Who makes rims in our backspacing?

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Agent_Orange

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Does anyone know what wheel manufacturers offer offsets that compliment our old Mopars? Especially in the 17-18 inch category.
 
Depends on the car, what bolt pattern, how or if you have changed the track width (i.e. 73-up front spindles, B-Body rear end, or aftermarket axles, etc), Spring relocations, tubs, cut, rolled or modified fenders are just some of the things that can effect the offset. Oh, and wheel width and tire size.

For me. I ordered custom offset wheels from American racing to fit all my brake, body and suspension mods. Since it looks like you have a Duster/Demon/Dart Sport, 94-up wheels that fit a Mustang are typically a good start for fitment. There is a giant thread on wheel fitment to give you an idea.
 
I did the same for my e-body.....
cuda 4-10-23 5.jpg
 
The offset doesn't cost you any more. Most companies have several available offsets per rim.
 
Step one in your search: determine what bolt pattern you need. If you are stuck with 5 on 4" like early A-bodies, I would say your selection is pretty small. Boyd's makes a torque thrust look-alike in 17s, and I think Team III /E.T. Wheels make custom offset 5 on 4 wheels too.
If you have a later a-body, or converted to 5 on 4 1/2" pattern, you have a huge selection available.
 
Does anyone know what wheel manufacturers offer offsets that compliment our old Mopars? Especially in the 17-18 inch category.
Do you have access to a lathe and know how to weld? If so, you can do your own custom wheels......been there and done that....at least with steel wheels....
 
I ordered some custom shop custom offset 15x12 Torque Thrust wheels a few years back. They were double the price of the standard one piece 15x10 (anything bigger than 15x10 was a custom order.)
If i remember right , just under $800 for a pair. I think they are over $1200 /pair now.
 
Also, if you still have 5 on 4" pattern, late model mopar 5 on 100mm wheels will look like they fit. They don't. 5 on 4" is 101.6 mm. That mismatch is asking for trouble, tho some have gotten away with it. I wouldn't take such a chance.
 
Agree, 5 x 101.6mm is what you're looking for, IF you have the small bolt pattern.
I got customs from American Racing. When looking at their wheels look under "bolt pattern" and it will say "custom". The 5 x 101.6mm is considered a custom. Some wheels even have custom in their name. Warning.......Custom are expensive!
A573D0F2-822B-404B-AB80-A3F0A31CC714_1_201_a.jpeg
 
What I found before buying custom made wheels was converting to 5x4.5 widens the track and no one makes a wheel that fits without spacers or running a 5 to 6" wide rim. Either they have negative to no offset or far to much and require a spacer. There there is the issue of clearing the wheel bearing cup int the front.

My car below. 73-up spindles, A-body 8-3/4 with 5x4.5 axles with 17x7 front and 17x8 rear, both 19mm offset. Dr Diff 13"/12" brakes that add about 3mm to the track width. My wheels were $1200 about 8 years ago.

GTS2.jpg
 
Another thing that needs to be checked.....and that's if the body was built equally on both sides. When I did a set of 15x8 rallye wheels for my 71 Cuda, I did a mock up to make sure everything was going to fit well. Turns out the right side offset needed to be moved nearly 1/2" more than the left side. This car showed no evidence of ever being crashed. I even mounted the tires I was going to use on bare rings then pressed in the centers with a hammer and a block of wood and installed them on the car. The tires were 275-60-15's. There was plenty of room in the wheel wells but the springs were the issue and didn't feel like moving a spring. Measured the fender lip to the frame rail on both sides and yes, they were different from left to right and the frame checked out to be square or within tolerance anyways. I feel Mopar did a pretty decent job on chassis square but the body is another wide tolerance deal.

Years ago I bought a piece of NOS trim for the rear of my 70 Challenger. This was in the mid 80's when NOS stuff wasn't hard to find or all that expensive. It was that piece that went across the whole rear section and it didn't fit the car. It was a 1/4" too wide!! Thing is, it fit my other 70 Challenger perfectly. When doing the wheels for the Cuda years later, the Challenger thoughts came back.
 
So basically, I'm just beginning my search for new rims, hoping to get a summer out of the 20 year old 15" setup I have now, and upgrade over the winter. The tires show no cracking with ok tread.

I have my suspension torn apart at the moment, rebuilding lower control arms, qa1 strut rod, hellwig front swaybar, offset upper bushings, 1.08 tbars, bilstein shocks all around, hotchkis rear springs under a 3ish narrowed 8.8 Ford. My dumb *** did NOT offset shackles, but I'm willing to move the perches if necessary.

As for wheels? I prefer the look of 17's, but performance is more important. From the looks of it, 18's will let me stuff more tire up front.

*edit* factory disc brakes up front, with Ford disc in back. BBP

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20230415_172821.jpg


20230410_203349.jpg
 
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So basically, I'm just beginning my search for new rims, I'm hoping to get a summer out of the 20 year old 15" setup I have now, and upgrade over the winter. The tires show no cracking with ok tread.

I have my suspension torn apart at the moment, rebuilding lower control arms, qa1 strut rod, hellwig front swaybar, offset upper bushings, 1.08 tbars, bilstein shocks all around, hotchkis rear springs under a 3ish narrowed 8.8 Ford. My dumb *** did NOT offset shackles, but I'm willing to move the perches if necessary.

As for wheels? I prefer the look of 17's, but performance is more important. From the looks of it, 18's will let me stuff more tire up front.

*edit* factory disc brakes up front, with Ford disc in back.
The good news is you have wheels and tires now so you can see the fit of what you have and go from there. So you plan to run staggered widths?
 
The good news is you have wheels and tires now so you can see the fit of what you have and go from there. So you plan to run staggered widths?
I wouldn't mind running a square setup. Somewhere around 275's maybe? I know I cannot get there with my current rear end setup. Not sure if bolt on spacers are a solution to that problem or just kicking a problem down the road. I don't have enough experience in this department to make an educated judgment. I do know that another new rear end is money I'd prefer to spend elsewhere l. So if I can't go square, a staggered set up would be just fine with me.
 
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