what size wheel do i go with?

[nolanator]

I received this car yesterday and the little 16x8 GTA wheels look like they are lost inside the rear wheel well. The car has these GNX fenderflares so it gives the illusion that they are smaller than they are.

Could I go with a 9" wide wheel and a 295 tire with a 4.5" backspace or will that give me problems?

Here's a picture
http://imgur.com/VXFp4mc

 

[getdowngranny]

Are the rear fender lips rolled or cut with the fender flares? I am not a big fan of the GNX fender flares but if you plan on keeping them on, you can run a 10 inch wide wheel or wider with a 3.5 backspace to fill it in a bit more. A 4.5 backspace will tuck in closer to the frame.

 

[nolanator]

Are the rear fender lips rolled or cut with the fender flares? I am not a big fan of the GNX fender flares but if you plan on keeping them on, you can run a 10 inch wide wheel or wider with a 3.5 backspace to fill it in a bit more. A 4.5 backspace will tuck in closer to the frame.

im trying to find other members on here with a similar setup, and cant find too much info, but im hoping to fit a 295-305 tire on a wheel like that. does that sound feasible?

 

[VtheGNMan]

There was a thread on this not too long ago that I participated in. When I get on a PC I can link to it. What we have done is use 1" hub adapters on the rears to push the entire wheels out. Did a small spacer on the front wheels. It really does the trick and doesn't make it so the tires get lost in the wells. You will have a hard time running that big of tire without having rolled the Lips and cutting the flares down. 16" tires are pretty limited for selection when you go and try to find something in the middle like a 275. Huge jump to a 295. My avatar pic is my GN with flares, GTAs and spacers. Hope this helps.

 

[VtheGNMan]

I bumped the old thread to the top. Has pics in it too.

 

[nolanator]

There was a thread on this not too long ago that I participated in. When I get on a PC I can link to it. What we have done is use 1" hub adapters on the rears to push the entire wheels out. Did a small spacer on the front wheels. It really does the trick and doesn't make it so the tires get lost in the wells. You will have a hard time running that big of tire without having rolled the Lips and cutting the flares down. 16" tires are pretty limited for selection when you go and try to find something in the middle like a 275. Huge jump to a 295. My avatar pic is my GN with flares, GTAs and spacers. Hope this helps.

I'm ditching these GTA wheels as soon as I can. I was hoping to alleviate some of the fitment issues by finding the perfect backspacing. Ideally, if I could fit a 10" wheel with a 295 tire, that'd be awesome, but if not I'd like to go As wide as I can on a 15" wheel with no spacers or adapters.

 

[ALBERTAN]

If you do decide to go back to 15" wheels, have a look at Brian's replicas.

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_i...=1642&osCsid=47cd2eb5219d4ae558b1898ba3df9b5d

 

[nolanator]

If you do decide to go back to 15" wheels, have a look at Brian's replicas.

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_i...=1642&osCsid=47cd2eb5219d4ae558b1898ba3df9b5d

Ooh those are nice, but I'm looking for a lighter weight race friendly wheel. Thank you for the suggestion though.

 

[ALBERTAN]

These are light, but certainly not the lightest you can get. If memory serves, my old 15X8 Prostars were 13 pounds each. Pretty scary that the stock 15X7 steel GN wheels are 15 pounds heavier...more than twice as heavy.

You're on the right track reducing unsprung weight.

 

[The Fiasco]

I received this car yesterday and the little 16x8 GTA wheels look like they are lost inside the rear wheel well. The car has these GNX fenderflares so it gives the illusion that they are smaller than they are.

Could I go with a 9" wide wheel and a 295 tire with a 4.5" backspace or will that give me problems?

Here's a picture
http://imgur.com/VXFp4mc

My 2 cents would be go with the 18" CCW Classics for a car with the GNX parts on it that is as nice as yours. I'm not going to link other peoples photo's, but they are out there if you search it. It is a big wad of cash to spend on wheels, but they would look right. Or if you want to keep the GTA's, get a pair of 1 1/4" bolt on wheel spacers. Are they all "front" offset GTA wheels?

 

[nolanator]

My 2 cents would be go with the 18" CCW Classics for a car with the GNX parts on it that is as nice as yours. I'm not going to link other peoples photo's, but they are out there if you search it. It is a big wad of cash to spend on wheels, but they would look right. Or if you want to keep the GTA's, get a pair of 1 1/4" bolt on wheel spacers. Are they all "front" offset GTA wheels?

big wheels aren't really my thing. I'm just looking for some nice 15" wheels. I plan on drag racing the car. I'm not sure if the GTAs all fronts. I'll have to look into it

 

[ALBERTAN]

If you want to drag race the car, stick with 15's. 18's start you down a slippery slope of big brake kits and suspension upgrades.

 

[DCVING 6]

Would the GNX flares come off without leaving any marks on the car? Just my opinion, but GN's with the flares and drag rims look awkward.

 

[getdowngranny]

Would the GNX flares come off without leaving any marks on the car? Just my opinion, but GN's with the flares and drag rims look awkward.

I agree.

 

[The Fiasco]

big wheels aren't really my thing. I'm just looking for some nice 15" wheels. I plan on drag racing the car. I'm not sure if the GTAs all fronts. I'll have to look into it

My bad there. Looked at the pics again and you can tell that they are all fronts from the lips. Can't go wrong with Weld Draglites on a TR, or any of the newer 5 spokes either. The GNX flares almost demand a larger diameter wheel, or some offset to clear the frame w/ wider 16's was my (moot) point. Because you will never get that classic "Flush with the wheel well" look with the flares, and pulling them off will just be blasphemy to the rest of the awesome parts. How well is the car cloned? Does it have the Torque Arm suspension under it?

 

[nolanator]

My bad there. Looked at the pics again and you can tell that they are all fronts from the lips. Can't go wrong with Weld Draglites on a TR, or any of the newer 5 spokes either. The GNX flares almost demand a larger diameter wheel, or some offset to clear the frame w/ wider 16's was my (moot) point. Because you will never get that classic "Flush with the wheel well" look with the flares, and pulling them off will just be blasphemy to the rest of the awesome parts. How well is the car cloned? Does it have the Torque Arm suspension under it?

i'll have to look, although Im not sure exactly what I would be looking for. It looks (to my untrained eye) like a GNX. the flares, the vents, the badging, the gauge cluster, and some engine accessories, but outside of that, I haven't known what to look for. I'm not really a huge fan of clones, because I constantly will have to tell people it's not an actual GNX, but it doesn't look horrible I guess.

EDIT: I just googled what the torque arm looks like, and it definitely does no have that.