Help with 18" Tire and Wheel Choice Please!

Okay... so I'm not looking at doing anything too radical. Just want something a little different. Im thinking of something in an 18" size to clear some brakes I have on the horizon. I would rather not go 19" if possible, but I would consider it. I want the tires to be tallish, at least 27", 28" would be better.

Wheels: 18x9 all four corners

Tires: 275/45-18 all four corners

Here's the tricky part... I don't like just about all aftermarket wheels. I want something very understated, in a 5 spoke design. I don't like the open look of 95% of the wheels out there. I'm thinking along the lines of the AR Torqelite:



Or even more plain than that. Problem is the largest size they make is 18x8. I could run 255/45-18 with an 18x8 but I'd rather go a little wider than that, which makes the 18x9 more necessary.

Tires I'm not too picky on. Again, I'd like to find something a bit understated. A plain sidewall is a good sidewall.

Any suggestions? Should I just go with the 18x8 and stick with the 255/45-18's?

Thanks in advance! FWIW, it's going on this car, which will carry the "plain and simple" theme further once I remove the belt-line trim and put in a DCM bumper filler:

Hey Kevin - Chris pointed me out here today and said you were talking about some 18s. I ran 18x8s on two wagons, both with 5" backspace. Had no problems. That is the "safe" size. If you want to go wider you certainly can but you'll need to take careful measurements on your rear end to see what will fit on your particular car and what BS you need. I believe my tires are 235/45 but I'm not 100% positive and they're on the rack where I can't get to them right at the moment. I used the tire size calculator to match up whatever 235x18 would be the stock height, as I wanted to keep that.

As for wheels, I'd highly recommend checking out the Centerline offering. They have some understated "classic" designs and they are forged which makes them both stronger and lighter. I've seen plenty of ARE wheels junked after hitting a pothole or something, and the Centerlines hold up better. I paid $159 each for my Centerline Archer 18x8s new, A-stock, straight from the factory.
http://centerlinewheels.com/

bigoldv8 wrote:

I've seen plenty of ARE wheels junked after hitting a pothole or something, and the Centerlines hold up better.

...lol...those would be my wheels. One destroyed on a trip with Frank (in the WB4) to Waterloo and one pretty screwed up after a trip back from Front Royal Va. Hahaa.

Those TT2's are not made for hauling any load in the back of our wagons....

These are the wheels I am saving up for for my wagon project ( http://centerlinewheels.com/wheel_deals_detail.php?id=12512&type=bolt&data=5-5.0 )


And look how happy Mike (BigOldV8) is after his 18in wheels were put on.....you too can have this joy of a forged wheel.

Chris

that's some revisionist history there... I was happy about my LIFT! and I still am. I was happy about the 18s on another day.

Thanks, Mike & Chris for pointing me that way. Yes, it seems Centerline is right in line with what I'm thinking from a design standpoint. This one is my favorite:



Mike, you still have that car? That thing has always been one of my favorites...

Nope, alas I had a brain fart and sold it, but it's in good hands. ArlingtonSS has it down in Texas now.

bigoldv8 wrote:

Nope, alas I had a brain fart and sold it, but it's in good hands. ArlingtonSS has it down in Texas now.

Cool. I remember you had it for sale. Too bad I was broke at the time.

The tire size you used was probably either a 235/50-18 at 27.25" tall or a 235/55-18 at 28.17" tall. There is a good selection of both of those tires on TireRack.

There is also a reasonably priced Kumho 245/50-18 on there that would be 27.65" tall. That may be perfect, and just a shade wider than what you had. The sidewall is a little busy but might be okay. Here's a picture of it:



On the wider tires, there is a 255-50-18 at 28" tall. The only tire I see that is reasonable in that size is the Nitto NT420. Really that's a small SUV tire but it doesn't look too bad. Some of the Charger/300C crowd run this one and it gets good reports over at the LX forum. The tread is a little wild, though:



Toyo als makes one in that size, but again it is really for an SUV. The Pirelli's are currently the only other option at close to $400 each. I think I'll be skipping this size!

