72 Camaro: Wheels, Tires, and Brakes

[72RS/SS396]

Hi all,
Somewhat new to these forums, despite stalking for too many years. Sorry for the novel, first thread kinda needs it.

I've had a 72 RS/SS for ~12 years. Finally in a position to give the beast all it deserves. Sorry to say, I've stolen one of your gems... we're in Australia, proud to show American Muscle proud. Only ever seen a couple of 2nd gens in the last decade, such a shame!

I'm not loaded, but the car's "for life", and the US$ drop means us foreigners can finally afford to have these monsters shining properly. Life's too short, and my dream's to have this as a daily-driver. So that said, my budget is flexible. I won't pinch pennies for my dream, but no blank-cheques either. It seems I'll get Wheels, Tires, Brakes for ~$5000 (+shipping)?

I've owned/driven custom classics before, so I've got an idea about how hard/stiff the ride can vary & effect. That said, I'm really stabbing in the dark with a 2nd Gen Camaro. Last time I was in the U.S. was '00, and didn't have a chance to trial any.

WHEELS
Thinking Front: 18x8 Back: 18x10
TorqThrustII Polished or TorqThrustM Chrome. TTM seem to be disliked due to mustang link (?), but I think they're a bigger, cleaner & less-aged look. Can't get them in the sizing I'm looking at though (with Camaro bolt-pattern). Backspacing & offset is messing me up too. I don't know how to be SURE. I'm in serious **** if I order wrong.

SUSPENSION
Still stock. It flops around like an old boat. I'd like to sort this out, and be sure tires aren't going to get chewed with 2 people in the back, or when I step on the gas.

TIRES
4 seasons in one day here. Seems 18x10 limits options though. Buy fitted, or fit locally?

BRAKES
Seems the Kore3 big brake kits tick all the boxes & are somewhat straight-forward... But offset & backspacing of the wheels worries me with scrubbing.

Overall, I'm after quality, value, and nothing too exotic. I'm 8000miles away from US soil, so everything needs to work. I'm qualified on tools, but that doesn't help if I'm missing 1 piece of the puzzle. If anyone has advice on how I can streamline these purchases, it'd be deeply appreciated. Again, sorry for the novel.

[SLO_Z28]

Please dont put TT's on a camaro. There are plenty of options out there that look better. If you want something classic looking :

Rocket racing boosters, and they come in the sizes that fit 2nd gens perfect.

You're on the right track with Kore3. Those kits are hard to beat for simplicity, availability of parts, and performance.

For suspension talk to PTFB: http://www.pro-touringf-body.com/ He has great kits and I'm almost certain he has an Australian distributor.

For tires I like the Nitto NT555's for a street tire, they come in the right sizes and im pretty sure that : http://driverzinc.com/ could get you both the wheels and tires. Id definitely mount them here as shipping would be killer.

Good luck with everything, keep us posted.

[72RS/SS396]

Thanks for the reply.

Maybe I should've split into multiple threads? :-/

Emailed Kore3. Noticed Apogee's here, but didn't wanna pester him here.

I'll check-out the suspension link, thanks.

Worked so hard to narrow the choice on wheels, but now I'm trying to keep an open mind again. It's good & bad.

I keep coming-back to that similar look. I really dig it. Boosters, TTM/TT2, Boss 338, Foose Legend, Boyd Junkyard Dog (please suggest more like it)...

Important Aspects:
* Chrome (ultimate shine 24/7, goes great with bright-red car)
* Clean, and simple face 'reverse lip' (awesome concept & look IMO)
* 18x10 back, 18x8 front (if I'm going to do it, make it BIG, right?)

Sounds fair, right? I've seen those ones you mention, and they're definitely top5, but they don't do 18x10 in 4.75 bolt pattern. SO many don't, it drives me nuts.

Options for Camaros always seemed AMAZING, compared to ANY aussie car. But when I'm ready to put-down money, it's all going in circles :-/

If I'm doing something wrong, please be sure to "shoot me between the eyes".

[Apogee]

Originally Posted by 72RS/SS396

...Emailed Kore3. Noticed Apogee's here, but didn't wanna pester him here....

Pester away, although email really works well and doesn't fill-up like a PM inbox. Plus, I can attach stuff like instructions to emails...come to think of it, I did.

You don't have to break the bank on wheels to get a good looking wheel, but the American Racing options tend to be some of the worst with respect to brake fitment. A/R used to be able to run them through their "custom shop" for a nominal fee (rather inexpensively if I remembering correctly), however I'm not sure if they're still doing that or not, you'd have to check with them or one of their distributors. The good thing is that there are a lot of options similar in design that will either fit off-the-shelf or require a relatively small spacer. Stepping up to a custom wheel would be ideal, however that probably blows your wheel budget out of the water.

Tobin
KORE3

[JayR]

Here's one we put shoes on. This is our Fuel wheel which is a simple classic 5 spoke but not the same old 5 spoke.

[72RS/SS396]

Thanks for the replies.

Tobin went to a good deal of trouble to write me a SOLID email-reply. Tons of info, aimed right at my level, and really shone a light on the situation.

Without realising, I'm kinda going about things backwards, and I'm going to need to double/triple my rubber budget. That's fine. This car's a keeper, and I would've spent the money anyway, just over time. Instead: I'll do it all now, matched.

The suspension is pretty-horrible, and will effect my other decisions, so I'll need to include that in my decisions/purchase too.

I need to spend some more time reading/learning, and nail-down a lot of these variables. So for-now, I'm off to the suspension sub-forum.

Looks like I bit-off too much with my first thread. Down She Goes!