17 x 7 wheels on my lark

[Tom Thornburg]

Backspacing on the 17 x 8 wheels?

Sure looks like you will have major tire/fender rub if you hit a bump in a turn, I always advise
people when lowering a car to realize it effects drive ability. Looks great, but it sucks when
pieces of that rubber you paid good money for is flying off the edge of the tire. My Avanti is
lowered by age, any lower and the exhaust would not clear speed bumps.

I went with 17 x 8 on my Avanti back in 2006, and I can say the Board is much more lenient
these days, I recall getting emails from Members of this Forum on how I "ruined" the car with
the wheels. Words like "baby buggy" and some ethnic slurs were dealt. Funny how time has
softened the response. I also designed a modern disc brake setup that fills that wheel if its
something you want to also upgrade (I have one set left). My has Avanti graced the cover
of Avanti Magazine, so I guess I did something right.





Tom

I am looking to go with a 17 x 7 or 17 x 8 wheel on my 1980 Avanti. What is the backspacing that will work with the wheel?

[sweetolbob]

I'm running 15X8 after market wheels on my 83. 3.75" backspacing front, 4.75" rear and the fit is nice. 3.75 in the rear has a "boy racer' look, wheels stickout to much. Steeltech brakes on the front.

My 74 has 17X8 Bullitt Mustang wheels wheels with IIRC 4.25". Rear is fine but the front needs an 1/8-1/4" spacer to clear the suspension at full lock. The Mustang wheels that come close are 99-04. Later issue have too much backspacing. Turner brakes on the front.

Bob

[Tom Thornburg]

I'm running 15X8 after market wheels on my 83. 3.75" backspacing front, 4.75" rear and the fit is nice. 3.75 in the rear has a "boy racer' look, wheels stickout to much. Steeltech brakes on the front.

My 74 has 17X8 Bullitt Mustang wheels wheels with IIRC 4.25". Rear is fine but the front needs an 1/8-1/4" spacer to clear the suspension at full lock. The Mustang wheels that come close are 99-04. Later issue have too much backspacing. Turner brakes on the front.

Bob

Thanks Bob. If I go with 17 x 8 with 4.5 backspacing will that work with both front and rear? 17 x 7 with 4.0 backspacing? I am going to order some Shelby Cobra rims and those sizes are standard. Thanks.

[sweetolbob]

Thanks Bob. If I go with 17 x 8 with 4.5 backspacing will that work with both front and rear? 17 x 7 with 4.0 backspacing? I am going to order some Shelby Cobra rims and those sizes are standard. Thanks.

4.5 is probably to much for the front as 4.25 won't work without a spacer on mine. Should be fine on the back. The 4.0 should work but before you order anything, take an old rim, add the back spacing to it you want and see what it looks like. There are a ton of ways to check back spacing but to order without checking is not what I would do. Too many variables.

Bob

[Guest]

Hey Sven, that's one sweet lookin' ride. I only wish my Lark looked half that good. As long as your name is on the title, I say build it the way YOU want it. I love all types of builds, from faithful restorations to full-on customs. I simply appreciate all the time and resources it takes to build a car; period. Apparently the previous owner of my daily driver pickup cut the front springs. I'm not thrilled with the sacrificed ride performance. My preference would have been lowered spindles and/or air bags. I'm just not fond of tire rub or riding on the A-arm bump stops. By the way, are you running 4 wheel disc brakes? My old eyes can't tell from the photos. I love what you did with your Lark; looks great!

Respectfully,
SilentRon

[StudeRich]

Interesting how everyone's Too Wide Wheels and Tires have all reported Issues with them, what about tire wear, ride quality, steering effort, holding correct alignment over time, and speedometer error etc.,etc. sounds like just the start of too many troubles to me.

[daytonadave]

Cars were set up to run Tire Chains that is why there is so much room around a tire/fender clearance. I have a 1992 SC400 Lexus and its wheels/tires are sucked into the fenderwell for tire chains.
All your cars are collector's cars and a reflection of your personality. I see nothing wrong with wheels/tires. I did it 46 yrs ago and I was more radical.

[63 R2 Hawk]

I have had the same 245-60-16s, 7" wide on my Hawk for over 10 years now. Probably time to replace them, I think there's over 15,000 miles on them now and I usually don't keep tires for more than 5 years regardless of wear. Yes, steering is harder when stopped (I have the quick steer arms, which doesn't help) and if I have passengers in the back, the right rear will rub slightly, due to the slight off center shift of the Hawk drivetrain. On the good side, the 245-60-16s handle good and feel more like the old bias ply tires, no squirmy tracking like the taller radials. I'm thinking about selling my Hawk so I would probably put something close to original tires and wheels on it, but I'll bet the handling will be disappointing.....

[Xcalibur]

Excellent! I've been running 17x7 & 17x8 forged Centerlines on my '63 Avanti since 1995.

However, may I suggest avoiding HEAVY cast ones, though. A friend showed up some time ago with his new "name brand" cast 17"ers and they were so heavy I couldn't believe it!!!

[rkapteyn]

Really beautiful,I like tasteful mods.
It is better for the Studebaker crowd to see cars resurrected than scrapped.
I noticed that the younger Studebaker owners really dig the 1959-63 Larks.
I scrapped many of these years ago because no-one wanted them back 40 years ago.
Robert Kapteyn

[PackardV8]

Excellent! I've been running 17x7 & 17x8 forged Centerlines on my '63 Avanti since 1995.

However, may I suggest avoiding HEAVY cast ones, though. A friend showed up some time ago with his new "name brand" cast 17"ers and they were so heavy I couldn't believe it!!!

Agree completely, however most CASOs flinch when they learn the lightweight forged are 3X the cost of the heavy cast wheels.

Jack Vines