A great tire size calculator
With the help of all the Chevette sufficianados on the planet, I
intend to ONCE AND FOR ALL establish a list of wheels that will work successfully on the
Chevette. This page is starting out brand new on July 11, 2001. I hope to
find a list of compatible wheels for the Chevette, and establish proof that this list will
work perfectly well on the Chevette, or note why not. The dimensions for the stock Chevette wheel are : Measuring from the outer rim to the base of the lug
nut hole: 1¼" ( Outside rim ) { for future reference, these will be the baseline
measurements } How to measure offset: Measuring offset is VERY simple. Simply lay a straightedge on the inside inner
rim, where the tire mounts. Measure down to the wheel mounting surface. The number that
you get will be your offset. As you can see above, the stock Chevette offset is 4½"
inches. It is *possible* to install wheels with up to 5 1/8" offset, but there will
be some rubbing if you're using large tires. With the addition of some ¼" spacers,
that problem will be corrected. First up, the BMW wheel. 4X100mm bolt pattern, and 14X6 in size. A
perfect wheel for the Chevette: Dimensions for this BMW wheel: 1 5/8"
4 ¾" Next up, the Accura wheel. 4X100mm bolt pattern, and 14X5½ in
size. The inner hole is a very tight fit, and will need to be enlarged a couple of
thousandths. Should be no problem with a little effort. The tire shown here is a
195-60-14. LOTS of clearance ! ( I didn't get measurements on this one yet, I forgot ) But as you
can see from the picture, this "front wheel drive" wheel is not inside the
fender well very much. It even appears to be farther out than a stock Chevette rim. So
much for the "front wheel drive " offset on this rim. How about these bad boys ! This is a 16X7" BMW 4X100MM wheel ! The
wheel caps and wheel have "Alpina" on them. Don't know what that means, like I
have typed before, I'm not a BMW expert. I doubt there is any way to put this wheel on a
Chevette, the inside offset is too deep. I have yet to try the thing, but will soon. Also,
it will be very difficult and pricey to get a 23" tall 16" tire, and one with
reasonable width, probably around 7" or so. Dimensions for this 16X7 BMW wheel: 2 3/8" 5
1/8" To see an extensive photo shoot of this wheel on a Chevette, click here. Lots of photos. UPDATE: I have recently been deluged with offers to buy
these wheels. I don't own them, they were on loan to see if they would fit on the
Chevette. The man who *did* own them has since sold them in 2001 for $300. This wheel is the American Racing wheel. I don't have any specs on the thing
other than it is a 13" wheel. Good looking wheel if you like 13". The Pontiac T1000 Alloy wheel. This nice looking 14X6" wheel can be seen on Shawn Begin's 1984 Diesel
Chevette, as seen on the Chevette Zealot page. Shawn
bought these new for $50 each ( name of wheel and store to be added later because I forget
), and they look and fit great ! Also, since they are available new, they are pretty easy
to find. Shawn also installed a set of 195-60-14 Firestone Firehawk tyres also. Shawn
writes: The Wheels on my car are by U.S. Wheels. Got 'em from Summit Racing http://store.summitracing.com I believe they are
"FWD only" wheels, and Summit wont give you a part number if you call. U.S.
Wheels makes 3 wheels in steel that fit the T chassis. Mine is the cheapest, they are the
64 Series wheels w/o the clunky center caps. part # 64-4641 . Lug nuts are
to be had at Autozone. They're plain jane chrome lugs, not even end caps on them. Luckily,
I have yet to have any rust from the studs bleeding down the nuts or the wheels.
Measuring from the outer rim to the inner mounting surface: 4½"
( Inside rim )
There are a few different versions of this wheel, and there are also 13"
versions.
( That is NOT a hubcap
! It's a good looking wheel in person )
I have a set of these on
my Gold Diesel Chevette. My wife says they look like a "battle shield" that Xena
would wield ! I'm not exactly thrilled with them, but I guess they are unique and hard to
find.
heya bob!
I got me some tyres! (tars as you put 'em) Firehawk ss20's. 195/60R14's
like your lamans tyres, but only 6.8" wide and 23.2" in diameter (spec
sheet). They're on the car
right now, and damn! does that car handle. I thaught Chevettes sucked at
high speed cornering, but damn, get rid of granny rubber and that thing
flys.
The ubiquitous Vega GT wheels mounted on the Chevette. Mathew Babey has these
mounted on his Canadian Chevette. These wheels are from the Chevrolet Vega GT, and measure
in at 13X6 " . I don't have the backspace numbers, but they "fit".
There is some discrepancy on whether these wheels actually "fit" on the Chevette. The bolt pattern is technically 4X101.6 mm, while the Chevette uses 4X100 mm wheels. More than a few people have used these on the Chevette, some with problems, some without.
Use at your own risk.
How about some Volkswagon GTI wheels ? On the car. Silver GTi wheels on the car.
14X6 5 " backspace
Here's some interesting wheels........
