Will using spacers like these cause short/long term problems? Would thickness of the spacer be a factor at all?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7911844974&category=42614
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Jim O.
Save the Wave...!!!

I convinced my bus partner to get some new wheels for his 49 chevy truck..

he got cragar 17x8 with 4" backspace..

I tried them one on my car with 255/50r17's .. they fit.. both front and rear..

so im probably going to get a set of boyd coddington "harm" wheels in 18x8 with 255/45/18 tires..

The backspacing is not the only thing to worry about mine are 8x15 with a 3.75 backspacing witch should be a 1/4in more clearence but with the design I only have about 1 or 2 millameter clearance from the caliper. I got mine on ebay also and lucked out if I had to do it again I would go to a tire store and have them try it on the car first telling them I'm looking to see what will fit. Most wont have a problem with this in hopes you will come back and spend $1000.00.

twardell said: The backspacing is not the only thing to worry about mine are 8x15 with a 3.75 backspacing witch should be a 1/4in more clearence but with the design I only have about 1 or 2 millameter clearance from the caliper.

yeah the only clearance that was close on the cragar 17x8 was the caliper.. i had about a 1/4" left.. but i will say they looked pretty damn good..

and now for a partially amusing/partially irritating anectdote.

my business partner needed me to take him to pick up his wheels yesterday after work as his 49 chevy truck is on stands waiting for wheels. we went down to the store and picked them up.. the shop ordered 2 x 4.75 bolt wheels and 2 5" bolt wheels..

they mounted up the tires on the two 5" wheels and we drove back to his house to test for clearance and thats when we figured out they messed up.. he needs 4.75... then we drove back.. gave them back the wheels.. they gave us a 4.75 wheel in the box to test for clearance..

they were busy so my partner didnt ask them to mount a tire.. and he didnt know to slam the gate shut hard on my old POS rattle trap truck either.. on our way to his house the gate fell and the rim fell out and we didnt notice (since it rides like a hay wagon even on roads that dont suck) we get to his house and the wheel is gone.

we retrace our path looking for the wheel.. no sign of it.. he asks if it fell out in the parking lot and no one saw it.. we get the other 4.75 and get a tire mounted so we can properly check the clearance and we retrace our steps again.. no sign of it. the wheel fits great (camaro rear end on the truck, s10 front suspension) and i put it back in my truck so i can test on my vette later.

we get in his car and recheck the route two more times. this time walking through the ditches, its gone.

some guy saw it fall out about 6 blocks away from our destination. he stopped and picked it up.. didnt follow us to give it back.. just took off.

he called the tire place (address was on shipping label on box) and asked them if someone had lost a new wheel in the box (which he knew.. because he later told them he saw it fall out) he said since he had always been treated right buying tires there he would bring the wheel back later today..

they call my business partner (larry) and tell him a guy found his wheel.. he runs over there (all the way across town) and leaves an envelope with 40$ in it as a reward for returning a 220$ wheel.

the guy calls back about 3 hours later.. and asks them how much he could get if he "sold it back to the OWNER"... this a$$hole knew it fell out of truck, knew that he didnt OWN it and suddenly wanted to sell it back to larry.

so much for the goodwill from getting treated right.

the tire place told him to bring it back and they would give him the envelope that larry left. he brought it back.. they gave him half and told them they didnt want his business anymore.

what a pr#ck!!!

I have seen and heard some weird and stupid stuff. Amazing, but yet just one more example. There are a lot of good folks out there. Then there is those other creatures. 30 years in this business and it never changes.

kstyer said: You can go outward a bit, but never closer. My stock wheels and 255/60/15 clear the spring and park cable by a max of one inch.

This brings up a very important point. If you have the setup mentioned above by Big Ken, can you add the longer rear spring bolts (8") without rubbing the 255/60-15 tire? My off-the-cuff measurement doesn't seem to indicate so, but I may be wrong. Anyone out there been there/done that?

JR

jredding said:This brings up a very important point. If you have the setup mentioned above by Big Ken, can you add the longer rear spring bolts (8") without rubbing the 255/60-15 tire? My off-the-cuff measurement doesn't seem to indicate so, but I may be wrong. Anyone out there been there/done that? JR

I had longer spring bolts on my last 69 and i had to run 245/60's

with a larger rim i think you could as the tire doesnt bluge as much.. the side walls are straighter..

btw.. both boyd coddington wheels and intro wheels both recommend using a 3.75" backspace instead of the stock 4" on a C3...

I bought one Wheel Vintiques 15x8, with 4" spacing and mounted a 255/60-15 and, you're right, Ben, it doesn't bulge out as much. I even like the way it looks in the fender well, sticks out a bit more without the threat of rubbing. And for $67.88 from SummitRacing, you can't beat it....I'm buying four and saving my stocks, which have seen better days.

JR

P.S. I know 15x8 is the stock measurement, but these aftermarkets sure don't look anything like the stock wheels and the 255/60's look different mounted on them.

|UPDATED|8/14/2004 5:06:40 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Time is running short so I'll ask again as I need to get new skins before heading to C3X.

Will using spacers/adapters like these cause short/long term problems? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7911844974&category=42614 Would the thickness of the spacer/adapter be a factor at all?

If different wheels are not an option I'll just get new tires and keep the ralleys.
____________________________________

Jim O.
Save the Wave...!!!

Jim, that style of spacer won't cause any problems. Strength may be an issue. Depending on how much stress you apply, they could break. Don't get me wrong. A quality spacer will take a LOT of stress. But there are cheap ones that won't. They just are designed for looks and not performance.

As far as the load on the tire to the bearing, a very important factor, it should break even. If the rim is too far back, and the spacer sets it out, the center of the tire in relation to the bearings could be about the same. If so, there is no suspension or bearing stress created. A small amount of this stress is okay. Large offsets can cause undue tire wear, and suspension and bearing stress creating early wear. Moderate to large offsets will also affect handling. But the combination you are talking about will likely not create any of these problems.

The correct rim doesn't require those spacers, but a great deal on rims, and they could be found to be quite useful.

Again, the only problem I see is with stress from hard corners, sudden acelleration and very hard braking. If they are strong enough, no problem.
Of course no one who owns a C3 ever drives like that anyway