I am going to get a set of Weld Draglite XP's. I plan to get 15x10's for the rear. What size tire ET streets) will I need? What size rim should I get for the front? 15X5/6/7? What size and brand tire should I get for that? Is it very dangerous to run skinnies on the highway for short distances?

 

No problem to run skinnies on highway. I used to run them on my old cars (67 Nova, 69 Camaro, 70 GS). Just don't expect to handle like a slot car or anything.

 

Why are you going with the XP's

Why not just the regular 15x10 prostar's, they are lighter anyways...I got the 15x10's in the rear with 7.5" backspacing, and I got the 15x3.5's in the front...I drive my car everyday on skinnies and its not that bad, you just can expect it to handle like a road racing car..

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by BIGBOS:
<strong>Why are you going with the XP's

Why not just the regular 15x10 prostar's, they are lighter anyways...I got the 15x10's in the rear with 7.5" backspacing, and I got the 15x3.5's in the front...I drive my car everyday on skinnies and its not that bad, you just can expect it to handle like a road racing car..</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Don't the non-XP tires require the calipers be grinded?

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by horist:
<strong>Don't the non-XP tires require the calipers be grinded?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Rear, yes

Front, no if you use a 5/16" spacer

 

The "XP" series are just for looks, they actually weigh more than stock 16x8 wheels. That kinda sucks!

Go with regular Draglites or Pro Stars.

-Tony

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Nine Ball:
<strong>The "XP" series are just for looks, they actually weigh more than stock 16x8 wheels. That kinda sucks!

Go with regular Draglites or Pro Stars.

-Tony</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I knew they were supposed to be a little heavier, but damn. Yeah, I'll get the regular Welds. I've said it a hundred times- a Dremel tool is worth it's weight in gold <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />

 

Hey, if I order 15x31/2 for the front, what size tire will I need? What is the best brand?

 

The xp's are very very heavy. I would avoid them at any cost as there are essentially no gains by using them. If you really like the welds choose the prostar or drag rim.

Centerlines are nice but forget about using large rim in the rear for wide tires as they don't offer correct backspacing without having the rims stick way out of the fender area.

Another choice is to choose bogart rims which is the best of any choice in rims as there is no grinding needed, they are the lightest. I designed them in conjuction with bogart. SPECIFICIALLY for the use of LT1 and LS1 cars. They tuck in great and the use of super long studs isn't a problem with them as with welds. Price-wise your looking at under 950.00 for a complete set from me. Which is approx what you were spending with the xp's. They definitly look the best in my opinion, they actually look like show rims.

Email me or call me if you need help

www.mycamaroz28.homestead.com

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I knew they were supposed to be a little heavier, but damn. Yeah, I'll get the regular Welds. I've said it a hundred times- a Dremel tool is worth it's weight in gold <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" /> </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you are going to use a dremel to grind your rear calipers, I hope you have about 2 months set aside. Because that's about how long it's going to take you.

What you want to use is a big buffer with this type of grinding wheel.

<img src="http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/108/gfx/large/4473ap1l.gif" alt=" - " />

You can probably rent the buffer and the wheel is cheap.

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/108/html/2441.html

 

As nassty has stated, you will need more then a hand file to grind for weld rims. An angle grinder will work well.

Be patient, take a little off at a time. You may want to cover the wheel well area as many of the suspension components as the metal dust will fly everywhere at which you don't want them sticking on your greased suspension components.

In addition, be care that the stone or disk does not break as you will be flinging disk particles possibly at your car. I also recommend wearing a full face mask as you don't want anything hitting your face.(Your eyes and face is worth are worth it)

I have heard some guys grinding too much and damaging the caliper. Take alittle at a time.

Good luck.

Steve

 

Is there any other option than grinding the calipers? I have a set of drags and skinnies that I used on my 3.8L Firebird. Just got the Trans Am 3 days ago and I'm not too interrested in cutting her up already, however I'm heading to the track on Friday and I want to have my drag radials on.

 

If you do get welds or any wheel dont just assume they will clear. I have a friend with a tire shop and said that some guy bent a set of prostars that way. So i figured hey lets get them on the balance maybe we can pound it out and i will take them. We spun them and they had a 3 inch wobble in each direction. Just a tip.

