Big rims on old cars

[TZENU]

It begins and ends with Simmons FR19s... One day they will be worn by my Y

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by Eagleheart

The largest Id ever put on an older car is 15". Simple as that.

Yup .....
My XC has 14 " factory 12 slotters, if not that 15 " globes,nothin else

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by ZDI-970

i hate anything smaller than 18's and bigger than 20's, my car looked terrible on old 14's and i tried a few different styles
image
but on more modern wheels (18's) i think it looks perfect
image

this I beleive is an exception to the rule, normaly on 60's and 70's cars I would say 15's are as big as you would go.

but like you I throught 17's would look **** hot on my ZC, I couldnt get the Mrs to agree but this is the exact stance and simular wheel I was looking at I'm glad it looks as good as I thought it would

[Ben73]

Depends on the car, but most old cars would be right with 18 or smaller.

22 or bigger look stupid on most cars.

[TUF_302]

Depends on the car and style of wheel, my xd currently has 18s but im going to drop them back to 15s/16s but have them 10" wide so to fill the guards with rubber

[noosacuda]

I have 15's on my Chrysler, but would the 20's like what was used on the Green Hornets' Imperial, dark centres and matt alloy outer edges.

[Vesper Martini]

I think tyres are important they still need to have enough meat on the tyre, which probably means 19" max.
Besides when the profile is too low the car is not usable. bumpy, no traction, premature wear, and damaged rims

I think the Red 66 Mustang looks Good, but its also an old style cragar type wheel,

[5.8]

A mate of mine has a great saying about putting large diameter wheels on 70's cars....

"Looks like a nana in a G string"

Absolutely brilliant way of describing them I reckon!!

[350125GO]

15s are perfect, with some nice fat rubber. 255/70s on the back of mine

Also, none of this fully *** BS on older cars. http://upintherear.tumblr.com/

[Mesa]

19's seem to look good on older cars.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by 350125GO

15s are perfect, with some nice fat rubber

agree - to me there needs to be some rubber showing above the rim from the side. if the rim disappears under the wheel arch, to me it doesn't look right

having said that, although i would like to keep the same rolling diameter, the style of rim and the dish is more important than the height. a 15 inch design that doesn't suit the car will look much worse than an 18 inch design that suits the car - it ain't the size that matters, it is the design



the "only" reason why i might get rid of my 15's and put taller wheels on the coupe is because there is getting a lack of suitable tyres. if potenza's in 225 x 15 x 50 and yokahama 352 in 265 x 15 x 50 were available for ever, i would not go higher than 15

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Depends on the car, but most old cars would be right with 18 or smaller.

Toranas...especially with flares...

Always grinds my gears to See a LH/lX with flares, and tall narrow rims jammed underneath it.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Nikked

Toranas...especially with flares...

Always grinds my gears to See a LH/lX with flares, and tall narrow rims jammed underneath it.

"Narrow"...? You have to remember that tyres like 205/65 on 13" to 15" were "fat"...if you managed to get a set of 225's, they were "enormous". I recall an XB hardtop in Bundy back around 1983 that had 245's on 15's on the rear...they were drag car stuff, unheard of on street cars! That thing used to draw a crowd just to check out the tyres...

A Torana with a set of 15's tucked under it will look "right"...16's would be about the limit, otherwise it starts to look like a cartoon. 15" is two inches up on the standard fitment...one inch up on the wheels the SLR's and A9X's had.

[H.G]

I remember a mates XB GT coupe with 355 15's on the ***.. I forget what he ran on the front.. but it was HEAVY as hell to steer.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

"Narrow"...? You have to remember that tyres like 205/65 on 13" to 15" were "fat"...if you managed to get a set of 225's, they were "enormous". I recall an XB hardtop in Bundy back around 1983 that had 245's on 15's on the rear...they were drag car stuff, unheard of on street cars! That thing used to draw a crowd just to check out the tyres...

A Torana with a set of 15's tucked under it will look "right"...16's would be about the limit, otherwise it starts to look like a cartoon. 15" is two inches up on the standard fitment...one inch up on the wheels the SLR's and A9X's had.

