18" wheels on 1969 Road Runner

[Sweet5ltr]

Anyone have 18" wheels, please post if you do.

Looking at SVE Drift Wheels, 18x9 (05+) front and 18x10 rear (94-04 rear) off LMR.com. (https://lmr.com/products/SVE-Drift-Wheels)

Would like to run 255/45/18 NT555 G2 front and 295/45/18 NT05 rear to keep a similar stance, and for clearance with turbo.

I've seen an A-Body with these identical wheels, they look ridiculous (in a good way). Does anyone think the 6" backspacing will be a problem on the front and rear? Fronts have a +35MM offset, rears have a +22mm offset.

BTW.. they look nearly identical to an 15+ SRT wheel, that is the appeal to me. I own a 15' SRT as well.

 

[Richard Cranium]

No offense, but 18" wheels just don't look right on 99% of classic cars.

 

[usaroadrunner]

here is mine, had to go with 18s to clear the wilwoods. i tried to go with the biggest side wall. i don't like the rubber band look. 18x8.5 front 18.9.5 rear. none taken RC, we all can't be the same, what fun would that be.
i got 4.5 on the front an 5.75 in the rear for back spacing. you might get by with the 6 in the back but i think you will have a problem with the front. jmo

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Richard, I enjoy the 'big and little look' as well. I currently have draglites 3.5" front & 8" rear. Also sporting 295/65r15 M/T drag radial's. As you might know, these are the R2 'special compound' that last less than 1,000 miles on the street per set. I have a Turbocharged 440 with A2W intercooling and Meth injection, engine makes near 600HP off boost, it isn't classic in any sense anymore. I plan on doing 1/2 mile races with the car next year, and I really don't want 4" wide drag skinnies on it @ 150+ MPH, I need more tread on the road up front. It's a bit different than running a 1/4 mile as you could imagine.

I have SSBC 4-piston disc brakes on the front and Baer on the rear.

The tallest performance tire I could find was the 295/45r18 NT05's, which are around 29" tall on the rear. The fronts are 27" tall.

 

[Kern Dog]

Not everyone is stuck in the 1960s drag racing scene. SOME people like to turn corners rather than to drive in a straight line. There are no decent tires in the 14 or 15 inch size for decent handling.
I run 275-40-18s up front and a 295-45-18 out back, Nitto 555s. I bought a set of NT-01s that I still need to mount up, same size.

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Not everyone is stuck in the 1960s drag racing scene. SOME people like to turn corners rather than to drive in a straight line. There are no decent tires in the 14 or 15 inch size for decent handling.
I run 275-40-18s up front and a 295-45-18 out back, Nitto 555s. I bought a set of NT-01s that I still need to mount up, same size.

Kern, I couldn't agree more. The 60's look is cool, I love 30x15" tires on Mopars, but they aren't practical. I've owned a Z06 Corvette, road-race Supercharged Saleen Foxbody Coupe, and now a 2015 SRT 392 Challenger. I prefer cars that can actually take a corner faster than 30mph.. There are literally no options for serious performance tires on a 15" wheel, other than drag radials. Well, I ordered my wheels tonight (18x9 front/18x10 rear). Should be here next week, going to figure out if they are going to work without any major modifications to the car.

 

[Glew]

I have 18x9 in back and 17x8 in front. Think I could've gotten a tire with more sidewall though

 

[verdelaw]

No offense, but 18" wheels just don't look right on 99% of classic cars.

We got an OLD GUY over here! Lol, if you're gonna be a negative nelly, just don't respond. :thebirdman: Goes for a lot of threads on here...

Usaroadrunner, your car is a beaut! Have always thought so as you've been building it. Keep on keepin on! :headbang:

 

[barbee6043]

I guess the question was who had 18 in rims? sorry, not me.

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Here are the wheels on Moselyme's A-Body.. As you can tell, it's pretty much identical to a factory Hellcat wheel but in 18" diameter. Not sure if he's finished the car, from the build it's been under construction for a few years.

 

[747mopar]

I'd post mine but they're 18 fronts and 19 rears, 18 all the way around will look great.

 

[Boise68]

I am old and I have 18 inches.

 

[Grabinov911]

18"s on the grass...

 

[usaroadrunner]

hey ummmmm, i think there should be some more pics of your ride graginov911. don't be holden out. lol

 

[Grabinov911]

She's a mystery..



Actually, here are a cople of photos of the wheels themselves for Sweet5Ltr:

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Great images, thanks for the feedback. It's surprising how a few members believe moving to larger diameter wheels is blasphemy. The wheels I purchased are nearly identical to the Hellcat, just in an 18" format. Would I run 20's, of course not, but you have to step up into 18's to have the proper wheel height in order to clear the tie rod assembly. With 6.3" of backspacing, I believe it will work. If an A-Body can use this setup, then with a B-Body it shouldn't be an issue. You can always run spacers to push the wheel out, but not the other way around.

 

[Richard Cranium]

We got an OLD GUY over here! Lol, if you're gonna be a negative nelly, just don't respond.

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Well, wheels worked out great. No new pics yet, still waiting for my 14" wilwood 6-piston setup to arrive for the front. Just needed a 5/16" spacer on the rear, have around 1/2"-3/4" of tire clearance to the leaf, another 1.5-2" to the outside fender. This is with a 20ish mm offset on the 18x10 rear with 6.3" of backspacing.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Nice! looking forward to the Pics

 

[Sweet5ltr]

Nice! looking forward to the Pics

I'm looking forward to them as well, the Wilwoods are backordered until the 10th..