[V8Vairs] Wheels and Tires

[Bryan Blackwell]

Hi Chris,

Rather than redoing the suspension you might look into BMW wheels - I know of several folks who use those on a Corvair.  I have a set of aftermarket wheels that I'm pretty sure were a BMW fitment on a late.  Dave Binnie has a set of factory BMW wheels on his late turbo car.  I have a set of 16x7 from a BMW 528 for my next set of tires.  What you want is 5 or 7 series wheels from the late 90s.  Here's an ad from my area to give you an idea:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/pts/3053782034.html

Before someone (and you know who you are :-) beats me to it - there is a slight difference in the spec between Chevy and BMW bolt patterns.  The Chevy pattern in 5 on 120.7 mm, BMW is 5 on 120.  In practice this hasn't been an issue but I want you to be aware.  It is possible to get the pattern redrilled to be exactly correct.

See my site for a couple shots of a late convert with BMW wheels:

http://autoxer.skiblack.com/wheelpics.html

--Bryan

On Jun 10, 2012, at 12:32 PM, Chris Wills wrote:

> On my V8 I have Camaro (2001 I think) 16 X 8 wheel s all round with 245-50 in the rear, 225-55 in front.  Z rated Michelin Pilot ( came with the wheels off Craigs LIst).
> 
> I have to run 1.25" spacers because these late wheels have about 6" back space, which worries me, so I'm considering suspension mods to get rid of them.  I haven't pushed it hard in the corners yet as I am still working on reliability.  last night as I pulled into the driveway there was a bang and a miss.  Broke a rocker arm stud clean off my new Edelbrock heads...
> 
> Chris Wills