Tires for 69 Camaro with new Yearone Magnums
 

:question: Hello, I am new to Lateral-g and this will be my first post, so go easy on me. I just ordered a set of the Yearone Cast Magnum 17x9 with 5" b.s. for my 69 Camaro to replace the original 14x7 SS396 wheels on it. I am planning on putting 245/45-17 on all 4 corners, but I will need to lower my car 2-3" so the top of the tire just tucks into the wheelwell lip for it to look good. Has anyone gone with a wider tire with 5" b.s. on a stock suspension/subframe without interference?

I think you'll have problems with that wheel up front, and it's not ideal for the rear either. With an 8" wheel the backspace and tire size works good up front. Most guys in the rear go up to a 9.5" wheels with 5.5" bs and a 275/40-17 tire. That combo clears well.

I had some real concerns also with the backspacing. After looking around on the forums and web, I have found some guys with 245/45-17 and 5" b.s., but the majority are 17x8 with 4.5 or 4.75 b.s. I use CAD for a living and was planning on getting the specs for the tires when I pick them out and drawing a section view that I can tape to the rim to see if there is any obvious interference before I buy anything. Here is my email to Yearone about the backspacing:
"I want to order a set of the Yearone Cast Magnum wheels for my 69 Camaro, but I am not sure what backspace to order, 4.5" or 5". I know the 17x8 with the 4.5" BS should fit fine, but the 17x9 with the 5" BS looks like it has a deeper dish on the outside (trim ring area on stock wheels) which is what I want. I am planning on running a 245/45-17 tire on all four corners. I am open to running a 235/45-17 tire to get the stance right. Right now I have stock suspension and drum brakes, but after the rim install, I am going to lower the car so the top sidewall is covered by the fender lip and install a 13" brake kit. My question is will a 5" BS rub with the stock suspension?"

Response: "Thank you for contacting Year One.
Due to car-to-car production tolerances and also due to possible unknown chassis, suspension or sheet metal issues our internal policy is to not recommend oversize tires or wheels. We recommend careful measuring or using a tire/wheel simulator if oversize tires or wheels are desired. We also recommend measuring both sides of the car as we sometimes find less clearance on one side.
During our trial fitting the 17 x 9 wheels cleared the stock suspension. Any scrubbing noted was only of the tires. The tires sizes you are considering are narrower than the tires we trial fit so that should help.

Follow up from me and YO: "Can you tell me what size tire rubbed? I would prefer to fit the largest tire I can" "We were using 275-40-17 tires."

I don't think they were using 275's up front. On the rear they may clear, but are 1/4" further out than the 17X9.5 with 5.5" bs, which is snug. Rolling the fender lip might make it work fine in the rear, but it won't work up front without a lot of rubbing. Stick with the 245's on the front, though I don't think that 9" wheel will work; maybe if the car isn't real low, but not lowered like you want to do. The ideal combo up front is a 17 X 8" wheel with 4.75" bs and a 245 tire; the one you have coming is 3/4" further out than that, I think it will rub badly. 275's have been done up front, but they used a different wheel and offset, plus you need to limit steering so it doesn't rub on the frame.

Thanks for the input, I also am skeptical about the 245/45-17 on front. I was planning on 235/45-17's until I found some people with the 245's and 5" b.s. I looked at some tires today in the 245's and 235's, namely Potenza's 970 AS and Michelin Pilots. The 245's look pretty wide off of the car. I have 225/70R14 on it now and I have about a 3-4" gap between the fender lip and top of tire. The diameter of the tire is 26.4", so if I go to the 235's, I may go with a 50 series. I am going to cut the coils in front to get the stance I want before I order new springs. I am thinking the Hotchkis 3" drop.:willy:

245's up front are no problem................... just not with those wheels. I've run them as well as hundreds of other guys, but I did it on an 8" wheel and 4.75-5" bs. The width and backspace of those 9" wheels will have them too far to the outside in my opinion and will rub. I could be wrong though........ ;)

I will post pictures of the before and after. I went with the 9" width because I thought the 8" looked to shallow.

Without a doubt what Jody is saying is correct. Assuming you have the correct backspacing on your wheels, You can easily fit a 245 front and a 275 to the rear of a 2" lowered car (from stock) without any issues.

My new wheels are due to be delivered today 09-10-12. I have a little hope after seeing that Carl Casanova's 68 Camaro is running 17x9.5 with 5.5 backspacing all around and 275R40R17's. I plan on going much smaller.
http://www.geocities.com/casanoc/
I also was looking at the Kore3 brake kits and it looks like it would move my wheel out 0.20".

Two of the four wheels where delivered today and Jody was absolutely right. They do not fit on the front. I was able to call YearOne and they are going to recall the other pair that were not delivered and send me the 17x8's in mid October. I tried the 17x9 on the rear thinking I would keep them to go with a bigger tire, but it sticks out too far, so I got to call them tomorrow to return the other pair. The wheels are beautiful. I had apprehension in replacing the factory wheels, but after seeing them in person, I can wait to put them on. I took some pictures and measurements of the wheel and I even weighed them for whoever may want to know. They weigh 28.8 pounds each, are 10" wide out to out and 18.5" diameter out to out. The box label says the back spacing is 5.12". Check out some pictures at http://poli-stics.blogspot.com/