 

BTW... my draglites are 15x8s... would that solve any clearance issues or is it the 15" diameter that's the problem?

 

It's the 15" that's the problem.

You can't use Weld ProStars or Draglites without either grinding the caliper or getting a small disk brak setup.

Your other options are:

Sell your rims and get either Centerlines or Bogarts. (I think Bogarts don't require grinding.)

Or, grind those puppies.

FACE PROTECTION IS A MUST AT ALL TIMES!MAke sure you wear jeans and long sleve shirt. Watch for big baggy sleeves on your shirt too.

A guy on here knows all about that. I forgot who it was, but he was grinding his calipers and set the grinder down. He accidentally hit the button which then spun the wheel and threw all kinds of alum. shavings into his eye. He had to have his eye SCRAPED.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by NASSty01:
<strong>It's the 15" that's the problem.

You can't use Weld ProStars or Draglites without either grinding the caliper or getting a small disk brak setup.

Your other options are:

Sell your rims and get either Centerlines or Bogarts. (I think Bogarts don't require grinding.)

Or, grind those puppies.

FACE PROTECTION IS A MUST AT ALL TIMES!MAke sure you wear jeans and long sleve shirt. Watch for big baggy sleeves on your shirt too.

A guy on here knows all about that. I forgot who it was, but he was grinding his calipers and set the grinder down. He accidentally hit the button which then spun the wheel and threw all kinds of alum. shavings into his eye. He had to have his eye SCRAPED.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What part exactly do I need to grind? Anyone got some pics?

 

Does the XP line have a 15" wheel? I thought they were 16" and up. I was thinking of running a 16" XP in the back with a 15" "regular" Weld up front with a spacer. That way at least the weight is comming off the front. But, if there IS a 15" XP, and it did not require grinding, I would go with it and save at least a little weight and have way more tire choices. Can anyone confirm?

 

Convo pros are the lightest

 

Yes there are 15" XP welds. The 15"s arent going to save any weight over the 16s though. Since that weight is in the back it wont be that bad. The bigger benefit is the skinnies in the front so if you dont want to grind the brakes go with it.

 

Actually, bogart rims are the lightest matching RIM WIDTH to RIM WIDTH ie matching out of any companies mentioned here. For example, you can't compare welds 10 inch rim with centerlines 7-8inch rim. The centerline rim out of any rim mentioned has very poor backspacing choices which pushes the rim too far outward from the fender well which limits not only the tire width but the tallness of the tire.

In addition, you need to look at the other components needed to add to the wheel, bogart has the narrowist center sections which requires shorter shanks, this doesn't sound like much but if your comparing even a shank needed for prostars in comparison to welds each varies (depending on if its a LT1 or LS1 style rim) from approx .30 inches to .5 inches in lengh PER shank which really can up to a lb or so per rim.

In addition the shank on the bogarts actually reach the end of each rim with the STOCK studs (LS1). The LT1 style rims actually protrude .25 inches PAST the rim. Both these situations makes it much more desirable to use, not to mention MUCH safer. It seems many of the guys using welds are using the stock studs which are approx .35 inches from reaching the end of the center section. This provides a VERY unsafe situation and not one that I recommend. For the guys whom run welds, please use longer studs, your creating a very unsafe situation.

When designing the bogart rims, I did a direct comparison and made all weight comparisons on a mailroom scale to the weld rims for EVERY component needed to mount each rim on the car correctly. The difference in overall rotating mass was approx a total of 10lbs where the rears were approx 4 lbs lighter EACH wheel in comparison to the weld prostars.

Good things do come with a price though as the bogarts are a little more money then the rest. Still though, all in all for a little extra money, they tuck in the fender well further then any other wheel, easy install, shorter shanks and studs are needed, not to mention style and perfomance is worth it in my book.

Probably the least expensive setup would be the welds but keep in mind there are extra expenses since you'll need grinding stones spacers and time to get them to work on the car.

Hope this info is useful to someone.

Steve
www.mycamaroz28.homestead.com