Narrow looking....

as in 19x8


Those gaurd's on torrie's scream for anything 10in wide on the rear, with beefy rubber.

[xbxd351]

Huge bling rims with low profile rubber looks horrible on classic cars. Nothing beats 15 inch jellybeans with big fat BF Goodrich tyres on an old muscle car. But obviously when its your car its your choice and you can put whatever wheels you want.

[zilo]

12-15 inch...and not an open looking wheel.

Hand painted calipers look so stupid with big wheels too.

[Elks]

I basically think that its ok to put bigger rims on an old car but not too big. Its all about proportion. A 60's Impala can get away with 20's where an XP would struggle with 17's. Design also matters. Classics styles like Minilite, Torque Thrust work well on muscle cars even in 18" but it must have some sidewall with bulge. Not the ricer 7" tyre on a 10" rim. Look.

But I dont like rims bigger than 20" on anything smaller than a pickup truck.


My old pick up on 17" Torque thrusts. Works just fine. I loved it.



And a before and after on my Fairlane. 2 similar pics of the same car. I'm not sure the 18" rims added anything (they photograph badly and look better in real life) So Im considering selling them off for some 15" Centrelines.

Before original 14" with skinny whites.

After 18" Weld 5 spokes

[Saraco]

In most cases. anything bigger than 17's on a classic car is plain wrong......but like some other guys said, there are exceptions...this is one of them....598ci Kaase Boss'9 to boot!

[my67xr]

i was undecided on these, 19x9.5's with 245/35 tyres,

kept the convo's though.
but i am looking out for some 15x7 & 15x8 minilites for cruising.

[Uncle Tone]

Originally Posted by Elks

And a before and after on my Fairlane. 2 similar pics of the same car. I'm not sure the 18" rims added anything (they photograph badly and look better in real life) So Im considering selling them off for some 15" Centrelines.

Before original 14" with skinny whites.
image
After 18" Weld 5 spokes
image

I would be getting some fat steelies with whitewalls to suit and sticking those hubcaps back on if I were you!

BTW whitewalls make the rim look much bigger than it is. Would be interesting to measure the whitewalls diameter and compare it with modern rim sizes.

[gs1973]

Looks are subjective, and I personally wouldn't put over 17" rims on anything due to the risk of pothole damage. I like the look of 14's and 15's on old cars, but I can tell you after having 14's on my XB the whole 16 years I've owned it, switching to 17's with the tyre tech that is available now is an eye opener. Anyone who has serious motor mods and or likes to go around corners would never run the old 14 and 15 inch rims, it is night and day. The ride argument is a bogus one too, they ride better with quality 17" tyres!
Cheers.

[Deaks]

I was always a fan of period correct wheels, but i wanted something different, something i hadn't seen on a ZD, so i found these (17x8 all round, really want 17x9 for the rear but they dont make them wider):



They might not be everyones taste, but they ride fine, they look period (obviously larger) and i wouldnt call them bling.

Id still love a set of Convo Pros with 265 rears.

[Windsor220]

I prefer modern big wheels on older cars.

[Franco Cozzo]

To me its not the wheel size that is the problem, its the lack of profile on the tyre, tiny sidewall looks ridiculous on old cars, you can still have a big wheel like a 18" one but have a 40/45 or so profile and it will look nice.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

To me its not the wheel size that is the problem, its the lack of profile on the tyre, tiny sidewall looks ridiculous on old cars, you can still have a big wheel like a 18" one but have a 40/45 or so profile and it will look nice.

Yeh... I think so too. Old cars need big rubber with decent sidewall height. They just look better that way.

[SPArKy_Dave]

So by the logic in this thread, is this what the future holds.......
ie, bigger everything? -

(edit - yeah the wheels too.........)

[Shonky.]

my eyes...........they burn

[SPArKy_Dave]

Which look?

A. Standard -




B: Modern -




C: Up-market Standard -



or with redwalls

[2011G6E]

I think you'll find an old car with traditional wheels (even a bit bigger diameter but in a trad style) will gather more attention than "just another set of modern big wheels with licorice strip rubber" like every other damn car on the road from big to small has fitted...