I think I've finally gotten sick of the Enkei RS-5's on my car... I've had them for, oh, 6 years? Maybe 7? I was thinking of ditching the body kit over the winter, but that didn't happen... maybe this coming winter I'll do the 03-05 Z24/LS Sport swap... make it more sleeper like.... but what to do for rims? I have the 5x115mm bolt pattern now with all the suspension swaps, so stock J-body rims weren't exactly an option anymore...
I've always wanted a set of the Grand Prix GTP "torque star" rims:
So I found a set of mis-matched wheels for $200 cash... two are silver, and the other two are polished... took 'em to work with me and started sandblasting yesterday, man that takes forever... I give credit to the guys who do that all day, it's tough work getting into those little cracks....
They're a tight fit over the 13" brakes... but there's just enough room. Maybe 5 mm in the front.... it's close.
I plan on powdercoating them a dark colour, similar to the graphite I have right now on the Enkei's... then get some Kuhmo 712's on them, probably closer to the stock size so I don't have the rubbing issues any more... but we'll see how that goes....
My problem is the centre caps... the Pontiac ones don't do it for me... since the only Pontiac parts I have are the dash, seats and e-brake handle... what do you think should I go with?? (I have an idea in mind... don't know if it will work though...)
...j
paint em' and slap a decal on them!
WiGM-Tuners member.
Paint them and apply the shocker decals
LOL, you guys
I don't think the wife would mind... but...
I was thinking of the fake carbon fibre & red bowtie ones that fit the Cavalier rims... but the piece is a little smaller than the Pontiac ones, and it's not as deep... so I'd have to glue them in place. Might just do that...
That works too, but my vote stil goes to the shocker
just a fyi, since i own a gtp! those are enkei's made 4 gm!
WiGM-Tuners member.
carbon fiber with "Lenko" in red letters that match the car.
Desert Tuners
“When you come across a big kettle of crazy, it’s best not to stir it.”
Ok, got them powdercoated... slightly lighter colour than the RS-5's currently on the car. Not what I was expecting honestly, but I think they'll look just fine.
Now I need tires... because I have been having intermittent rubbing issues in the back with the IRS and wide wheels... I figured I'd go with the stock 205/55R16 tire size as on the stock Z24 wheels. Only thing is these wheels are 6.5" wide, the stock Z24 wheels are all 6" wide. I don't think half an inch will cause too many issues though...
The offset on the stock Z24 rims is 42mm... these are 52mm....
Now I need to find nice tires... I am running Kumho Ecsta Supra 711's at the moment... I was considering the Kumho ASX's though... some of the reviews I've read are pretty positive about them in the wet, which it does do quite often around here.... so wet weather performance is a priority.
Opinions?
Sounds like a plan.... it is too bad you couldn't go a little wider?
I know.. but with the rear IRS and the lowering springs, I'm very close with the 215's to the rear quarter panel... the front clearance is fine (though I'm putting a set of flared Toyota Cav fenders on over the winter, to better clear them...). If I have a full trunk, or passengers in the rear seat, I end up rubbing the outside edge of the tire on the quarter panel/top of bumper area. So I need the tires to be inwards just a smidgen....
Looking at a set of Bridgestone Potenza G019 grid tires...
...j
Found a set of Yokohama AVID V4S cheap on a local forum... might be my best bang for the buck...
Sweet deal... you need to put some pics up of those rims man. Those Enkeis of yours were so nice too... lol.
Hey one thing to keep in mind, is balancing the wheels. obviously your not gonna want hammer on weights but if theres only 5mm clearance you might not be able to fit the wheel weights on the inside the edge, mark the rim with the tire crayon for where the caliper ends on the inside of the rim so they can set up the machine to put a stick on weight on the inside edge and the middle next to the caliper.
Hopefully that make sense, kinda hard to explain with out physically showing what I'm talking about.
^x2 see if they can use stick weights, i use them on my oem gm chrome even. just looks cleaner imo
Sticking that wheel in another 10mm further on each side sounds like asking for trouble to me... Perhaps the different suspension swaps have bought you some more room...
We bought a used 99 Lumina Z34 and had a spare set of 52mm positive offset Torque Stars we tried to put on it... they wouldn't even bolt on because they hit the stock calipers.
I'm shooting for the stick-on weights on the inside edge of the wheel... not the outside edge... if that's possible. It was on the current wheels, so I can't see why not. Guess it depends how far out of whack they are!!
A guy here in BC had a similar suspension swap to mine... rear IRS, plus the N/W on the front... and he was running the same GTP Torque Star wheels but with larger tires (I believe he was running the stock GTP-sized Eagle RS-A's... 225/60R16) which is wider and taller than what I'm planning. The only problem he had was the rear tire outer edge rubbing on the rear bumper, because the car was soooo low (he had J-body Sprints tied with baling wire to the N-body stock struts... I have the proper N-body Eibach Pro-Kit springs with N-body KYB struts...). I do have slight rubbing issues with my current tires, if I have a full load of camping gear in the trunk, or passengers in the rear seat. I'm hoping to resolve that with the narrower tires and different offset.
I have already fit the bare wheels to the car... and I have no clearance issues at all... but I think these are probably going to be the smallest rim I can fit over those front brakes... Now... to find another pair and mount slicks for the track
I'm dropping off the rims and tires tomorrow to get mounted and balanced. Pics afterwards
...j
love it... cant wait.. my favorite RED vert... lol
Sweet... magnetic balancing is more expensive but much more clean.
waiting patiently.....
Not unintentionally accelerating since 2009!!!!
its been 2 days! where the pics? lol
WiGM-Tuners member.
Sorry guys, the place that I dropped the rims off to was busy and so was I... I didn't get to pick them up til today:
The centre cap isn't glued in yet. There will be black Gorilla locking lug nuts holding these on the car.
They couldn't balance them properly without sticking some of the thin weights on the more visible edge... I hope it clears ok. If not, we might have to rebalance them. We'll see... I'm waiting on a pair of new front hubs, as the ones on the car are both shot.
Ugh... so much sidewall...
Must.. remember.. "sleeper"...
dude. your making me want to get a set of those for my gtp! i have to agree w/ your .com!
WiGM-Tuners member.
