<VV> American Torque Thrust II Wheels

[Bruce Schug]

On Dec 16, 2007, at 5:44 PM, Eric Aos wrote:

> Has anyone used the 16 x 8 on the rear of a LM 'vair? I've been 
> searching, and found some who have used 16 x 7, which I plan on using 
> them on the front. But I'm still unsure on the rear.
>   I plan on going with 205/50 16 or 225/50 16's on the front, and 
> 245/50 16's on the rear. Several people seem to have had success with 
> those sizes. Although the 225/50 might be tight on the front.
>

16 x 8's will work fine front or rear, as long as the backspacing is 
okay.

I would discourage you from using 245/50's on the rear. If the 
backspacing were right, they would probably fit, but they're awfully 
big - not only wide, but tall.

I think that, overall, the best 16" sizes for a Corvair are probably 
205/55's front, and 225/50's rear. These are the sizes I used 
originally when I first put the IROC wheels on my Corvair back in '86 
or '87. These sizes were used on Porsche Turbo's, and maybe other 
Porsches too. The diameters are the same.

Other sizes will work fine too, depending on what you're trying to 
accomplish. You saw Ed Kelly's post about using 215/55's on the rear. 
These fit pretty nicely and are essentially the exact diameter as 
original 7.00-13's. If you want to stay original in diameter, consider 
these for the rear.

225/50's will fit on front - again, as long as the backspace is 
correct, but, again, this is a lot of tire for the front.

I am currently using 205/45's on the front and don't like them. They're 
just too small in diameter for my taste. They do give the car a bit of 
a rake, which I like, but they are just too small in the wheel well.

I suggest you cut all of your non-heavy-duty springs one coil to get 
the car down a bit - it just looks better, in my opinion.

The next question probably is, how much backspace to use. I can't tell 
you exactly, but I can tell you what I use.

My "REAR" IROC wheels, which are used on the FRONT of my car have 20mm 
offset or about 5 1/4" backspace, I think. I found these figures 
written down in my notes. This works fine on the front and moves the 
wide tire inward so it clears the fender lip.

The "FRONT" IROC wheel, which is used on the REAR of my Corvair has 
zero offset or about 4 1/2" backspace. This moves the tire out a bit, 
but still clears fine. It's a bit tight to the top fender lip, but it 
never has rubbed.

If I were to use one size wheel, I could probably use four of the 
"REAR" IROC wheels, with 5 1/4" backspace. Maybe 5" backspace wheels 
would work all around, I'm not sure.

What backspace 16" wheels have others used?

Ed: Did you measure the backspace on your 8 1/2" S10 wheels?

Bruce


Bruce W. Schug
Treasurer, CORSA South Carolina
Greenville, SC
Stock Corvair Group Member
bwschug at charter.net

CORSA member since 1980

'67 Monza. "67AC140"