Mazda Miata steel wheels. If you're looking for some "factory
looking" steel wheels, these things almost look like stock Chevette wheels. However,
they are the more desireable 14" size ! Uses stock lug nuts also. You must enlarge
the center hole about 1/8", and I used ¼" wheel spacers also for a better
"fit". Maybe I'll find some Mazda Miata alloy wheels one of these days. Those
are nice.
14X 5½ ", 5 1/8" backspace
Rig 2. March 29, 02. 185-60HR-14 tires
Another set of Mazda Miata wheels. These are aluminum alloy wheels. EXTREMELY light. 14X5½" with a 5" backspace. Should work great as is, but I would use the ¼" wheel spacers. Once again, I got real lucky. These wheels are like new, and perfectly straight with no damage whatsoever on them. ( I wonder if Miata drivers are super careful ? )
14X5½"
with 5" backspace Mazda Miata
Check out Dave L.'s wheel
page on Chevette's ! Absolutely exceptional work !
And now for a little " Wheel Talk". ( supplied by the Chevette Forum )
( my comments are in green ) ( note that everyone is now a perfect
speller ! :-)
Posted by Max on 8/7/2001, 3:02 am , in reply to
"wheelswheelswheelswheelswheelswheels"
24.113.17.43
| BMW has some nice OEM BBS wheels that came on the M3 which are 4x100 and 15"... decently wide too IIRC. |
Editors note: Now I wish I could find some of
THOSE !!!! ( editor )
Posted by Dave L on 8/6/2001, 10:35 pm , in
reply to "wheelswheelswheelswheelswheelswheels"
209.240.220.156
| Hey Bob, I finally got another GEO Storm 14x5 1/2" Aluminum wheel and tested them with 185/60R14 on my 80 HO. They work with no modifications, that's right no spacers! The center hole is a little tight but you don't have to open it up if you don't want to. I didn't for the test drive. The reason I had thought that I would need spacers was because the back-space is around a 1/4 more BUT what I didn't think of was that the wheel is 1/2" wider. SO 1/4" on one side and 1/4" on the other and the tire is still sitting in the same location as a stock Chevette tire. I've also (accidentally) found a 14 X 5 1/2" aluminum Nissan wheel that works. I don't know what it came off of though! I only got it for the TAR! ( !!!!!!!!! Pictures, Pictures !!!!! editor ) Renault Alliance steel 13x5" work as well but I don't see any advantage in using them. The back space also brings them in a little closer to the suspension. Steel Dodge Rampage 14x5 1/2 wheels DON'T fit, (those little Omni type trucks) the center hole is way to small and it rubbed on the front shocks even when loosely bolted up to a chevette there. and finally, STEEL GEO storm 13" wheels DON'T fit. The wheel is made different and they rub on the front brake caliper. For anyone who hasn't guessed yet, I was at the u-pull-it again. Bob you'd like it there, every car (exc foreign) is separated by make (Chevy,ford,dodge,Buick,Pontiac....) and ALL of them are setting on stands! I also got a set of those Aluminum Pontiac 1000 wheels, with one small problem. The car
was in a wreck and 1 of the 4 wheels has a "small" dent on the part where the
tires bead seals. It's not bad and would work fine on the rear until I find another one
but it BUGS me. Anyone ever try to bend one back? it's only dented about 1/8" or
less. I just don't want to break it. |
( Yep. Big hammer hitting on some wood
"might" bend it back. Here in Cincinnati there are some places that specialize
in straightening alloy wheels, and even fixing broken ones. You can have that wheel
repaired
easily. ) editor
Posted by Ed on 8/6/2001, 9:43 pm , in reply
to "wheelswheelswheelswheelswheelswheels"
24.141.24.58
| Hey Bob I think you really got a thing for wheels! ( Yep ! ) Now you mention price eh? Cheap eh? ( I'm very frugal :-) Well how about space saver spare tires, you can get these practically for free. Now get 8 of them, put 4 on like they should be, and now take the other 4 and mount them on backwards and now install the lug nuts. These will give you a nice wide tread pattern as well the "original" look. Please observe the speed rating on the sidewall of these tars! Hehehehe I've got someone coming by with a set of mags they took off a T-Body going for scrap. I'll fill you in on the details when I see them. I hope they look nice. theothered ( !!!!!!! Pictures Pictures !!!!!!!!! ) |
Posted by Dave L on 7/12/2001, 10:07 pm
209.240.221.125
I took some measurements on a few wheels I have and here is what I found; The "back space" of a stock Chevette wheel is, as Bob said on his page, 4 1/2". Any larger number will put your tires closer to your body, smaller numbers will put them closer to the fenders. Aluminum GEO storm 14x5 1/2" 6 spoke wheels have a
4 7/8" back space. They will work with very small tires 175-60-14's tops. You may
also want to open up the center hole a little where it slides on to the hub & you will
need to find a way to hold your emergency brake cable away from your rear tires. If you
get 1/4"wheel-spacers, as I've done, this will bring your back-space number to 4
5/8". Now your wheels & tires are only tucked in 1/8" over stock and it
should work with out rubbing. (Jc Whitney has the spacers & so do I But I only have
one wheel so I couldn't test drive it yet). |
Now this is what I would like to see more of, a little constructive Wheel Talk !