Wheels and tires

[JDSunbeam]

I know the subject has been brought up before and I've searched but found no difinative answers so maybe I'll just ask.

I'm going for more aggressive looking aftermarket wheels and tires and am trying to nail down specific wheel sizes.

As far as wheels go, I'm thinking a 15X6, with a 33mm offset and 4" backspacing...does that sound about right?

I also plan on running 195/50's up front and 205/50's in the rear...any issues or problems I might encounter with this setup?

BTW, it's a '62 SII...

Thanks guys/gals.

Jerry

 

[Bill Blue]

Setback and backspacing are related. For a 6" wheel, 33mm offset is about 4 1/4" backspace. Sometimes offset specs are not given, in such case you can go with the backspace data.

Bill

 

[todd reid]

Wheels & tires

I am running 195/60's on 15x6 wheels on my Series V wth no issues. I believe a prior owner has trimmed the front side of the front fender openings - nothing major. Off the top of my head, your backset sounds about right. I can check the specs of what I bought when I get home if you like.

Just an FYI, it is usually possible to fit a wider (7") wheel on the back if it has the correct offset, but then you sacrifice the abliity to rotate wheels & tires front to back. I did not go that way, but many people have.

 

[bashby]

On my Series V, I am running 195/50-15's on a 15x6" wheel with a 4-5/8" backspace with no issues, originally I had 195/55-15's. I did trim the front valance a little.

 

[canuck pride]

On my Series V, I am running 195/50-15's on a 15x6" wheel with a 4-5/8" backspace with no issues, originally I had 195/55-15's. I did trim the front valance a little.

Is that all around and with stock rearend?

 

[Ragg Mopp]

I am running Retrosport RS4 15 X 6 wheels with 24 offset and 4.4 inch backspace with 185-60-15 tires on an unmodified body and have no issues with clearance to the valence.

 

[bashby]

I would not know, I am running a Ford 8" with a mounting surface-to-mounting surface dimension of 51.25". Everything clears the suspension front and rear, by 1/4" to the ball joint in front and by 5/8" to the leaf springs in the rear (with 205/50-15's on the rear). Originally I had 195/55-15's on al 4.

 

[coupe]

Hey guys
It might help him decide if you could show some full side pix of the combination of wheels and tires you are rolling on.
I had a set of 14 " mags and tires and I thought it looked like a roller scate on steroids. I don't know if it was the tire size or just me so I still have the factory rims on.
coupe

 

[Bill Blue]

Finally got the Saab wheels installed. The Saab rims (15" X 6" with 33 mm offset) have a slightly smaller center hole diameter, which was easily corrected. Test mounting 15-195-60 tires revealed there was a clearance issue on the front right wheel. So I decided on 185-60's. Work just fine. However, I do have an issue with wheel weight clearance and an upper A arm. One tire took a lot of weight so the weight is very thick. Removed the offending portion of the A arm. I could not use a 15" wheel with more offset. It seems that every Alpine is unique, sometimes even from side to side, so it is best to trial fit.

I went from 13" X 5.5" wheels with the wrong offset and 165R tires to the 185-60's. The car drives better and steers much easier. Only problem with the 185 size is lack of tire selection. No real performance tire selection. Almost as bad as 13 inchers! I'm using Cooper CS4's.

All in all, I'm glad I made the change.

Bill

 

[Alpine 1789]

Finally got the Saab wheels installed. The Saab rims (15" X 6" with 33 mm offset) have a slightly smaller center hole diameter, which was easily corrected.

Just curious Bill: How did you correct the smaller hole? I have a set of Porsche wheels that I may use one day and they have the same issue.

 

[Bill Blue]

Just curious Bill: How did you correct the smaller hole? I have a set of Porsche wheels that I may use one day and they have the same issue.

I did not have a full blown issue. The rear axle is Ford 8" and it has the correct hub size. So I knocked the studs out of the front hubs, mounted them on the lathe and turned the hub to the correct diameter. Another argument for a 12" lathe! I think that if your running an Alpine rear, it would be easier to enlarge the holes.

Bill

 

[bulldurham]

Jim, which Porsche wheels are you thinking about using?
I am using the 8 spoke 924 wheel and had to drill out the center hole some in order for it to pull up to the Alpine hub. It is only an issue for the front but you have to do them all if you want to rotate the tires. They are 14 " and there is no clearance problem w/ mine using 185-70-14.

 

[Alpine 1789]

Jim, which Porsche wheels are you thinking about using?
I am using the 8 spoke 924 wheel and had to drill out the center hole some in order for it to pull up to the Alpine hub. It is only an issue for the front but you have to do them all if you want to rotate the tires. They are 14 " and there is no clearance problem w/ mine using 185-70-14.

