Year One Rally IIs & Redlines
 

I've been kicking around the idea of mixing it up and trading my 14" RIIs for some 17" Year One RIIs for a while now. Maybe this is all a dumb idea since my car looks bone stock, but I'm kind of bored with the appearance.

I'd want redlines, and I've seen some from Diamondback, but the stripe looks a little fat in relation to the sidewall height.

Coker makes a Silvertown 225/55/17 which look pretty good in terms of stripe to sidewall ratio and placement, but I have the 14" version now and don't love them. I'd like something with a more aggressive tread. I also think a 225 might be too skinny for a 17X8.

Another thought I had was pinstriping a redline on the lip of the wheel.

Different question:
For those of you with YO RIIs, did you lower your car? I now the overall OD is about the same as my 14" setup, but I'm thinking the bigger rim/smaller sidewall might require some suspension tweaks to get the car to sit right. I've seen some '68/'69 A-Bodies that look really good and others that look like a 4x4.


http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1591285604

Do a search on the Y.O. wheels. I thought I read a thread or 2 on here about balancing and runout issues related to the repop wheels. Might have been in one of the Firebird sections.

Almost all cast wheels in large sizes are going to require more weight added to the barrels then you typically see with a 14 or 15" wheel. Just the nature of where the weight on the wheel is. It's also tire tech's not paying attention to where the tire itself is heavy and you end up with a heavy spot on the tire matched with a heavy spot on the wheel and people blame the wheel for huge run-out when it's really just a poor mount and balance job.

I've had cast wheels from several different companies on different vehicles. From very cheap ebay stuff to the more expensive American Racing wheels on my firebird and my wife's Chevelle. While some of them did require more balancing weights, I've never had a set that caused vibration or had any type of structural or quality issue. I wouldn't personally be afraid of the YO offerings. They're on thousands of cars.

In regards to the suspension with the bigger wheels and smaller tires, the car will still technically sit the same. However, there is an optical illusion that is created when you up-size the wheel and the tire sidewall get's shorter. You start seeing the gap between the top of the tire and the wheel arch more. A big part of that is because with the 17" and larger wheels, the sidewall you are using is far more square than with a 14 or 15" wheel where the tire bows out near the center of it's side wall, then arcs back in and creates a more "rounded" look. The car's overall stance and the total tire to fender clearances haven't changed much if any, but the eye perceives it as being larger. So you get that 4x4 look which kinda sucks.

If you're worried about that, you should prepare to think about changing springs to drop the car a bit and correct the look.

My son put them on his ‘68 with Nittos (255x50-17 rear 245x45-17 front). No changes to suspension height from stock 14” Rally II’s he had on prior. These are 17 x 9’s all around. No trouble balancing or otherwise. With those tires and modified steering box it handles pretty damn good for a heavy 60’s A body convertible.
Redlines would be sweet too but we already have them on the other ‘68.

A 225/55/17 will work fine on a 17x8" wheel.

But I do believe that the redline will not look "right" on a 17" tire.

I did the red pinstripes on my 17" plain black steel wheels that I run with poverty caps - and I think the placement of the stripe looks "normal" on the black wheel and the 17" tires.

I run 215/55/17's up front and 245/50/17's on the back. Car is lowered in front and I've added disc brakes on my '64, so I went conservative on the tire size up front. I have no clearance issues at all. Your '68 has more room inside the fenders than my '64.

I don't know that I'd like the redline on the aluminum finished rim.

But what I think doesn't matter - your car - do it your way.

I'm concerned about dropping 2k on wheels and tires, not being happy with the results, then having to drop another few hundred on new springs to get it where I want. I also generally hate having to deal with the front suspension.

Those look pretty good to me. I'm after the double take of wanting it to look stock at first glance. I've got a Jeep steering box, bigger sway bar in the front and a rear sway bar so upping to 17s would probably make it even more fun. Can you use stock lug nuts with those wheels or do you need shank-style lugs?

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1591292465

The 17" Silvertowns in the pic above were on a '67 Chevelle and IMO looked pretty good because the redline is right next to the rim and thinner than what I've seen on the Diamondback redlines.

There's also tire stickers you can get in custom widths...but I have my doubts about those. https://www.tirestickers.com/shop/vi...ed-line-walls/

Yeah, the pinstripe works best when you've got a dark rim. Not sure how it would play out on the aluminum either.

