What a difference new wheels make. 70 R/T content inside

[JR]

After 15 years of ownership, I finally upgraded to 17 inch wheels. I've been wanting to go this route forever, but things always got in the way.

Then recently after discovering the MB Old School wheels and what a great value they were, I coluldnt pass them up. I ended up going with staggered 17s with Nitto 555s. Not the most up to date tire, but better than anything its ever had on it for sure.

Before, Weld Drag Lite wheels. Really not my taste.  Looked like something from a 1988 Car Craft magazine.



Now. 17 x 8 up front with 225 45 17 and 17x9.5 in the rear with 275 40 17.












Its filthy in these pics, but I'll clean it and get better pics soon.

The main difference I notice now is the car drives SO much better. I had some garbage BFG T/As on the draglites before, which have the roadholding properties of drywall paste. It drives so much better now its ridiculous.

Next up is more suspension, steering, and chassis improvements so the car drives as reasonable as well as I can make it.

Let me know what you guys think.

[Baldwinvette77]

Nice 

[myk]

Only the owners with the greatest taste choose those wheels-ha!

[1965gp]

Looks badass

[Bob T]

Hi, the new combo changes the look completely and lifts it straight away. Nice.
But I also really like the Welds, I'd actually look out for a set of them for my car just to change it out every now and then.

[don duick]

looks great like the yellow black my favourite color combo. I feel like a did a backward step I just bought a new set of 15 inch US Indy slots. Which shade of yellow looks more true to life. the earlier or later pictures?

[tan top]

    new wheels looks good !!          both style wheels  looked good 

[Dreamcar]

Much better now

[74bluecharger440]

What a difference, I also have BF Goodrich TAs that are soon ready to be replaced. Can't believe by changing the wheels and tires the ride and handling is so much better. You have really made me think about switching over too. thanks for the info.

[Dreamcar]

What are the backspacing and offset numbers for those wheels? Any rubbing issues?

[darkside]

I like the  old school welds.

[JR]

Thanks guys.

The color is FY1 Top Banana, which shows up differently in pics depending on the lightning and the camera used. The number 2 before pic is probably the closest to how the color looks in person.

The offset specs on the wheels are:

Front: 17x8 with 4.5 backspace. No rubbing issues what so ever.

Rear 17 x 9.5 with 5.5 backspace. This is probably too much backspace, as going up a steep driveway the tires rub slightly on the inner fender well. (This is the only time they rub tho, there doesn't seem to be any real risk. I plan to autocross the car soon so we'll really get a good look at how they do.
 
Ideally, a 5 inch backspace would have been perfect for this size wheel, but they don't make these wheels in that configuration.

 Also, my old Welds were 15x10 with a 5.5 backspace that rubbed under the same circumstances. They were on the car for 20 years with no issues so I'm not worried.

Also, I should clarify, in between the before and after pics, I cranked up the torsion bars so it wasn't sitting so low. The ride height would of been the same if I had left that alone, but the old front tires were scrubbing the upper fenders before, so I lifted it up slightly before I put these wheels on. Sorry, I should have mentioned that.

And yes, the difference in how the car drives is night and day. I used to wonder how much of an improvement modern rubber would make since our chassis is so outdated and numb feeling anyway, but its a huge improvement.  Quicker directional changes, better braking, no tire roll under in moderate cornering. Their fantastic.

But they have drawn more attention to stuff that needs improvement as well. I think I need to tighten the adjustment but on the steering box.  Its not bad, but the car shares the garage with an M3, so its fair to say im pretty critical on stuff like this now.

  For that matter, I wish I had a much quicker ratio box and a smaller steering wheel. And subframe connectors. And other chassis stiffening. And....

But I'm getting off topic. The modern rubber is great, and I reccomend it to anyone who's on the fence about upgrading if you really drive your car.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Dreamcar]

Thanks for the wheel info JR when you say rub on the inner fenders, you mean on the leaf spring side of the wheel, right?

[Challenger340]

I like the  old school welds.

Me too.

[Ghoste]

Me too, not sure why because I wasn't that nuts about them when they were new but I have to admit I kind of like they look in your before pics. 

[JR]

Yes, they only scrub on the inner part of the rear wheelwell. But, ONLY when making a 90 degree turn up a steep driveway. No other time. They never come remotely close to the outer lip. I'd highly reccomend 17 x 9.5 with 5 inch backspace to anyone buying similar sized wheels in the future. They'd never scrub.

But, considering these wheels only cost 140ish each with free shipping, I dont mind it. They fit exactly the same as the old Welds did.

Admittedly, the old Welds looked pretty tough. But, they do look rather 80s and drag racerish to me. And, personally, I have no interest in drag racing so theyre just not for me.

More importantly, it's hard to find good performance tires to fit the 15x10s in terms of handling. The BFG TAs on it before were Down to 40% treadlife and were absolute garbage. Nothing good I can say about them other than they seem to last a long time since the rubber compound is so hard.

[Ghoste]

That could be it, came of age much in the 80's and love drag racing. 
All that matters JR is that you like them better and I do agree that it really changes the look of the car.  A lot more current looking.

[myk]

I actually considered Weld wheels myself, albeit in a larger diameter...

[Dino]

I have the exact same rims but different size tires.  I have the same rub on the inside wheel well on steep driveways and the likes so I'm adding spacers to mine.

[JR]

Dino and myk, I actually ended up with these wheels after I saw your posts in the wheel discussion thread on this site. Your cars look great on them.

Are you adding longer wheel studs when you add spacers Dino? What size spacers are you going with? Im considering adding them out back too, but having lost a wheel on the highway before,  they make me kind of nervous.

[Dino]

I am not eager to use spacers either but I don't seem to have a ton of choice.  What made the wheel go awol on your car?  I'm thinking 1/2" should do it so yes I will need longer studs.  I forget who sells them, may have been Mancini.  I would think long studs and a spacer should be fine but I've never used any.  I looked at the fancy ones which have the bolts installed on them but they start at thicknesses greater than what I need.

I have pics in my 'new wheels are on' thread that show the rubbing on the wheel well if you want to do a search for them.  It's really not that bad, all it did was smooth out the undercoating a bit.  I have never had a tire rub even under hard cornering, but a steep driveway is another story.

[myk]

Dino you've got wheel rub?  That's strange-I should be getting it too, then.

JR, glad we could be of help-put up a picture of your car!

[Kern Dog]

I like the  old school welds.

Me too.

Its no surprise that the older Charger guys prefer the classic look. I'm 48 and probably in the middle segment of the Charger owners. I can appreciate the old classic style yet do not like the 20 and 22" rims on our cars. I have 18" wheels on mine with the same Nitto 555s . I like a great handling car. This trait is a tought sell to the old school Mopar purists. Most old timers are only interested in drag race stuff where a drag slick on a 15" wheel is best. As long as these guys understand that what is great for them isn't great for everyone, I'm cool with it.
I like the wheels on your car. You can make a street car fast at the drags but it is usually much more difficult to get a drag car to handle well on the street.

[Dino]

Dino you've got wheel rub?  That's strange-I should be getting it too, then.

JR, glad we could be of help-put up a picture of your car!

Yep, it rubs.  

I have 17x9.5 like the OP, don't you have 18" rims Myk?

[familymopar]

Dino you've got wheel rub?  That's strange-I should be getting it too, then.

JR, glad we could be of help-put up a picture of your car!

myk, what size and offset/backspace are your wheels?  I took a look at the MB's as the price is right and I think they look good.  In the 18's I only saw 18x7 as the largest width.  I would like an 18x8 front and a 18x9.5 rear but it doesn't look like I can do it with these wheels....