Sorry for the delay. I have a set of the same wheels. I bought them a couple of years ago (paid about $100 for 5 in good shape) to potentially use them on my V6. How did you drill out the center hole? That was really my question for Bill. I would think you would want to do that consistently on each wheel and I don't know what kind of bit or grinding attachment would allow me to do that.

Thanks.

 

[bashby]

For what it is worth, I am running 15x6 Minilite's with a 4-5/8" BS on my Series V, does not interfere (by 1/4") with the upper ball joint. I am using stick-on wheel weights. I had 195/55-15's on all 4 currently I have 195/50-15's on the front and 205/50-15's on the rear. No rubbing issues but, I did trim the front valance a bit and rear fender lips (by 50%) the rear differential is a Ford 8".

 

[V6 JOSE]

Hi Jim,

A good machine shop should be able to open up the center hole for you without too much trouble. If they have a lathe that will swing that big a diameter, it will be a cich. If they do it on a mill, it will take a bit longer and they need to be careful to dial it in well, so as not to move the center.

Jose

Sorry for the delay. I have a set of the same wheels. I bought them a couple of years ago (paid about $100 for 5 in good shape) to potentially use them on my V6. How did you drill out the center hole? That was really my question for Bill. I would think you would want to do that consistently on each wheel and I don't know what kind of bit or grinding attachment would allow me to do that.

Thanks.

 

[Bill Blue]

For what it is worth, I am running 15x6 with a 4-5/8" BS on my Series V, does not interfere (by 1/4") with the upper ball joint.

WOW! 33 mm is 1.320" or 4.30" backspace. I have about .250 clearance, unfortunately the wheel weight is about .312". If I had no wheel weights, maybe a 4 5/8" backspace would work. It would be close.

Jim, my rear wheels are not a hub centric fit to the new wheels, so when I turned the front hubs I decided to have hub clearance. So far, so good. Clearance is clearance, so if you decide to depends on the lug nuts to center the wheels, any method you use to open the hubs would be okay.

Bill

 

[bulldurham]

Sorry for the delay. I have a set of the same wheels. I bought them a couple of years ago (paid about $100 for 5 in good shape) to potentially use them on my V6. How did you drill out the center hole? That was really my question for Bill. I would think you would want to do that consistently on each wheel and I don't know what kind of bit or grinding attachment would allow me to do that.

Thanks.

Jim, I took mine to the machine shop as I don't have equipment to bore anything that large.
If I remember correctly the hole only needs opening about 1/8 th inch. I don't remember the depth but it isn't much, maybe less than 1/2 inch.
If you look into the center hole you will see a notch that captures the splines on the center cap. I certainly wouldn't drill beyond that point.
On another note, the 924 wheels use the "ball face" stud, so you will need to order/buy lugnuts[1/2 x 20] that are conical on the end and a set of 16 ball face adapters. I got mine from The Lugnut King on the west coast,lugnuts and adapters, for under $15.00 and paid him after I rec. them. Local shops here didn't know what I was talking about and didn't try to help find them. Locally the lugnuts alone cost more than the whole kit from LNK.

 

[gbinckes]

Hey Bulldurham, i just picked up a set of the 924 rims, what kit/parts did you order from LNK?

Thanks!

Garet

 

[bulldurham]

Lug nuts

Garet, unless you get real lucky and can find the nuts w/ the rounded face, then you will need 16 standard 1/2 x 20 conical nuts and the ball face adapter which fits between the wheel and nut. There was not a kit #. I just called the guy and told him what I needed after having no luck and poor service locally.
You can buy the nuts locally as a kit at Autozone, Adv.Auto, etc, but none of them have the adapters. Locally the nuts are around $20.00..My cost at LNK for the full set was $15.00 which included shipping, but that was about 2 years ago.
I can send you pictures[if I still have them ] if you will send your e mail address.

The back side of the center hole of each wheel needs to be enlarged to fit over the " step " on the front hub, essentially making the wheel hub centric. the depth of that cut is about 1/2", but measure to be sure it is enough. Do all 4 wheels so you can rotate the tires. I had a local machine shop do mine.
You have to be careful when mounting the rear wheels especially as the adapters are what align the wheel on center .
The use of a spacer on the rear has been suggested by others but would probably require longer studs. So far, with the Series II brake drum I have not had a problem w/ wheel loosening.

 

[JDSunbeam]

Well folks, I pulled the trigger and bought a set of 15x6 Classic 8's from VTO. It has a 4.5" backspacing, hopefully that's not too much to run on my SII.