wheels for my Cuda

[john h]

Hey all,

I'm lost on all the wheel info.  I have been looking at all different styles and brands.  I can't get good enough answers form even the tire pro people selling them.  so,  here is what I'm looking at for wheels.  Tire selection will come later when I get the wheel figured out.  I'm trying to find something with a low back space and I have this down to 4.89"  I have no understanding of the offset or what is required.  will this wheel fit my 73 Cuda?  Also, I want to do a rear disk conversion so it will need to fit that later as well.

Size: 17" x 8"
Bolt Pattern: 5 x 4.5", 5 x 120mm
Back Space: 4.89"
Offset: +10mm
Bore: 74.1mm


thanks, John

[dodj]

Yes they will fit. You will likely be able to find a disk brake conversion that will fit within 17" wheels.

[72bluNblu]

Yup, those should fit pretty well. Do you have a link or pictures of the wheel?

[SBDave]

5x4.5" should be 5x114.3mm, not 120mm

[john h]

5x4.5" should be 5x114.3mm, not 120mm

I agree, I think they come in both patterns.  I just cut and pasted the listing off the wheel site. 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[john h]

I was thinking for the front I may want a 17x7.5, but the then the back space goes way up on the same wheel to to 5.9"  will that work on the front since I don't have to worry about leaf springs? 

Here is a picture of the 2 I'm considering.  I know the purists won't like them, but I want something a little different than the stock wheel and trim ring.  What does everyone thing about this look?

[dodj]

I was thinking for the front I may want a 17x7.5, but the then the back space goes way up on the same wheel to to 5.9"  will that work on the front since I don't have to worry about leaf springs? 

Nope. Unless you use a 7/8" or 1" spacer. The nose of my car has 17x9" rims with a 5.9" backspace but I also have a 25mm spacer in there.

[anlauto]

You would REALLY cut down your turning radius with that much backspacing on your front rims They'll hit the frame when you turn.

[72bluNblu]

You would REALLY cut down your turning radius with that much backspacing on your front rims They'll hit the frame when you turn.

The frame won't even matter, those rims won't even mount up. They'll hit the tie rod end well before the lug nuts are tight.

I have 17x9's with 5" backspacing and 275/40/17's on the front of my Challenger. With a 17" rim your backspace is limited by the outside tie rod end, pretty much the most backspace you can run is 5.125". Any more than that and the rim will hit the outer tie rod.

18" rims will clear the tie rod, which makes the frame the next point of interference. Unfortunately, on an E-body you can't run much more backspace because you run into frame interference shortly after 5.125" of backspace on a 9" wide wheel.

[cudazappa]

Yes depending on the tire about 5" backspace is the limit.  My toyo tires didn't rub in front, my falkens do.  Same size tire.  If you get a rim with more than 5" you will need to spacer it out to fix.  Generally our cars like 0mm offset wheels.  0 offset is 4" on a 7" rim, 4.5" on an 8", 5" on a 9" and so on etc...  Positive offset will require a spacer to get back to 0, negative offset you can't spacer to fix, it would need to fit as is.

Biggest you may fit up front is a 17x9 with 0 offset (5" backspace) and a 275/40 tire.  17x8 with 0 offset and a 245/45 is a safe bet