question about buying new wheels

[LuckyScott]

So I have a 1972 Suburban. Owned it over 25 years. Paint and interior is nice. Has a 4/6 Drop kit on it. Drives great, drive it everyday, Love it. My wife and I go to cruises and car shows with it, but it is not a show car, just a great daily driver.

Currently has a set of 15 inch corvette rally wheels and looks great. But I would like to update it with some nicer wheels.
I have been looking at some other trucks with nice 20 inch wheels and low profile tires and they look great.

It is not a bagged truck and not super low but it is lowered. I can put the Rally wheels on my 1970 truck. I usually just measure the backspacing and the width and buy used wheels and put them on myself. But the bigger wheels may be harder to fit and not really available used so I need to buy new.

How do I do it? Is there a special wheel shop I need to go to or can I use any wheel and tire shop?
I know once the tires are mounted I can't return them so I want to make sure I get the right size the first time.

Any advice?
I just love my C10 and want the wheels to look nice.

[davischevy]

3/5 drop. I just had my tire shop order these. I don't remember anything about offset. 20x8 in front, 20x9 1/2 in the rear.

[sick472]

Wheels and tires are always a challenging purchase if you want a high level of confidence before buying them.

Do a lot of reading on the tire dimensions and learn how the wheel dimensions work. Understand how back spacing is measured along with offset and wheel width and diameter. One of the bigger challenges is estimating the inflated tire size. There are alot of tire size calculators out there that do NOT take into consideration the "blown-up" state of the tire Overall bulged width and diameter). Even the tire manufacturer's inflated numbers are not all that accurate if you can find them. It can be frustrating, but you'll get real close.

Then cobble together a tire simulator like the one in the photo. It's purpose is to mimic the tire diameter and width. This allows you to measure out to where the sidewall bulge would be, or just drill another hole and add another piece of all thread to simulate the sidewall bulge. Probably not that importation with large rims and really low profile tires. Mount this thing to the hub, adjust according to your tire and wheel selection dimensions, and rotate it while watching for interference. This is the only way to really know how the set-up will fit your truck. The back fit is pretty straight forward, but the front test needs to be done with both a simulated right hand turn and left (and staright) for both sides just to be sure. They do sell these tools, but if you are handy with some junk...whalaaaa...

[LuckyScott]

Davischevy, That looks great. sorta the look I am going for.

[LuckyScott]

Sick472, I have done that in the past. When I installed my drop kit I had to put a more narrow rim in the front because the tire rubbed the fender.
I've done it in the past but I know the new wheels will be expensive and I want to get them right the first time.
I'm in SoCal if anybody knows a good shop.

[lux]

This size calculator will help;
https://tiresize.com/comparison/

[LuckyScott]

Sick472, I have done that in the past. When I installed my drop kit I had to put a more narrow rim in the front because the old front wheels tire rubbed the fender.
I've done it in the past but I know the new wheels will be expensive and I want to get them right the first time.
I'm in SoCal if anybody knows a good shop.

[HO455]

Just keep in mind the lower profile tires are not going to ride as nice as the 15's you're removing. Unless you have been running 40 series 15 inch tires.

[Killer Bee]

Originally Posted by LuckyScott

Sick472, I have done that in the past. When I installed my drop kit I had to put a more narrow rim in the front because the tire rubbed the fender.
I've done it in the past but I know the new wheels will be expensive and I want to get them right the first time.
I'm in SoCal if anybody knows a good shop.

not a good shop but a great shop - performance plus on cherry in LB, ask for Brian

https://www.performanceplustire.com/contact-us/

been going to them since the store on pch burned down in the riots in '92

[lolife99]

Since you don’t want to measure your own truck, find a suburban you like with wheels that fit the way YOU want them to fit. Then ask the owner what the wheel and tire specs are. But don’t be surprised if the owner doesn’t know what’s on his own vehicle.

I like wheels tucked under the fenders more than most, so you might not like what I tell you.
Plus there are 2 different rear axle widths under these trucks, plus all kinds of different rearends. (9” ford, narrowed, etc).

Bigger diameter wheels are EASIER to tuck up front than 15” wheels because the larger rim diameter will clear the a-arms.