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Hey folks, long time lurker, first time poster. I just bought my 5th 4 gen and still am learning about these cars. lol
I have a 1996 Z28 with the 235/55/16 tires. I want new rims as I have the salad shooters but am having a heck of a time finding rims for this car. The tires are brand new so I just want to get rims. Maybe.
First question:
What size are the factory rims? I have read 16x7.5 and 16x8
Second question:
I have found a great deal on some Klasse rims that are 18x7.5 and were on a 1986 Corvette. I can get them for free.
My car is not lowered. And if I get 255/40/18 tires they will be close to the same as the factory ones so no speedo or rubbing problems. HOWEVER, will my car look like a 4x4 if these rims are on a stock suspension that is not lowered?
Owner of the rims said he had no problems with them on his 1986 Vette. Will they fit my 1996?
I have seen pictures of a lot of cars with 18" rims and most look good but appear lowered. And I have seen some pictures where the car looks like a 4x4 with 18's.
I have attached a picture of the rims. Yay or nay? As stated I can get these rims for nothing.
Any advice is appreciated as I didn't think it would be this difficult finding rims for the car. I can either get the 18" and buy rubber or keep the new tires I have and get 16" rims but they are hard to find. If anyone knows a good place to get 16" rims for this car please post. I am in Canada.
First question:
What size are the factory rims? I have read 16x7.5 and 16x8
The salad shooter is a 16x8" wheel.
Originally Posted by deebee
Owner of the rims said he had no problems with them on his 1986 Vette. Will they fit my 1996?
Not likely. I believe the offset was quite different for the '84-'87 C4s, which means those wheels wouldn't be a direct swap even to a later model C4 without a spacer of some sort. If I remember correctly, it's only the '88-'96 C4s that use an offset that will work on a 4th gen F-body.
As for the remainder of your questions, most of it is a matter of opinion. I personally would go with a 17" wheel of some sort (with a minimum of 9" width and a tire at least 275mm wide), either C4 ZR1, C5/C5 Z06, AR TTII/TTM, etc., would all be top choices for me.
RPM, that is some great advice and thank you. I didn't get those rims yet and was close to buying tires for them today and glad I checked here first. You saved me $1000
I found a site that sells replica ZR1 rims and will contact them Tuesday. I like the looks of the rims on the 4th gen but I live in Canada and it is hard to find decent rims up here.
And the beauty of it is that my car has brand new tires and the ZR1 replicas are actually 16x8 so I can keep my new tires and just have them swapped over.
If your '96 Z/28 is anything like mine was, the diameter of the hubs on the rear axles, isn't the same as the hubs on the front wheel bearing assemblies. Check yours before you buy wheels, to make sure the wheels you want, will fit the hubs (I forgot which hub is the smaller of the two). And if you're REALLY **** about things, you'll need a pair of "hubcentric rings" for the smaller hubs.
If your '96 Z/28 is anything like mine was, the diameter of the hubs on the rear axles, isn't the same as the hubs on the front wheel bearing assemblies. Check yours before you buy wheels, to make sure the wheels you want, will fit the hubs (I forgot which hub is the smaller of the two). And if you're REALLY **** about things, you'll need a pair of "hubcentric rings" for the smaller hubs.
Well, I bought some Z06 replica rims/tires today off Kijiji. They were on a 1997 SS and they fit perfectly on his car.
BUT, I have read of different hub sizes for 1996 so I will find out tomorrow when I bolt them up on my car. I am hoping they fit... From what I have read the front hubs are the same size but the back ones are a mm or so bigger so I may have to dremel the rims or the hubs, which I don't really want to do. I will update this after I put them on.
UPDATE:
This morning, I installed the rims I bought.
I have a 1996 Z28 and they mounted perfectly with no spacers, no grinding, no problem.
They are "replica" Z06 rims, 17x9.5. The center bore on the rims was spot on and I was worried about this as I have read that 1996 Z28's rear hub is a tad larger than that front one but they fit like a glove.
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I need your help! 
