference with the tie rod forcing you to push the rim out which is where you're rubbing the fender and liner

better fix rather than move the center which can be costly is get a rear gta rim and make it a 7" , cut behind the center and take out 3/4-1 " and put it back together , then you can run the rear gta with no spacers and have the wheel clear the tierod and you wont be out as far as you are with front gtas adding clearance to fenders and allow you to turn without rub at the rear

 

[turbobuick]

I might try that. You know of any companies that can narrow them? Moving the center would work and look better but I would still have the rub on bumps but I think I am going to have that issue with anything I run 8". I may try the 3" bump stops. I had a pair of fronts refinished by a company in Detroit I'm going to give them a call and see if they can do anything like that.

 

[pacecarta]

True Design Wheel - Denver, CO

 

[novaderrik]

i have about 1/4" of clearance at the tie rods with the GTA fronts on the car, and no rubbing issues at all even at full lock with 245/50 tires.
it could be your tie rods- if the big end is bigger than stock, then it could hit the rim. or maybe your steering arms are bent out or down a little bit for some reason.

 

[joey316g]

Its the drop spindles. This is very common. You cant run more than 4" backspacing with them without the tie rods rubbing. Check out protouring.com and search drop spindles and you will find thread after thread on this same situation. Ditch them like Charlie said and use lowering springs to lower your ride height.

 

[turbobuick]

Well the company that refinished the two fronts I sent them can move the centers and they are pretty reasonable too. They did a nice job on the fronts I had refinished, I'll post pics when I get them back.

 

[turbobuick]

Well I got the rims back refinished and with the centers cut out and moved to a 4" BS. I also put the 245/50's back on and boy what a difference. Only problem is the rim dish is deeper on the fronts than the backs now. I might have the rears redone to match I really like the way it looks now. The rear rims are factory and have the clear coat on them still so they are dull. I had them leave the clear off the polished part of the rims. LMK what you guys think. Fits nice no spacers and rides the way it should. Oh yeah they still rub the tops of the fenders but I am going to put a taller bump stop on that should fix that.

 

[turbobuick]

Well, I made an extension for the factory bump stop to raise it to 3" and it fixed all the rubbing issues even with two people in the car. I thought the short travel from the longer bumpstops would make the ride rough but it didnt and you cant even notice the difference other than the tires aren't rubbing. FINALLY it sits and rides like it should without any rubbing. I still have to swap the rear rims for the refinished ones and I don't think I am going to change the BS on the rears as it is difficult to tell the dish is deeper on the fronts unless someone points it out. Off to BG to finally get it down the track!

Combo: I have GTA wheels, front rims are modified "rears" with a moved center to 4" BS tires are 245/50
Rears are stock 4.5" BS GTA "fronts" with M&H 275/50/16 DR. I have a thin 1/8 spacer BUT they fit with out them its just really tight.
Car is lowered with belltech spindles and rear drop springs with 3" front LCA bumpstops

 

[jdpolzin]

What did the rims cost to have the BS changed and re-finished?

 

[usetaboost]

What did the rims cost to have the BS changed and re-finished?

What are you worried about rims for? Aren't you supposed to be liquidating?

 

[jdpolzin]

What are you worried about rims for? Aren't you supposed to be liquidating?

Jesse, you know me better than that!!!!:biggrin:

 

[turbobuick]

What did the rims cost to have the BS changed and re-finished?

$225 each Which I thought was a really good deal.