I give up

Today was truly heartbreaking...I recieved the Greg Weld Dragstar and this was by far the most gorgeous wheel I've gotten yet. Once again I jumped right into dry fitting. The offset was perfect, right with the fenderline, no clearance problems on the backside with the strut mount...AND the shoulder created enough clearance for the caliper bracket!...BUT...once I tightened the wheel down the backside slope of the spoke where it curves to meet the rim was dragging the outside edge of the caliper itself.

If I had really deep pockets I would just call up Centerline and have some custom wheel assembled but I dont live in that world like Chip Foose.

I still cant complain though...I ordered up a set of American Racing chrome Razor wheels in 16x7.5 which he sold me at the same price as the sale price of the Dragstars (about $20 off per wheel)and he still threw in the free shipping...WHAT A DUDE!

Chrome Razor

Of course this also means that if I persist in wanting the raised white letter tires my only option is the Goodyear Nascar Eagles...so much for less expensive tires :rolleyes:

This feels so very much like the self inflicted azz kicking I took over finding the right exhaust.

whatever the final outcome one thing is for sure...if you want to deal with someone top shelf on wheels and tires, check out...

Jim's Racing Tires & Speed Equipment
508 Orems Road
Baltimore MD 21221

1-800-281-0409 (toll free)

(also placing him in the dealers thread)

Bridgestone Potenzas come in RWL.

I've been having zero luck locating anything online in 16in sizes

225/60/16 Goodyear Eagle #1

235/60/16...havent found a thing

235/55/16...Cooper Cobra (but too short)

245/50/16...rare size all by itself it seems (much less RWL)

If anyone has a link to a tire dealer that carries RWL in 16in sizes please do post up.

Thanks guys

Have you check out summit? They have a myriad of 16" tires, many RWL.

why couldnt you get a set of 1/4 inch wheel spacers ??

Okay, here a buddy of mines wheel set up. He's running 22" wheels on his 2000 S-10. They came off a loand rover and only have a 10mm backspacing. For those of you that dont know (incuding myself) This year of S-10 needs a 20-35mm back spacing to fit perfect for a wheel of this size. (I guess) Some you may think wtf!?!?! and othrs "thats not a bad idea" but ether way here it is.....

1st-lug nut set up-in this case a speceal lug nut was needed and prefered for strength and reliability. As you can see they sit much deeper into the wheel once bolted on and also are threaded from top to bottem.



2nd-1" wheel spacer-A 1" wheel spacer was needed do to the fach of the wheels not having the correct backspacing. These spacers are as said 1" thick made of billet aluminum (non-polished) with secondary studs. This is where the reliability and drivability comes into play with no worries for him. They act as the original base for the wheel to bolt to. The stock lugs were used to bolt this to the original base saving the special lugs for the wheel later...

3rd-1/4" spacer-The 1/4" spacer is also aluminium (not billet) and needed in order to 1-take up the 1'4" of the stock lugs sticking out, and 2-He needed that 1/4 of wheel spacing anyways no matter what. THEY ARE NOT NEEDED IF YOU ONLY NEED THE 1" SPACER. He didnt want to have to buy another 20 special lug nuts that sink into the (in this case) spacer.


4th-wheel bolted on-With the spacers all tight and everything done the wheels are no wready for install..



Note:He has over 20,000miles and running them for 2 years now with NO PROBLEMS. Thats DD, burn outs, and drag races on the weekeds at the track. They are safe and reliable to do all thi with no issuse or worries.

have you talked to town fair tire? if they dont have a tire in store they can just order it for you

okay idk for sure if these will fit but i thought they might be something you were kinda looking for.

http://louisville.craigslist.org/pts/945352935.html

If its only scraping a bit. Grind the stupid thing.

Just got a call from Jim...the Razors have been backordered with no delivery date.

i would not grind on a tire, becuase then you will ALLWAYS be off because you might grind more in oneplace than another

I think Corey meant the caliper bracket.

Tbat, they may not necessarily need to put the weights right where the caliper is. I know my wheels have them closer to the inside of the rim.

Jim said the supplier told him they have no idea when more Razor wheels will be available...I'm guessing this is due to the fact that AR is now making the Razor as a Shelby signature wheel.

I just took the chrome Santa Cruz wheels in 15x7 since they are also on the fitment guide...I'll just have to live with a pudgy looking tire. I'm not going to pay to ship any more wheels back to Jim.

I did consider spacers but hey would have to be thin...no more than 1/4 in or it will push the 15x8 wheel out past the fenderline. the 5.5 backspace was a dead even match.

I have seen people just use weight in the inside lip alone but as much highway driving as I put on this car I want it smooth at high speed, so I dont want to half-azz the balancing.

With so much backspace I suppose you wouldnt have to put the weights right behind the spokes since that isnt the wheel center.

At any rate, the Santa Cruz wheels are on the way...if they dont clear everything then I'll really be ready to quit.

What do said Santa Cruz wheels look like?

these look very nice in my opinion!

Tbat, it should be interesting to see what a 15" custom wheel looks like on your car. as I said before the car I saw with 15"s didn't look right, but it could have been the wheel too.

I think the thing I'm gonna find most frustrating is when these chrome Santa Cruz arrive, if they fit with no clearance issues at all, then I'm pretty much pissed at the wheel industry as a whole. If they can make a 15x7 +40mm offset that doesnt hit the spokes or caliper then there is no reason that you cant add an inch to the front side to give the wheel some dish...even half an inch...that may not sound like much but if you saw the two of them side by side the difference would be very noticeable. (and look a hell of alot better I might add)

I'm sure most all of this is dictated by demand but there must still be a market for the 15inchers since there are so many for the old school cars. I realize I dont own one of those cars but it also seems like the smallest changes in spoke dsign would allow the same wheel to fit both applications.
They say trends run in cycles...if that is true in the automotive world as well then I cant wait for this whole trend of huge wheels with rubber rim protector tires to go the way of the dinosaur.
(yes I'm ranting)

What about the ASA AR9s?

Jim was only a dealer for American Racing, Weld and Greg Weld...so I picked something from AR.

No real differences in sizes from other manufacturers just in styling...and styling alone you can drive yourself crazy on