Will 4.5 BS on rear and 3.5 BS on front be ok for the car? Thanks guy's
This is for a 65 elky

Ok...I made a mistake on my earlier post. The guy I am supposed to get the rims did not measure them right. The rims are champ 500 centerlines. All 4 rims are 15x8 with a 4" backspace. I have had people tell me they will fit without a problem, just don't go below 4" back space. I am hoping some of you pro's can help. I really like these wheels and they are like mint condition. I would appreciate the help.

Pat,

Sorry, bad news. I believe the 4" backspacing is going to be a problem and will not fit unless you roll the wheel lip and then it may still not fit very well.

I have a set of four 17X8 with 5" backspacing rims mounted on my 65 El Camino. They are centered in the rear wheelhouse with 0.75” clearance on the inside and 1” clearance on the outside. I did not roll the wheel lip since I am still using the wheel opening trim. These clearances are with an original 64-67 axle. If you have a later model axle, the track width will be larger by 1-1/4" and would then require even more bs. Your 4" bs will put the rim right out by the wheel lip and most likely the tire will be rubbing on this outside edge.

I have 235/45R17 tires on the front rims and 255/45R17 tires on the rear rims.

I have installed 1” Hotchkiss lowering springs in the front and lowered the rear ½” by cutting a ½ coil off the rear springs. The only rubbing issues is when one front wheel is at full lock and pushed up into the wheelhouse. The amount of push I’m talking about is when one front tire and the opposite rear tire are supporting the main load of the frame. Such as when you back out of your driveway. Normal driving and turning does not a have any problems.


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Brian TC#1092, ACES#4374
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1965 El Camino (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/65elcamino1b.jpg) Before Restoration (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/65elcamino1a.jpg) (My Hotrod)
1981 Corvette (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/65elcamino81.jpg) (Daily Driver)

Brian,
I pulled my ralley's off of the back of the elky and measured them.The backspace on them is right at 4-1/4 . Kind of weird. But, nevertheless, when I measured the opening between the outer fender and the tires , I had almost a full inch of clearance. The tires on the back of the car are 215/60's, so maybe that's why I have the clearance.I am going to turn down some spacers on the lathe and put them behind the rear wheel and bring it right to a 4" B.S. and see what that does. Another thing that may help me out is that the springs on the back of the car are original, so there worn out.Hopefully with the new set of springs and shocks, I may be able to get by.Thanks for the help and I'll let you know this afternoon.

Hey Brian,
We checked it all out on the elky. They would fit, but you definately have a point as to the rubbing problem. I am going to pass on the wheels. There nice, but I would rather stick with 4.5 B.S. to be safe and not ruin tires. Thanks again.

Pat,

What is the width of your current rims? I suspect they are only 6" and that is why you had the 1" clearance. The sizes you need are 7" with 4.5"bs or 8" with 5"bs to be in the center of the wheelwell. An 8" with 4.5"bs will limit the tire size to a 245mm width to provide sufficient clearance. You need to allow for any sideways movement of the axle. A lot if you haven't installed new bushings.