Yeah if you go with the 8" wide wheel you'll be fine on clearance with those sizes. Part of the reason I went with the 235s was the price. Seemed like it jumped a lot when you went up from there, and as you found the selection was limited. I was pretty happy with the Radial TA KDWs I had.

TIME TO VOTE!

Hehe. I have it narrowed down to two. One is more expensive than the other but I'm not too worried about that... the total cost of the project will only change by 10% or so. So betwen the two wheels below, which do y'all like better?

OPTION 1





OPTION 2

Option one.

While I always liked the 'old' aluminum slots, just not quite feeling those (option 2).

Have to agree with Mike on this one... #1

DBeaSSt wrote:

Option one.

While I always liked the 'old' aluminum slots, just not quite feeling those (option 2).

Ditto here! Option 1

Yeah, I was thinkin' option 1 as well. Cool. They are a little salty pricewise because they are new, but I think they'll look killer on the wagon. Especially when I get disc brakes all around.

I like #1! Can't go wrong with that one, Kev! I considered it myself!

#2 may look better on a Buick, I think. (and by that, I mean the second rim choice, btw )

I am pretty sure you could fit a 9.5" wheel with no issues. I think I may try bolting up my 18x9.5 C5's with 275/40's on the Marshmallow this week.

That's what i was thinking ......while I like option 1...(have always like the classic 5 spoke look ) I think the 2nd option would look good on a woody.

I don't envy you...this is a tough choice ....they both look good.

Maybe someone can photo shop them on a wagon.

OR, you could buy two of each and just do the pairs on each side.

Greg72 wrote:

That's what i was thinking ......while I like option 1...(have always like the classic 5 spoke look ) I think the 2nd option would look good on a woody.

I don't envy you...this is a tough choice ....they both look good.

Maybe someone can photo shop them on a wagon.

DBeaSSt wrote:

OR, you could buy two of each and just do the pairs on each side.

Greg72 wrote:

That's what i was thinking ......while I like option 1...(have always like the classic 5 spoke look ) I think the 2nd option would look good on a woody.

I don't envy you...this is a tough choice ....they both look good.

Maybe someone can photo shop them on a wagon.

Kinda like Fred and his 2 SS wheels he used to have. LOL!! Remember his old ebay pics.
Stock on one side...and SS wheels on the other.

Option 1 without a doubt, but I'm biased with the Imp wheelz

So...since I did not see you at 'Fest....

What did you end up getting??

PICS!!!

And what wheels are YOU going to run on that fine piece of GM machinery, BROKECELLO?

QUE?

bigoldv8 wrote:

And what wheels are YOU going to run on that fine piece of GM machinery, BROKECELLO?

QUE?

Well stock alloys of course.... I thought that was obvious. :p

DBeaSSt wrote:

Well stock alloys of course.... I thought that was obvious. :p

Hah... Not for long, if I know the 'cello. He's been trying to talk me out of one of my sets.

Update - I scored a set of perfect Imp wheels with tires for this thing. The tires aren't my favorite, and they're the 27" tall Impala size. Ideally they'd be 28" tall but I'm going to run them until they are used up. By then I hope to find a 255/55-17 that I like. Thinking about these:

http://www.onlinetires.com/products/vehicle/tires/federal/255%252F55-17+federal+ss595+102v.html

The price is certainly right. probably won't last too long based on that treadwear rating. Overkill for the wagon, but this thing barely ever sees rain, so a nice dry-weather tire makes sense.

Nice! Those tires look like the Nitto Extremes I has on my TT2s. Let me know how you like those...good price too!!

Chris

If you haven't pulled the trigger... Boss makes a few 18" wheels that are VERY inexpensive.
The boss 304 is available in 18x9 w/+14 offset. Perfect fit. Just ask Crovo, I belive he had a set.
And My favorite: the Boss 338:

firewood wrote:

If you haven't pulled the trigger... Boss makes a few 18" wheels that are VERY inexpensive.
The boss 304 is available in 18x9 w/+14 offset. Perfect fit. Just ask Crovo, I belive he had a set.
And My favorite: the Boss 338:

what are those worth?