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TTA/GTA rims-fronts on rear and vice versa

I personally would like a set of gold BBS (real) for my TTA. The reason you cant find them is, back when they made BBS there were imitations and BBS sued...that is a classic rim and our rims are good copies of them. GTA rims look good on a number of cars.
 
89TTA#841 said:
Unless she's lowering her car or using a different rear end, I don't think an adjustable vs. non-adjustable panhard bar would be a factor, as long as rear end geometry remains unchanged.
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On a stock car, the rearend is offset to one side. Some are worse than others. When you get a min, go check any "stock" car. Put a level against the wheel lip of your rear quarter, then measure from the rim to the level, repeat on other side.
Then grab a beer and marvel at the thought that you never noticed that and how far the rear wheels are tucked in compared 2 the fronts.


As far as the offset screwing up wheel bearings "unless its modified 4 racing" no it won't hurt them. Some third gens even use a small "GM" spacer on the rear.

If memory serves me correctly, its only moving the wheel out roughly 15mm or 1/2" on each side. So it's really not that much but it sure helps the car feel more stable "at speed".
 
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I appreciate everyone's input and concerns, but is it really gonna hurt anything for someone who doesnt race and maybe drives (at the most) 500 miles a season? Most drives are short (10-15 miles one way).

The car sits more than anything, this season I have put less than 300 miles on it and dont anticipate more than 50 more before its resting for the winter.

I also get the "lack of wide lipped" availability, but I have 3 sets of these rims. The 3rd set I have needs major work but I do have them.

If it doesnt work out, I could always sell them.
 
Just for S and G's, I just looked at some cars on ebay. On 2 TTA's that were on my list, you can clearly see the wheels are mounted wrong. Wonder how many others (incl GTA's) are also mounted incorrectly?
 
And when your rear end starts making funny sounds...mike will swap rears off strobe car with yours...just kidding.
 
Here are some pic's, i left the correct wheel on the left side, the front on pass., i really don't see that much difference...
 
kymmee said:
Thanks for posting those Robert. Have you taken it for a spin and noticed or heard anything?
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No this is the h/t that i'm not going to tag till jan.1 when it don't have to be smog tested , but i think they will work fine , not sure about wet traction though or if it will be affected but that won't matter to you.
 
If you look at the tire position in relation to the ground effects molding where it meets the front portion of the rear tire compared to the driver side pics you can see a distinct difference. I don't think running a different offset on the back hurts a single thing, I've ran different offsets on many different cars for 100k+ miles with never an issue, it's not steering and as long as its a limited slip and not a lockup rear it should make no difference in how the rear slip-diff engages etc. The factory didn't do it because on big bumps and when the car is loaded down, the tire would hit the top part of the rear fender before hitting the bump stops.
 
The longer i leave that wheel on and look at it the less i like it , on #818 i have a 255 D/R on the rear rim that has a really nice stance, i will put a pic up later.
 
Yeah, about a inch or so more than a rear rim...but it's something that you would have to be looking hard to notice unless it was pointed out.
 
89TTA#841 said:
It sticks out, does it not?

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Put a front rim on the otherside. You'll see better that the rear is offset. This is where the adjustable panhard bar comes into play.
I think the wheels are only 15mm or 1/2 "wider" per side when the fronts are used on the rear.
 
TTOP350 said:
Put a front rim on the otherside. You'll see better that the rear is offset. This is where the adjustable panhard bar comes into play.
I think the wheels are only 15mm or 1/2 "wider" per side when the fronts are used on the rear.
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You mean like this...:)
 
Bingo!
With a stock panhard bar, how far is your axle offset ? I have rod ended panhard bar and control arms (noisy but worth it) 1996RA 17x9.5 wheels on my 89 formula350. (don't mind the trans fluid soaked undercoating from exploded transmissions)

1010112030.jpg
 
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so there is no definitive "verdict" on this - i mean as far as a set of the deeper, wider-looking front wheels going on the back of a GTA/TTA - or a Formula/Formula 350 for that matter?

one poster was saying that this alternate configuration would ruin the 9-bolt rear end some how. i was not clear on the science behind that.

on the one hand, it seems like it would look better, as it seems ass-backwards with deeper set wheels in the front than in the back. if there are no clearance problems with FRONTS going on the back, i dont see why or how it could cause any problems.

on the other hand, why DIDNT they just use the same deeper set wheel on the rear, rather than the inconvenient (for tire rotations) and ass-backwards looking stock set up of a narrower (in appearance) wheel on the rear of these cars.

this quandry pertains to both Crosslace and Formula wheels.
 
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No verdict yet. I still plan on doing it, but my 4 wide rims are still with the painter. As soon as I get them back, I'm getting tires mounted and putting them on the car.

I guess its personal preference. Seems like a few people have done this with no problems.

I dont have any extra Formula rims, so I wont be running anything different than stock on that car.
 
My buddy"Jordan has 2 TTA/GTA correct dimpled "front" wheels in fair condition for sale. One is black and one is gold so they would need to be refinished. He was going to use them on his T-Type but has gone a different direction. let me know if interested and I will get you in touch with Jordan. He is located in MD and will be at Kirbans open house end of the month.

See "for sale" section for add.

-Scott
 
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