I want AR Rebels, have looked all over, seems they're discontinued. Why do people advertise wheels they don't have, and can't get?

I'm now looking at my 4th possible supplier.

Unless anyone has any ideas for a staggered set of deep-dish chrome 18's that's not ridiculously expensive.

 

I think I went through 10 different sellers, nobody has AR Rebels anymore. Discontinued.

I'm really looking for something different, seems like there aren't any good wheels for F-Bods anymore. Everything that used to be good like the Rebels and Profil and a couple others you just can't find anymore.

Everything now is black, or silver, another Torque Thrust, wrong offset, bolt-pattern, and just not wide enough. I want something different than just another GM wheel replica.

 

I hear ya man. Sick of seeing replica rims and torque thrust on every single f-body.

Anybody got any ideas where to get the AR Rebels?

 

I'm right there with you man, and now with tomzwheels going out I don't know what to do. I only have 1500 to spend on wheel and tires, I'm pretty much screwed.

Good luck my friend.

 

well .. .. hp design are nice

 

I got my 19s off the internet for 1600 mounted, balanced, and shipped to my door. They even came with new chrome lugnuts.

 

off the internet is like saying: "somewhere in the pacific ocean".

 

Well, I think I got some rebels, they're available, but on national backorder, maybe in a month or too, we'll see.

Did you guys know American Racing is now referred to as wheelpros?

 

17" Street Lites would look sick!

 

well, I cant tell you where I got them from. It is a non sponsor site that has a lot of choices in different sizes. PM me and I will give you the site.

 

Yes, you have to call american racing, speak to a wholesaler who will tell you he can get them, have your local shop (AR dealer) place an order for you speaking to the wholesaler you just spoke to.

That's what I did after seeing about 30 different websites advertising them. After I called all of them, they pretty much said they couldn't get them, or had no information on them. This is including Jegs, Summit, and Yearone.

I expect to wait a couple of months at the most, but it will be worth the wait. Those wheels are sweetass!

Have your local or nearest discount tire call them, place an order, and you can put down a deposit.

I went for Chrome and BFG KDW's, 295/35 and 255/40 on the 18's. for right at 2k with mounting, balancing, and tire replacement plan.

 

Yeah, they're not bad. They look good on some Trans Am's, but the width's they come in are just terrible.

I've been wanting to go beyond 275's for awhile and a 10 inch wheel was what I was looking for.

I guess the aftermarket wheel industry is just changing. If I was in to "imports" or was looking for some 22-24 inch wheels for a Chrysler or Mopar I probably would have no trouble.

 

That's another thing, 19's? Not long ago, putting 19's on an F-Body was a desecration.

Now, it's normal I guess. All those 19" ruff's people are bolting up. Weren't there some 19" CCW's recently too?

Some of them look really nice on a Trans Am, I'll admit, but I need some cushion between my wheel and the road so I can accelerate.

 

I dont think a 295 18 is going to hook up that much better than a 295 19. Just my .02. Get whatever size you want though.

 

Well, look at it this way

Have you ever seen a 10" wide 19 that we can easily bolt on? Or are you one of those guys at puts 315's on 9 inch wheels?

I'm by no means an expert, but have alot of experience on different sizes and brands of tires. It's about keeping a sidewall without changing the overall height of the tire as much as possible (for me me anyways). Less sidewall means a bumpy and less forgiving ride and there is less sidewall flex with a lower profile tire. I've noticed that with a lower profile, cars tend to wander, and have a higher rate of bumpsteer. The response to the road and the input felt in the steering wheel is too instantaneous for my liking and not good for cruising at 80mph on bumpy off kiltered roads. I had 265/35's N3000's once and hated them. The car would break traction very easily, and it was quite a handful at times and rode too damn rough. Very rarely could I just relax with one hand on the wheel on less than perfect roads. I would say it was very "twitchy", and a little to sporty for me. I'm uncertain as to what my alignment was at the time, but I'm pretty sure it was within stock spec. I have a ground control coil over kit. Later on though, I felt a difference on 275/35 BFG's, and then again later on some 275/40 NT555's. Granted they all were different tires, but the things I disliked about the ride quality were less apparent. I feel that alot of this was due to having on 1/10th of an inch more sidewall on each different tire. I couldn't imagine what a 30 series tire on a 19" wheel would be like with any brand of tire. To keep the overall size the same you have to run a 30 series tire, then you're only left with a little over 3 inches of sidewall on that 19. And we're only talking about the fronts right here. Besides, I have close to 100 lbs. of supercharger and intercooler about to be bolted on. I don't need some even heavier nineteens on there adding more unsprung weight to the front of my car. Don't forget additional rolling mass that would decrease braking performance without bigger discs. My car came stock with 16's. A plus one tire size, maybe a plus two, you can get away with brakes with some good pads, rotors, and stainless lines. But a plus 3, now you're probably looking at decreased braking performance on OEM stuff. Guys who run those big wheels on their stock **** are just asking for it. With forged billet aluminum wheels, then you might be able to compromise on the size a bit. No rubber bands for me. A 3.8 inch sidewall is about as low profile as I want to go.

As far as the rear goes

The overall contact patch is the amount of tire (or footprint if you will) in contact with the driving surface. This equals friction and thereforce creates traction considering all things equal.

There is a difference between a 275 and 295 and hooking up as you put it. Small measurements make big differences on tires. A 295/35 18 and 255/40 18 like I have chosen for the rebels will give me a good middle of the road area between 275/35 and 275/40 while increasing rear traction, saving a little weight on the front of the car, and not feeling too much like a go-cart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire

Here's a good link to learn about tires. And thank you for allowing me to choose my tires man.

 

I dont race my car that often, well hardly at all. I dont have any problems with the handling or braking performance of my car though. It tracks just as well with the 19s as it does on the stock 17s. I have been working on cars for 11 years and have 5 ASE certifications, so im not a newbie.

 

What do you consider "ridiculously expensive"?


-Mike

 

I would really like some CCW's, Fikses, iForged, or Boze Alloys, but the cost of custom wheels is too high for me. My price range is more around 1200 for 4 wheels and not 1200 for one. You can get four custom wheels with tires and end up spending more than half of the resale value of an F-Body on them.

 

I hear you. I wasn't trying to be a jerk, just trying to get a feel for your price range. If you keep searching the for sale forums periodically, you can find good deals on used custom wheels. They still won't be super cheap, like a set of ZR1s or C5 Z06 wheels, but they can be had.

I'm still looking into selling/trading my wheels (DPE R05-S variants), as I'm selling my car. I'm finding it is easier to sell a stock/near-stock car than a modded car, which makes sense. If I can sell the custom wheels, I can ask less for my car, and someone will get a great looking set of wheels at a reasonable (relatively speaking) price.


-Mike