15" Tires Really Suck...

So I fixed that problem:



I am in love.

I would be too! Looks really good!!!!

SAAAAA WEEEETTTTT!

17x8.5, by the way.

The front tires rub a little bit on my inner fender, but I never fully re-attached them after I painted the car. I pushed it up and found that they don't rub, so I'm going to get some of the clips and screws and put those back.

Only thing is, I can't figure out what the model name of this wheel is for the life of me. I know they're from Billet Specialties, though, so I sent them an email.

Are they directional? Congrats!

The seller called them "handed." Left wheels and right wheels.

I thought directional was just for tires? I guess it's the same idea, though.

What size tires? I run 235 55 17 on my wagon and 275 40 17 on the Impala.

The 90's called, they want your wagon back.

I diggit!

Now would you lower the damn thing??? PLEASE?!?!?!?!

I want to lower it! Just the front, though! Suggestions for good springs?

Tim - they have 255/50s on them right now. They're about at the end of their life, though. Probably 20%. I'll get some 235/55s when tax refund arrives, and after selling the old wheels.

Directional wheels mean that they point the same way on both sides. See on your left side, the spokes sweep to the rear? Do they sweep to the rear or the front on the passenger side?

Yeah, they sweep to the rear on both sides. So then yeah, they're directional.

He needs the spring travel as he Dukes of Hazzards down dirt roads. He showed up at my place with the car covered in mud, lol. YeeeHaaaw!!!

Get some 9c1 front springs and cut a coil off....done.

Hey.

That was a test for the rear springs.

Shhhhh.

That's probably what I will end up doing.

Get a set of Vogtlands or Hotchis all around. Great spings!

Or just cut 3/4 of a coil of each of your stockers... Yeah, ALL FOUR!!!!

New 255/50s are about 27 inches tall when new,but those look a LOT shorter than that!Wheels
look good Ray,how much?

toomanytoyz wrote:

Get a set of Vogtlands or Hotchis all around. Great spings!

Or just cut 3/4 of a coil of each of your stockers... Yeah, ALL FOUR!!!!

I only plan to drop the nose. Rear has Moog CC623 cargo coils for trailer duty.

IT'S A MULTI-FUNCTION VEHICLE!

Looks awesome! Grab a mothers powerball and shine those babies up. I agree, 15" tires suck. That's the main reason I put my SS wheels on my Fleetwood. Handles much better. I have 225 60 17s. It's also slammed to the ground.....

Def lower it. I would lower mine but I like the floaty worn suspension.

I'm only lowering the front. Can't lower the rear anymore. Need some helper bags, probably. My hitch STILL scrapes going into the apartment complex....

Pansy.

LOWER IT!

Hope you invested in a set of high quality wheel locks,I would buy a set of 20 lugnut locks keyed
to a single key and USE THEM!

Yeah, I have them.

The center caps are weird, too. They require a special tool to remove. It's like two layers of protection. They're press-fit with a FAT O-ring and then you use the special wrench to lift them out.

Billett Specialities were the first with those O-ringed center caps to prevent any rattles,just
make sure they are in good shape and lube with vaseline or a quality rubber lubricant.Those
o-rings stop any galling like those eagles I sold you would do if you left them loose!

Yeah, the seller told me about that' They're pressed on nice and tight.

So I emailed Billet Specialties asking about the wheel. The seller called them "Dragon Wing" wheels. The BS guy told me that they were called "Phantom" and were from their premier line.

According to some (vague) research I did, they were made from about 1997-2002 and retailed for about $1200 EACH.

That's insane. Were wheels really that expensive in the 90s? Good gravy.

Looks great!!

thats BADASS!!

Safely at home...

This picture is the best one yet!

You should use drop spindles on the front instead of drop springs. You only need a toe-in check instead of a complete alignment change. The drop spindles will keep your ride quality, because you will still have the same spring rate, and travel.

If you go to springs, take .030" shims out for every 1/2 inch drop. The toe-in should be unchanged with the spring drop.

Spindles push the wheels out, right?

About 1/2 inch. Springs push out a little too, because of the different angles of the arms, about 1/8 inch for 2 inch drop. That is why you have to remove 0.030 per 1/2 inch drop from the shim stacks to compensate for the camber change.

What is the benefit of spindles over springs, other than keeping the stock ride? I think the front of the car is much too soft, currently.

