Does Anyone Offer a 17" or 18" Aluminum Wheel that Fits C3?
Hopefully some of you can point me in the right direction; the rest of you can grin about and learn from my expensive experience.
The tires on my 1970 original wheels are now 10 years old with 3,000 miles on them. I decided to acquire a set of 17" "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" that mimic the look of the originals but accommodate modern tires, and store the original wheels and old tires for use on special occasions.
The three vendors I spoke with, including a major Corvette parts vendor, who sell three different brands of this style of wheel, assured me that their "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" are bolt on and require no mods to fit. So I had a set shipped to my tire store and mounted Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 tires (same tires fitted to C8- how cool!).
After I brought the wheels home, I discovered the wheels interfere with the parking brake cable bracket on the trailing arm. It turns out that the backspace of these "bolt on Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" is 4.5” while the measured backspace of the original steel wheels is less than 4”.
I also discovered that the center hole of the "bolt on Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheel" is significantly larger than the hub on the car. This is concerning because at least one thread on this forum says C3 is hub centric, not lug centric (is this correct?).
Mistake #1 was believing that the "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" reportedly sold by the hundreds with no complaints are “bolt on”, and not doing more homework like checking backspace specs.
Mistake #2 was not checking fitment of the bare wheels on the car before spending more money to buy, mount and balance tires.
The wheel vendor is shocked I have this problem. According to them, they sold hundreds of these wheels with no reported issues. I negotiated a refund (not easy) but I’m still paying for tire mounting, dismounting, balancing, stems, and return shipping. I’m currently negotiating return of the tires with the tire store. It looks like I'll at least pay a restocking fee, if not get stuck with the tires altogether.
I have since shopped further for 17” wheels that will fit. By far the vast majority of aftermarket wheels have a backspace greater than 4”. I’ve found a couple of custom wheel companies who will machine wheels to my specification, but at a cost that’s thousands of dollars more than planned.
Any suggestions for "bolt on" 17” wheels? My new tires are 235/55 x 17 with a diameter 0.3" and cross section 1.0" greater than F70x15, which I don't see as an issue.
The tires on my 1970 original wheels are now 10 years old with 3,000 miles on them. I decided to acquire a set of 17" "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" that mimic the look of the originals but accommodate modern tires, and store the original wheels and old tires for use on special occasions.
The three vendors I spoke with, including a major Corvette parts vendor, who sell three different brands of this style of wheel, assured me that their "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" are bolt on and require no mods to fit. So I had a set shipped to my tire store and mounted Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 tires (same tires fitted to C8- how cool!).
After I brought the wheels home, I discovered the wheels interfere with the parking brake cable bracket on the trailing arm. It turns out that the backspace of these "bolt on Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" is 4.5” while the measured backspace of the original steel wheels is less than 4”.
I also discovered that the center hole of the "bolt on Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheel" is significantly larger than the hub on the car. This is concerning because at least one thread on this forum says C3 is hub centric, not lug centric (is this correct?).
Mistake #1 was believing that the "Cast Aluminum Corvette Rally Wheels" reportedly sold by the hundreds with no complaints are “bolt on”, and not doing more homework like checking backspace specs.
Mistake #2 was not checking fitment of the bare wheels on the car before spending more money to buy, mount and balance tires.
The wheel vendor is shocked I have this problem. According to them, they sold hundreds of these wheels with no reported issues. I negotiated a refund (not easy) but I’m still paying for tire mounting, dismounting, balancing, stems, and return shipping. I’m currently negotiating return of the tires with the tire store. It looks like I'll at least pay a restocking fee, if not get stuck with the tires altogether.
I have since shopped further for 17” wheels that will fit. By far the vast majority of aftermarket wheels have a backspace greater than 4”. I’ve found a couple of custom wheel companies who will machine wheels to my specification, but at a cost that’s thousands of dollars more than planned.
Any suggestions for "bolt on" 17” wheels? My new tires are 235/55 x 17 with a diameter 0.3" and cross section 1.0" greater than F70x15, which I don't see as an issue.
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