1987 Pontiac Safari Wheel upsize question...

I'm getting ready to go pick up my wagon in the next week, and have some questions regarding wheels. I'm wanting to put Boss 338 wheels (pictured), but have never upsized wheels on anything before and I'm planning to put 17" wheels to replace the OEM 15". . So, I'm hoping for some advice. The bolt pattern on the car is 5 lug 5x5" (127mm). The wheels are the same, but have an offset of +2mm and backspace of 4.5".

Will these fit without modification? Thoughts/Opinions...all are appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!!

Joey T

How wide are they? 8"? 9"? 9.5"?

Stingroo wrote:

How wide are they? 8"? 9"? 9.5"?

The Boss wheels are 17x8.

Check tire prices on 18s and 20s before committing to the 17s. You might find that wheels and tires might be cheaper for bigger. I believe 4.5 BS is ok for 8"

There's always Rally II's!

You can get 17" snowflakes now, too! 5x4.75, but it's easy to change the car to the small pattern.

jayoldschool wrote:

You can get 17" snowflakes now, too! 5x4.75, but it's easy to change the car to the small pattern.

That'd be SWEET and keep the Pontiac feel!

Hi Joey,

I recently went from 15" stockers to 18x8 on the RMW and spent allot of time using this calculator.

http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

Have fun with your new ride.

Vern

I just ordered mine, Ridler 695 in 17x8. They are 5x5 with a zero offset and 4.5" backspacing. Should be virtually identical to the Impala SS wheels (17x8.5" with 4.5" backspacing) they I was running in the summer. They look much like the Boss 338, but are a bit less money and said to be as good or better quality.



18" tires are about $20-50 a pop more than the 17", with 19" it gets worse. I also put 40k miles per year on my car, so 17" wheels have some advantages.

No way would I order 17s even with the price diff,18s have such a wider tire selection.Agree
with Jason,want to run 255/55/18 on my next set of wheels.
IMHO

Flasheroo wrote:

No way would I order 17s even with the price diff,18s have such a wider tire selection.Agree
with Jason,want to run 255/55/18 on my next set of wheels.
IMHO

Don't you have 17" wheels on your car now Jim? Why so small?

Flasheroo wrote:

No way would I order 17s even with the price diff,18s have such a wider tire selection.Agree
with Jason,want to run 255/55/18 on my next set of wheels.
IMHO

+1 on ^

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

Flasheroo wrote:

No way would I order 17s even with the price diff,18s have such a wider tire selection.Agree
with Jason,want to run 255/55/18 on my next set of wheels.
IMHO

Don't you have 17" wheels on your car now Jim? Why so small?

Yes and I said I want to run 18s on my NEXT set of wheels and yes I am having trouble finding a 28" tire for my 17s without going to
a truck tire and they weigh between 33 and 35 pounds per tire.I want a 28.5 inch tall tire with a tire weight below 30 pounds to keep
the rotating mass as low as possible and this will be easy by going with a 18inch car tire.Only reason I am running 17" rims was
because thats the only size they had back then and I had to have the BBS wheel so I settled but I want 18s now!

Flasheroo wrote:

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

Flasheroo wrote:

No way would I order 17s even with the price diff,18s have such a wider tire selection.Agree
with Jason,want to run 255/55/18 on my next set of wheels.
IMHO

Don't you have 17" wheels on your car now Jim? Why so small?

Yes and I said I want to run 18s on my NEXT set of wheels and yes I am having trouble finding a 28" tire for my 17s without going to
a truck tire and they weigh between 33 and 35 pounds per tire.I want a 28.5 inch tall tire with a tire weight below 30 pounds to keep
the rotating mass as low as possible and this will be easy by going with a 18inch car tire.Only reason I am running 17" rims was
because thats the only size they had back then and I had to have the BBS wheel so I settled but I want 18s now!

Those BBS wheels should be a very light wheel. Often the larger wheels offset the tire weight. I know the Impala SS wheels are "ROCKS" when it comes to weight. Very durable though. I carried an American Racing Nova wheel (almost went with those) it was very light in a 20" wheel. I think you will loose some ride in the larger sizes. 18 or 19 would be a perfect size if money was no object. I go through a set of tires every year so cost is paramount for me.

My steel(yes I used a magnet)BBS wheels are about 4 lbs lighter than those heavy SS wheels,but I know GM must have figured that since the SS wheels are 5x5 somebody would put them on a truck.Thought something was wrong when I picked up my first SS wheel.
Almost as heavy as my old 22 inch alcoa tractor rims.Forgot how often you go thru tires.