Has anyone ever run 17x8.5 +10 on the front? What tire worked for you?

A wheel style that I really like just showed up in stock after being unavailable for the three+ years that I've been aware of them. It's one of the few 17" styles that suit my preferred look.

The wheels are not really made for cars like ours but then again, very few are. The closest to OK dimensions that they offer are 17x8.5 with a +10mm offset. They do theoretically offer this in a 8" wide version and they do technically make this as a slightly more favorable +15mm offset....but according to the company rep, there's no demand for that size so it could be a long damn time before a min order quantity is justified.

So I know right off the bat that this +10mm is not an ideal offset and I suspect this will limit tire choices but I'm curious if anyone had tried this particular size...and if so, what they were able to run for tires, how it looked.

Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, it looks like the old reliable "Rims 'n Tires" calculator is no longer on line!

@72bluNblu can most likely help you out with this!

Yeah I'm super bummed about the "Rims 'n Tires" calculator!

So I would definitely not call a 17x8.5 +10 ideal. But you definitely have options. That's a 4.9" backspace, so it should clear the outer tie rod end no problem. Compared to my set up with 18x9's +30 and 275/35/18's, a 245/45/18 would stick out about an extra .2". So what I would say is this, it depends on your ride height and how much work you're willing to do to your fenders. If you're lowered, you'll need to work the fenders. If you run closer to stock ride height, maybe not all that much will be required.

The most extreme example I know of is @Craig Burriss. He's running 285/35/18's on 18x9.5's with a +12 offset. His tires are a full 1" further out than mine are. His fenders are also pretty heavily worked, so, it's all about how much work you want to do to your fenders. Craig's thread is here, complete with me telling him it wouldn't work and him proving me wrong. In my defense, he did a lot of cutting on his fenders. But it definitely shows that anything is possible with enough work, and he still needed to do less than I thought he would.

18x9.5 +12

Also, here's a new wheel calculator I found. Not quite as user friendly as the old one, but it does what it needs to do
Rim & Tire Size Calculator. Custom Offsets

For higher offset wheels, the biggest obstacles are going to be the outer tie rod ends like 72bluNblu said, and the upper control arms when the suspension droops. Low/negative offset is when you start hitting the lower corners of the fenders when turning, and the top arch when turning under compression.
Here is the site I used when determining my setup.
Wheel Offset Calculator

Thanks for the input @72bluNblu and @Craig Burriss .

Unless I find a set of spare fenders to mess with, I think I need to keep looking for wheels that fit properly. I already “worked” the front corner of the wheel arches a little bit to fit my current tire/wheel combo (and the 5 degrees of caster) and any more would start to feel like sheet metal alterations that I can’t undo.

@72bluNblu , I keep coming back to the pics of your car and drooling over your RPF1s. IMO, they look amazing. I know these are cult favorite sports car wheels but in your application, they’re very outside the box.

Wheels, especially those chosen as the result of research, effort, and originality are such a personal touch. I would really prefer not to straight up copy your style. My quest will continue to be something that fits as well, has similar performance benefits, but has my own touch.

The problem so far seems to be that any wheels that offer similar variability /flexibility regarding dimensions tends to be astronomically expensive.

I have The High Offset *(+45MM) Bullitt Wheels on my car for street use.. 17X8 - 245 45 17's Since I have a '69 B Body Rear in there I actually machined the Rear wheels to +52mm for Clearance on the outer Wheel Lip ('67 B Body Axle in the works to solve this)...Here's what that looks like:


Here is some info on my Enkei's...
I ordered 17x8 (+45mm) for the front and 17X7.5 (+48mm) for the rear.
1964 Dart Grüne Hölle Road Course AutoX Car IRWIN PA - Page 20 - Slant Six Forum
They are super Light and look good too.

You have to install 3" long wheel studs around the car and play with spacers (Sometimes as large as 1.5") and the modern +32MM- +48MM wheels will work fine.

I drove 1,000's of miles this summer on each with minimal front fender trimming / rubbing and -4 Degrees Camber and ~+6 Degrees Caster

slant six said:

I have The High Offset *(+45MM) Bullitt Wheels on my car for street use.. 17X8 - 245 45 17's Since I have a '69 B Body Rear in there I actually machined the Rear wheels to +52mm for Clearance on the outer Wheel Lip ('67 B Body Axle in the works to solve this)...Here's what that looks like:
View attachment 1715837791

Here is some info on my Enkei's...
I ordered 17x8 (+45mm) for the front and 17X7.5 (+48mm) for the rear.
1964 Dart Grüne Hölle Road Course AutoX Car IRWIN PA - Page 20 - Slant Six Forum
They are super Light and look good too.
View attachment 1715837792
You have to install 3" long wheel studs around the car and play with spacers (Sometimes as large as 1.5") and the modern +32MM- +48MM wheels will work fine.

I drove 1,000's of miles this summer on each with minimal front fender trimming / rubbing and -4 Degrees Camber and ~+6 Degrees Caster

Click to expand...

How did you eliminate the grease cap issue on the front for the Bullitt Wheels?

Wren I got my car it had a set of 17" 2012 Mustang GT rims and the grease cap cover was an issue on the front as I could not run the factory center-caps for the stang wheels.

Tsully said:

How did you eliminate the grease cap issue on the front for the Bullitt Wheels?

Wren I got my car it had a set of 17" 2012 Mustang GT rims and the grease cap cover was an issue on the front as I could not run the factory center-caps for the stang wheels.

Click to expand...

When you run 3/4" to 1 1/2" wheel spacers the caps ( grease cap and wheel center cap) do not interfere with each other. Use Press in 3" or 3 1/2" Studs in your hub or Brake Rotor.
(these Crusty OE MoPar Brakes are no longer on the car - Baer 13" Rotors with 6P calipers reside there now) You can also Stack spacers to get the Offset you need. 1/2" 3/4" 1/4" 3/8" etc. Sometimes if I change wheels I change the Spacer stack as well.
Some illustrations:





Cheers! Greg

slant six said:

When you run 3/4" to 1 1/2" wheel spacers the caps ( grease cap and wheel center cap) do not interfere with each other. Use Press in 3" or 3 1/2" Studs in your hub or Brake Rotor.
(these Crusty OE MoPar Brakes are no longer on the car - Baer 13" Rotors with 6P calipers reside there now) You can also Stack spacers to get the Offset you need. 1/2" 3/4" 1/4" 3/8" etc. Sometimes if I change wheels I change the Spacer stack as well.
Some illustrations:
View attachment 1715838586
View attachment 1715838587
View attachment 1715838588
View attachment 1715838589

Cheers! Greg

Click to expand...

Thanks Man!!!!