What kind of spacer is required for putting the 2000 Vette wheels on my '94 Formula? They are 18's in the rear and 17's in the front. I am hearing all kinds of sizes from 1/8" to 2.5".

Thanks.

Are they factory C5 wheels, or aftermarket? If they are factory, I know the offsets and backspace. If they are aftermarket, you have to have the exact width and offset, or backspace for the front and rear wheels.

Are they Z06 or non-Z06?

My charts show the C5 wheels as:

Front 17 x 8.5" 58mm offset
Rear 18 x 9.5" 65mm offset

Both of those would fit without spacers, but will sit sort of deep in the wheel wells. If you can confirm the exact size and offset of the wheels you are looking at, and tell me how close to the outer edge of the fenders you want them, I could recommend a spacer.

Note than on the 93-96 F-Bodys, the rear axle hubs are slightly larger in diameter than the front hubs. As a result, when you put many late model wheels on them, including the Corvette wheels, you may have to lightly sand/grind the inside diameter of the hub hole on the rear wheels to get them to fit. Spacers would obviously eliminate that problem.

They are factory and the exact sizes you listed. I would like to know if they will fit without spacers and what it will take to bring the rim out to about 1" or so just inside inside the fender well.

I have to locate a set of center caps for them too.

If you want the outside edge of the wheels and tires like this:



You would have to move the front wheels out 11/16"

You would have to move the rear wheels out 7/8"

If you want the outside edge of the wheels and tires like this:



You would have to move the front wheels out 3/8"

You would have to move the rear wheels out 1.5"

Once you go over 5/16" with a "spacer", you run the risk of overloading the studs. You would definitely need longer studs. The best thing to use is an adapter... a billet aluminum cylinder that bolts to your stock studs, using acorn lugs, and then has a 2nd set of studs that you bolt your wheels to. This avoids overstressing the studs, by keeping the loads on the studs in tension and shear, and avoiding subjecting them to bending stresses.

Here is a very good source for the adapters.

http://www.skulte.com/

I appreciate the info. This will give me an idea of what is going on. I really love the ram air hood you have on your car. That's something else I want to do but they are not cheap so it will be a little while.

If I were you, I would buy the wheels and mount them with no spacers, to see if you are satisfied with where they sit in the wheel wells. They will bolt on without spacers. That way, you can decide for yourself if you want spacers, based on the way the wheels actually look on your car. My calculations are all theoretical, based on typical wheel dimensions.

That's my plan for the weekend. I am wanting to paint them black but not crazy about the paint chipping whne it is bumped or something. Powdercoating would be the answer but I don't have the $ for it. Do you have experience with the painting option?

A buddy of mine had a 97 SS 30th Anniversary convertible with the white factory ZR1 style wheels. He had the front wheels narrowed for "skinnies", and bought a set of silver 17x11 ZR1 wheels for the back. He had all 4 wheels repainted white to the factory color, and they held up "fair" but not great. After a few years and a lot of wheel changes at the track, they were scratched and chipped, particularly around the lug nuts. They make a set of wheel lug sockets with a soft plastic lining on the outside of the socket, to minimize damage to the wheels. They are on my list of "things to spend some money on when I happen to have some". Griot's Garage part # 10208.

Some of the coolest factory wheels I've seen were the ones on the 1999 30th Anniversary Trans Am. They were blue tinted clear coat on a polished surface. One of our club guys had a 30th T/A convert, and the blue tint wheels were very nice against the white paint, and blue stripes.

I bolted up the wheels and they fit great. I little spacer would be good but it doesn't look bad at all without them. I am thinking of not doing the paint thing. Sounds like it woud be a constant maintenance problem.