Original Owners of a 99PTA - About to begin Mods
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Original Owners of a 99PTA - About to begin Mods
Hi guys, me and my husband are the original owners of a 1999 Trans Am. We are ready to make some changes! We are starting with the easier stuff first!
First, we would like some input from you guys who have put 18" wheels on your trans am's and would love to know if you would share your pictures and if you kept the same wheels all the way around? What size tires did you put on them? Did you purchase your wheels and tires online - if so, who did you use?
Second, we want to convert it to the WS6. Has anyone here done this? If so, which brand of hood did you go with? Did you purchase the Ram Air box?
Any of you willing to share your information and photos? Thanks a bunch!
Teresa
WV
First, we would like some input from you guys who have put 18" wheels on your trans am's and would love to know if you would share your pictures and if you kept the same wheels all the way around? What size tires did you put on them? Did you purchase your wheels and tires online - if so, who did you use?
Second, we want to convert it to the WS6. Has anyone here done this? If so, which brand of hood did you go with? Did you purchase the Ram Air box?
Any of you willing to share your information and photos? Thanks a bunch!
Teresa
WV
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Hi and welcome to the site. Sounds like you have a very nice car. As to your questions check out the Chassis,Susp, Appearance section as there are a lot of info and pics on different wheel swaps and tons of other items in there.
#3
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If your 1999 Trans Am is a lower mileage, well-cared for car (ie <45K miles) your best route is probably to sell it and then go out and find a modified WS6 that suits your needs. You'll get more money for the Trans Am this way and pay a lot less for the WS6. You'll get 1/2 to 2/3 of the WS6 mods for "free." Modify your Trans Am and most of that money goes out the window on resale time regardless of mileage.
#4
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IMO, since your the original owners, and obliviously plan on hanging on to the car I would go ahead and modify it. Just don't get into big of a hurry, take your time researching to avoid making any hasty decisions. Firebrian, does make a good point, but in my opinion its more suited towards someone that doesn't plan of keeping a car very long and developing a person attachment to it.
#5
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As far as wheels I'd stick with either 17s or 18s front and rear, and if you want to be able to rotate them then go with the same width front and rear. For the wheel widths keep it in the 9" -10.5" range, and for the offsets +35 to +50 depending on the wheel width. I've also bought wheels and tire from both DTD and Tire Rack numerous time with out any problems, but their wheel selection for our cars isn't great. When buying wheels be aware that the budget friendly wheels will normally be heavier than stock and the quality of the finish lower than stock, and the offsets not always optimal for the wheel width.
If, you can afford semi-forged or better yet forged wheels do so! You'll get a lighter, stronger, wheel with a better finish and fitment. FYI, I bought a set of semi-forged 18 x 9 wheels back in 2000, and besides having them powder coated a few yrs ago I've never had to replace any of them.
FYI, Forgestar makes high quality wheel for a reasonable price. There's numerous threads about them in the Wheels & Tires section.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/search.php?searchid=26104729
If, you can afford semi-forged or better yet forged wheels do so! You'll get a lighter, stronger, wheel with a better finish and fitment. FYI, I bought a set of semi-forged 18 x 9 wheels back in 2000, and besides having them powder coated a few yrs ago I've never had to replace any of them.
FYI, Forgestar makes high quality wheel for a reasonable price. There's numerous threads about them in the Wheels & Tires section.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/search.php?searchid=26104729
Last edited by 99Bluz28; 07-19-2014 at 07:08 PM.
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If your 1999 Trans Am is a lower mileage, well-cared for car (ie <45K miles) your best route is probably to sell it and then go out and find a modified WS6 that suits your needs. You'll get more money for the Trans Am this way and pay a lot less for the WS6. You'll get 1/2 to 2/3 of the WS6 mods for "free." Modify your Trans Am and most of that money goes out the window on resale time regardless of mileage.
Thanks, Firebrian. I get what you are saying, but we prefer to make the mods to our TA since we know its complete history. We bought it new in 99 and it was my daily driver for appx. 4 years. Since then, we only take it out on rare occasions.
We may not worry about adding the ram air box, but we do want to make some changes.
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IMO, since your the original owners, and obliviously plan on hanging on to the car I would go ahead and modify it. Just don't get into big of a hurry, take your time researching to avoid making any hasty decisions. Firebrian, does make a good point, but in my opinion its more suited towards someone that doesn't plan of keeping a car very long and developing a person attachment to it.
Thanks, 99Bluz28! You're exactly right, that is how we feel.
Thanks for the information in regard to wheels. We are looking at 18's - my husband is wanting wider on the back. So we will see what we end up with after more research!