Post a pic of your car now with the current rims and give tire size and from that I can assist getting a visual of what size 17" tire your car will look best with and if you will need to consider lowering it.

[QUOTE=Verdoro 68;6147688]
.....Can you use stock lug nuts with those wheels or do you need shank-style lugs?

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1591292465

Not sure about lugs. My son bought these from fellow PY’er (local) and paid $600 for wheels, lugs and tires. Were all maybe a year old. IIRC the guy said they rubbed on bottom rear edges of front wheel wheels so he went with something else. I believe he had them on a 68 as well. Maybe a drum vs. disc thing?

Running stock 14x6s Rally IIs with 225/70/14s now. Original springs in the front, replacement factory springs in the back.

https://thumbnails-photos.amazon.com...Tyj9FuWo24fzr5

If it sat like this '70, I'd be happy.

https://cdnstatic.specialtysales.com...be563e37cd.jpg

I am running the 17" rally IIs on my 67 with 235/50 Goodyear Eagle GTs. They are as close as I could get to the stock tire height. Third picture is the stock 14s. My only complaint is that the grey between the spokes needs to be a couple shades darker. If you get he wheels make sure to get the lug nuts too. IIRC stock lugs are 13/16" and the Year One ones are 3/4" Believe it or not that 1/16th" makes the difference when using a lug wrench. I tried the stock lug nuts and when I tightened one lug down I chipped the paint on the wheel. I went to the Year One lug nuts and didn't have a problem. You may also need the center caps if yours are originals. Also, as far as balance, I have had no issues there either.

The 225/55/17's will actually be slightly taller than the 225/70/14's, so they should fill the wheel openings fine.

Curious, do you think the 255s would fit up front too? (Actually, since you're running the same rim width front to back, that'd be an easy check.

Is anyone running the Diamondback G2 or FT with 17s?

https://dbtires.com/product/diamond-...e-performance/

https://dbtires.com/product/diamond-...7-18-20-sizes/

Your rear end sits perhaps a tad higher than the front it seems.... but 245/50-17 all the way around may go really well on the new 17"x8" rims and be at the same exact height tire you have now.

255/50 -17 could be used in the rear and 245/45-17 in front if you get 9" wide rear rims and 8" wide front rims. I would lean towards this staggered set up as it appears from the photo you have a slight rake. Plus there is lots of room in back of 68 to 72 A-body cars and kind of need to fill that area up.


GREAT looking goat by the way. Just gorgeous!

You are correct, there is a slight rake to the car. I hadn't considered a staggered setup, it could give me more of that aggressive look I'm after.

Thanks for the complement. I've really been wrestling whether the 17s would be right considering how stock everything else is. I wish I could borrow a set to try out!

I had those rims once and I really like the look and quality for the price.

And your year A-body really would benefit from a staggered set up.

Good luck!

255/50/17's (27.1" diameter) can safely be run on 7 - 9" wide rims, per the tire manufacturer, so an 8" wide rim is the "sweet" spot...

I like the idea of wider, taller tires in the back. A 225/50/17 (25.9") would be a touch taller than a 245/45/17 (25.7") if Verdoro would want to keep 50 series front and back. If available , a 235/50/17 (26.25") would work too.

I am running the Diamondback Nitto 17’s on my 68 LeMans. I have the Hurst wheels on it.

The car drives great- I love it.

Pics below of the 225 Silvertowns on 17x9s off the Chevelle I first posted. I like how the redline is flush with the sidewall and close to the lip, but the width looks pretty narrow so I think 225s are out.

I'm narrowing my options down to:
-17x8 245/50-17 (26.6"). This is closest to stock tire height.
-Staggered 17x8/17x9 . 245/45-17 (25.7") in the front , 255/50-17s (27") in the back.

Like the idea of a wider tire in the back with a staggered setup, but I'm a little hesitant to go with a taller tire in the back because I don't really want to accentuate the rake of the car much more. I suppose I could do 255/45/17s in the back to get the height a little closer. It's a small detail, but I wish the redline was about 1/4" closer to the lip on the Diamondbacks.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1591549810

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1591549150

If you want I can take close up of my Diamondback redlines with a measurement?