It depends on your perspective. You will have less suspension travel with the sprngs. If you do not care about suspension travel, go the way of springs. They will have to be stiffer to keep the car from bottoming out the suspension. You may be able to get stiffer springs to work with the spindles, if you like stiffer suspension. You have 17 inch wheels, which are the minimum you need for using spindles, because with 15s the suspension will hit the ground before the rim, and damage the suspension. I like the idea of having longer suspension travel if possible, just to keep from hitting the bump stops when traversing moderate road deviations (holes and bumps), and jarring you eye teeth loose. The final call is yours, because you have to live with the results. You can always change it if you do not like the results.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I because with 15s the suspension will hit the ground before the rim, and damage the suspension.

you have experience with this?

phantom 309 wrote:

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I because with 15s the suspension will hit the ground before the rim, and damage the suspension.

you have experience with this?

YES!

Fred, you say no 15" wheels + spindles. In your sig it says you have drop spindles. Looking at your avatar, it looks like you are running 15" wheels?

That is how I know. I have not been able to find 17s with tires that I can afford right now. It is constantly on my mind, and I hope I do not have a flat. I had a tire leak slowly, and took it to a tire shop. The tire went totally flat at the shop, and drug the end of the shock across the lot leaving a large scar on both the lot and the shock end. It really scares me to think what would happen at 60 MPH. The prior owner had a flat, and had to replace the lower arm, and he bent the sway bar too, which I found when rebuilding the front suspension. I will put 17s on it as soon as I can afford the swap. I also have to get new moons for the 17s, and they are about $55 each, plus I have to have flanges welded onto the rims for dzus fasteners. It gets really expensive really fast.

Just so people know, this is not just a "wow that could really be bad if something happened" - no, it's a legitimately serious matter and a car like this would fail inspection in numerous states, and for good reason.

For example, page 6 of the PA vehicle manual says that:

Quote :

A scrub line is an imaginary surface created if lines were drawn from bottom of wheel rim on one side to bottom of tire on other side. When lines are drawn from both sides an “X” under the vehicle suspension is created. No suspension or chassis component shall be below top portion of this imaginary “X”.

If your car had a sudden flat at 60mph and you hit somebody else (like a family in a minivan), you would likely be criminally liable. I was in a car a few years ago that developed a fast leak at highway speed - we had 12 seconds before we were on the ground, and we spent 5 of that figuring out what the funny noise was.

Maine has the same rule.

Quote :

ii. No portion of a vehicle component may extend below the scrub line. This includes any portion of the
suspension system; exhaust system, frame, hoses or other part except body trim or molding.

So does Connecticut.

Quote :

SCRUB LINE - This is a straight line drawn from the bottom of one wheel rim lip to another. No components shall extend below the scrub line.

So does Vermont.

Quote :

on both the front and rear suspension of the vehicle, stretch a taut string from the bottom of each wheel rim to the bottom of each of the other three (3) tires at the road surface. If any part of the steering, suspension or chassis is below this string, the vehicle will not pass inspection. Allow an additional one-quarter of an inch (¼”) assuming the tire will not come off the rim if the tire should go flat. Items which may extend below the scrub line include body sheet metal, bumpers, exhaust system components, oil and transmission pans.

Hot rod axle site - scrub line calculations.

National Street Rod Association safety rules specifically call out scrub lines.

Yet another street rod club, that says this about New Hampshire:

Quote :

You need wipers, lights, safety glass and most important, they will inspect for scrub line. This means the vehicle has to roll easily with all four tires flat, no piece of frame or suspension can hit the ground when tires go flat. When building a street rod, most guys will put four steel rims only on the car and make sure it rolls.

Ray

Really like the look of your car. The wheels make it look sharp. It's come along way from the days when it was red with peeling clear coat.

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

Ray

Really like the look of your car. The wheels make it look sharp. It's come along way from the days when it was red with peeling clear coat.

Tom

Thanks, Tom! I remember when I first bought it. It's kind of cool to know I've done all of it, too.

It does look pretty cool,is that word even used anymore to describe neat wagons?

For fun, a before/after comparison:

https://imgur.com/a/kxOOy

Pretty amazing! Nice work!

Ray, looking good. Now fix the year in your photo, it's '13 now!

Oops.

Shhhhhh.

Flasheroo wrote:

It does look pretty cool,is that word even used anymore to describe neat wagons?

Nope. It's groovy man!

Sprocket wrote:

Ray, looking good. Now fix the year in your photo, it's '13 now!

Damn that flat black looks bitchin'. And if it is 2013, I must be too old to think that. But I feel 25 in some ways. Flames over the front would be the next step for me.
COL

Satin, sir!



Pinstripes are next for the exterior. Flames are, dare I say it, too loud (I know, sort of hypocritical considering the rest of the car).

I dunno,. i just can't see in my mind a shock hanging lower than the bottom of the rim,.

I,d have to see pics of that,..

It is for real. I can not get under it to take the picture.

Looks really good.