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Hey y’all I just bought a clean 77 Monte and I’m trying to figure out what size wheels and tires I can put on this thing without modifications.
American racing makes a rally replica that I really like and would still look vintage and not over stated. Id be happy with 17”x9” or even 17”x8” but the company is telling me 17”x7” is the only safe fitment.
Has anyone sorted this out? Any other wheel suggestions?? Thanks !!
I see you've got the somewhat rare factory "turbine" wheels. These were exclusive to Monte Carlo and available for just a few years. It looks like yours are in really nice condition. Whatever you choose to do, I recommend you hang on to those wheels.
Regarding the rally wheels, I have a set of factory Chevy rally wheels that came with my '74 Monte Carlo and there's no denying they look aesthetically pleasing.
By the way, I leave the paint as is on purpose. Since she's my daily driver, she's parked outside at work all day, parked in the parking lot at the supermarket when I go shopping, parked in the lot at the bank, post office, etc. There isn't a week that goes by where someone asks, "Hey, man, wanna sell it?" If she looked nice, then she'd be looking nice for someone else by now.
However (you should've known this was coming), when sourcing wheels other than factory correct, exercise caution. The biggest concern is the offset, that is the position of the surface that mounts to the hub in relation to the wheel's centerline. This is critical because of the distribution of load onto the bearings. If it's not dead-on, you'll be putting an uneven load onto the bearings which will lead to premature failure. As for the width of the wheel, if it's too wide, it will rub, or worse completely bind, against the frame or control arms, especially while turning. My setup starts with the factory 15X7 rally wheels on which I've mounted 255/60R-15 tires. These are the largest tires I could put on the car without any rubbing and without changing the speedometer gear in the transmission.
Aha, thanks so much, this is all great info. I’m def keeping the turbines and have actually been looking for something if a replica but haven’t been able to find. Probably because like you said they were specific to the Monte Carlo and only made a few years.
About the factory specs that’s great to know, I knew there were reasons but didn’t know the details. So is this why wheel makers offer custom 2 and 3 piece wheels so they can be made to factory specs for a certain vehicle? I’d love to get a few more inches in width if possible, I’m guessing in the rear if the front had to stay the same.
So is this why wheel makers offer custom 2 and 3 piece wheels so they can be made to factory specs for a certain vehicle?
None of my cars have aftermarket wheels so I have no hands-on experience with them, hence, regarding this question, I have no answer for you.
Originally Posted by 77 MonteCarlo Landau
I’d love to get a few more inches in width if possible, I’m guessing in the rear if the front had to stay the same.
You are correct in that, since the rear wheels are fixed, i.e., their orientation doesn't change when steering, you could put wider wheels/tires on the rear. Lots of folks do that for their weekend cruiser.
02-08-2023, 11:05 AM
2nd gen wheel and tire options
