Let's tear down!!!

Eww... the rubber-band, wagon-wheel look. I don't mind it on newer cars, I guess, but I really can't adjust to it on classic cars. I've seen as large as 18s look OK with the right wheels, but anything beyond that just seems absurd to me.
 
Eww... the rubber-band, wagon-wheel look. I don't mind it on newer cars, I guess, but I really can't adjust to it on classic cars. I've seen as large as 18s look OK with the right wheels, but anything beyond that just seems absurd to me.



I have to completely agree. :dgt:

I have never bought a tire in my life bigger then 15" :D
 
I'd like to have these in 17X9's and 17X11's. I'm satisfied with the Gen I Viper sized tires. 275/40/17 & 335/35/17 they'll fill the wheel wells nicely.


I was looking at my employer's husband's 2010 ZR1 and the 20's are the rear tire size on that. I didn't realize those were $130k cars, it's nice but for that kinda coin I could buy a new Ram dually, a clean 1st or early 2nd Gen Viper, and a done big block Charger, or my house :D
 
Those are the best-looking upsized Rallyes I've seen. Every other one looks like total ass.

The ZR-1 is just a scosche over $100K on the sticker. Much like the early Vipers, though, I'm sure dealers are adding a premium to be the owner of one. I was working at the local Chrysler dealership when they got their first new Viper, which I think was a '93. Right at the bottom of the window sticker was this: "Additional dealer premium... $15,000". People that looked at the car and complained about that surcharge were told, "Go find one somewhere else, then." The guy that bought it paid full sticker, including that.

On '71-up B-cars, my favorite wheel is the Ansen Sprint. I think the Torq-Thrust looks better on the older, more-square body styles especially '66-'67 Plymouths.
 
He paid $130, I talked his wife. He told her he wanted it, she said OK, price was NEVER discussed until 6 months into the payments :D. He has an '03 in the other garage with about 11K on it.

Yeah I like the slots on my car. I'm not sure of my favorite wheel on them, most of the pics I see have Ralleys. I like the Torq Thrusts. I've been trying to decide what wheels I want, I'm leaning toward those Ralleys for a set.
 
Ansen slots are my second choice. I had a set of knockoff uni-lugs on my "Dukes Of Hazzard" Cordoba. (I jumped things with it. :D)

I've been debating weather or not to put them on my Dakota when I swap the bolt pattern over to 5 on 4.5" even though they are uni-lug. :hmmm:

IM001481.jpg
 
To me, nothing "modern" looks right. Have you ever seen the Super Coupe wheels on Ehrenberg's '69 Road Runner? He used '71 Rallye centers (the dark argent ones) on those wheels, and it looks pretty damned good. I'm not a huge fan of those wheels, but they're a lot better than others I've seen.
 
I've got a set of those and the centers, they're going on my Charger :)

Um Dippy, the good Doc might have a little problem wit that! He done called the dibses,
 
Unilugs... gack. Two of my three Trans Ams had unilug Keystone Klassics on them when I bought the cars (including my first car when I was 16), and they were the first things changed. I'd like to make the statement that I don't like things that only fit with washers, but if you saw the alternator setup on my '78 Trans Am you'd have pissed yourself laughing and that would make me a hypocrite. :D Suffice to say, if the alternator comes undone that's one thing, but losing a wheel is quite another. I've played that game; it's not fun.
 
but losing a wheel is quite another.............. it's not fun.

That can happen regardless of wheel configuration. When I was 17, riding in a '66 SS396 chevelle, the left rear axle snapped between the bearing and wheel flange while the clutch was in between shifts. I realize that common sense dictates that anything interpretted as a "modification" to mount the wheels could possibly undermine its' integrity, but you can't discount the millions of them on the roads for many years without incident. :huh:
 
I realize there are far more ways than one to lose a wheel; it's happened to me once on a factory steel wheel. It's disappointing to find your recently-purchased '74 Charger was apparently used as a lug-nut donor vehicle, and the previous owner put the hubcap back on it with only 3 nuts securing the wheel. That one came off on a 4-lane highway. The unilug incident happened when I was 15, riding with a friend. Not surprisingly, it was a Keystone Klassic that broke (those things were like flies in the '70s and lots were still around years later). The center of the wheel broke out between the lugs. It took out the quarter panel, wheelhouse, and trunk extension on my friend's 'Cuda. I'm sure the wheel had been overtightened or run loose to cause the damage because I whacked a curb with a Keystone at a bad angle while sliding on black ice. It mangled the rim so badly I couldn't believe it held air. Regardless, when the wheel came off my friend's car, neither one of us was even old enough to drive. You want to talk about pit-crew speed getting the spare on? :D We were only a few feet from his driveway, but we still freaked. There was no plate, no insurance, and two underage kids. His Dad was not impressed, nor was mine when the call came.

The other reason I don't like unilug wheels is that they don't properly center the wheel on the register. They use the lug nuts and washers instead. That raised area in the center of the axle flange isn't there for good looks.

Interestingly enough, Dave got his car when the previous owner acquired a '78 Trans Am and lost interest in the Fish. The Keystones came on the 'Cuda, which had brand-new cheapo rear shocks. Six years later, I bought a '78 Trans Am from a guy that had knew who'd owned it previously. It had unilug Keystones on it as well. Sure enough, one of the previous owners was the guy that sold Dave the 'Cuda.
 
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Thanks DCF. I like the look of the wheels, but it's not the look I want. I'm going with the S/C-Magnum wheels with the '71 Rallye centers I already have.

When I finish it, it'll have a completely different look. I'm just not sure what it's going to be yet :D
 
The other reason I don't like unilug wheels is that they don't properly center the wheel on the register. They use the lug nuts and washers instead. That raised area in the center of the axle flange isn't there for good looks.


Some newer European cars use the lugs to center the wheels. VW and Audi that I know of.

I realize it's not the perfect way to do it but do you think it's going to matter on my Dakota that sees a maximum of about 600 miles a year of highway driving at 60 mph? The rest is all in town under 40 mph.
 
Some newer European cars use the lugs to center the wheels. VW and Audi that I know of.

I realize it's not the perfect way to do it but do you think it's going to matter on my Dakota that sees a maximum of about 600 miles a year of highway driving at 60 mph? The rest is all in town under 40 mph.
I've sold lots of hub assemblies for all kinds of makes and models (including VW and Audi), and I've not yet seen one that doesn't have a center register for wheel location.

We'd travelled a grand total of about a quarter of a mile when that wheel broke and never got the car over 25MPH. Conversely, when I drove my Super Bee home with about 2" of toe out, I felt a wobble after about 35 miles at highway speeds. The center had cracked on one of the factory road wheels ("Magnum 500") but the acorn-style nuts held the wheel in place. When I got the factory acorn nuts off, the wheel came off in two pieces--the center was completely broken out between the studs.

All I did was state my opinion and the reasons and experience behind it. Yours may be different and that's fine. If you have the wheels, you like them, and the unilug setup doesn't bother you, run 'em. I'm just saying I wouldn't use 'em on a golf cart. :D
 
I've sold lots of hub assemblies for all kinds of makes and models (including VW and Audi), and I've not yet seen one that doesn't have a center register for wheel location.

Every old Beetle built had rims that were aligned and held by the lugs (bolts) only. Only the front wheels on cars past '66 fit the hubs tight, the back ones were still fully held by the bolts.

BUT, they weighed less than 2000 lbs, and I don't think wheel stress was an issue with any old VWs.
 

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