Wheel size options?

[Highmyster]

I’m looking to put some new wheels and tires on my car, it has the originals still on it but the car is at the shop. I’m just wondering has anyone ran a 18” wheel and if so what width? Just wondering if a 18” will fit without rubbing. Thanks.

[bbodie52]

You need to take some time to do some careful fitment research. There is no way an 18" rim would fit on a 1960 Corvair 4-door sedan!

To start, click on the link below. You will likely be looking at 14" or 15" wheels with a 4-lug bolt pattern.

P195/70R14 (all, good replacement for 1960 - 65 6.50-13)
P205/55R15 (all)
P195/60R15 (all, good replacement for 1960 - 65 6.50-13)

Sizing Corvair Wheels and Tires
http://autoxer.skiblack.com/tires.html

[Highmyster]

That’s why I’m asking, it looks like there is enough real estate to fit them just wasn’t sure if anyone has done it yet.

[bbodie52]

These are some of the larger wheels I have seen on a custom Early Model (1960-1964) Corvair...

July 2014

Here is Stephan Håbet's (NorwayCorvair) fascinating 1961 Corvair custom from Europe (Norway).
It was chosen as the Corvair Forum 1960-1964 Corvair of the Year award recipient in 2014.

The wheels and tires are 16x8 XXR wheels that is a modern take of the classic Minilite wheels. The center got a spray of Gulf orange and the center caps were machined down to get rid of the logo. Wheels are 205/40-16 but will in the near future be changed to road slicks in the same size for the look.

XXR 8-spoke wheels

[Highmyster]

Those look good!

[joelsplace]

I've got 17x7 wheels on my '64 with no modifications to the body at all. I think they look stupid but the handling is much better.

[bbodie52]

Super size wheels on an EM Corvair tends to look ridiculous, and poorly done on the rear makes for poor looks, handling, and tire-destroying camber angles...Perhaps SHOW, but NO GO!

Spotlight-o-rama: An All American Selection
EVENT COVERAGE
BY Mike Garrett
26TH MARCH 2013


In yesterday’s post I gave you guys a broad view of the Goodguys All-American Get Together in Northern California, and today I’d like to narrow in and focus on some of the specific cars that caught my interest at the show. As I mentioned in the first post, there was huge variety of cars that came out – and I think this selection of six vehicles conveys that pretty well.


Let’s begin with one of those most unique,and also one of the coolest cars I found all day – a 1961 Chevy Corvair Lakewood wagon lowrider. Now just seeing any Corvair wagon is quite rare in itself, but to see one dumped to the ground on wire wheels is something completely unexpected.


With the rear wheels cambered well into the fenders, it gives the car a slightly European or Japanese vibe. It’s fitting, considering how much different the Corvair was from any other American car of the era.


Elsewhere, the car was very subtle. The body (with the exception of some mild shaving) and interior were largely original – and in pristine condition.


It’s always great to see people think outside the box, and that is exactly what the builder of this unique cruiser did. Well done!

http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/03/spo ... selection/

[joelsplace]

Camber has nothing to do with wheel size. That wagon has crazy camber because it is lowered so much. Ride height determines camber on the rear on EMs.

[bbodie52]

Perhaps all of that negative camber on the rear was needed to let the wheel/tire combination clear the Lakewood body without hitting the unique Lakewood wheel well opening. If the rear springs were not cut, the tires probable would not fit without a body modification.

[joelsplace]

If that is the case how do they install the wheels? Drop the drivetrain?

[bbodie52]

I suppose that jacking up the rear of the car to install/remove the oversized wheels/tires would provide the needed installation room. The problem is body clearance while the car is on the ground and the vehicle is being driven. The negative camber (provided by shortening the rear springs) might prevent the wide tires from contacting the body when the car is driven or moved. But to me that kind of "custom" work does not provide a good outcome. The "low rider" configuration results in a show car that is not really practical or a good vehicle for the road. It is strictly a show piece where compromise in favor of show has priority over drive-ability.

[bbodie52]

Here's another approach toward building a unique lowrider...

A lowrider (sometimes low rider) is a customized car with a lowered body. ... Given these specific characteristics, while a lowrider is always a lowered car, a lowered car is not always a lowrider. The term is used to describe a class of vehicle, not simply the height from ground to chassis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowrider

[joelsplace]

"I suppose that jacking up the rear of the car to install/remove the oversized wheels/tires would provide the needed installation room."
Brad,
Think about that for a second. The suspension swings through the same arc when you jack up the car as it does when you drive the car. If the wheel or tire will hit something at any point in the travel it will do it no matter if you are driving or using a jack.

[superbinder]

it is probably air bag suspension, they like to drop em down when parked. I hope

[terribleted]

it is probably air bag suspension, they like to drop em down when parked. I hope

Might be air, but, I am thinking this wagon is hydraulics.

[terribleted]

Bigger wheels really make no difference for fitment of the tire and wheel assembly as long as they are not too wide or have an incorrect offset for their width. The tires are what determine the clearance and the tire really MUST stay quite close to the original overall dimension, particularly diameter. If you change tire diameter a lot you change vehicle performance a lot as RPM at a speed will be either higher (smaller overall tire diameter), or lower (larger overall tire diameter). These differences change make for significant performance loss, not to mention speedometer inaccuracy.

For an 18" wheel you would want to run like a 205/40R 18 tire, which is 2 tenths of an inch shorter than stock and just under 2" wider. 40 series have pretty short sidewalls at 3.2" where the stock 13 inch tire had 5.8" of sidewall to absorb road impact. I can make no recommendations of what the maximum width with what offset on an 18" wheel will not hit stuff.

Here is a link to a tool that I own that works reasonable well to try wheel and tire fitments without wheels or tires. Fitting really needs to be done with the spring removed from the corner being tested as with a jack under say the L front wheel and the L front spring in the car you can not compress the spring as far as it might compress hitting a big dip in the road or whatever. With the spring out you can test the clearance from fully suspended down till the shock stops movement and all the way up to the suspension bump stop. If you set up the device correctly and rotate it through full left and full right turns with the suspension fully compressed and fully extended you can check clearances everywhere. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/php- ... 1uEALw_wcB