American Racing vs Legendary magnum 500's?

[69scj 0]

Finally getting close to finishing restoration of my '69 Mach 1 after many years. Can't put off my wheel and tire decision any longer! Decided on aluminum 17" magnum 500's. Leaning towards the American Racing VN500's. I know they are double the cost of the Legendary LW50's but the AR's are available in the width and backspace to fit a fatter tire on the rear.  I've done a bunch of searching online and found lots of good feedback about the Legendary wheels but haven't found any feedback from anyone on the AR's. Anyone have any experience with the AR's that they could share?

[2poniesngarage 4]

I went with A R when I changed to 17" I like them.

[69scj 0]

Great, thanks so much for the feedback! Car looks great. Has a nice stance and the tire height looks right on the car. You mind sharing the tire brand and size along with wheel width and back spacing? I was going to try 285/40's on a 9.5" wheel with 5.5" BS for the rear and 245/45's on a 7" wheel with 4.5" BS for the front.

[2poniesngarage 4]

Car has 1" lowering springs front and rear. No rub up front. Koni shocks, poly bushings front. Rubs in rear on hard bounces, fenders not rolled. 4.5 setback all around. Tire size same on front and rear.  Cant answer ur questions, just can talk about what I have. I like the way it handles. It's fun on curves! I like the Nittos. This is my daily driver almost.

[Vicfreg 771]

 I like those wheels!

To help 69SCJ with his question, on my '70 Vert I am running , 255/40-18 on the back, 5.5 in BS. 245/45-17 in Front, 4.5" BS.

 

 

 

[Vicfreg 771]

Oh Wheels are Foose Knuckles

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 10/5/2019 at 8:47 PM, Vicfreg said:

 I like those wheels!

To help 69SCJ with his question, on my '70 Vert I am running , 255/40-18 on the back, 5.5 in BS. 245/45-17 in Front, 4.5" BS.

 

I am considering getting a set of American Racing VN500 or VN501  17" Magnum 500 like wheels for my 70 Mach and seeking some insight on backspacing options. Here is what I am considering...

Front - 245x45x17" = 25.68" Height on 8" rims Offset: 0 and Backspace: 4.5" (with 3.5" outer wheel face depth)

Back - 285x40x17" = 25.98" Height on 9" rims Offset: 0 and Backspace: 5.0" (with 4.0" outer wheel face depth) 

     or - 275x45x17" = 26.74" Height on 9.5" rims Offset: 0 and Backspace: 5.3" (with 4.2" outer wheel face depth) or Offset: -6 and Backspace: 5.0" (with 4.5" outer wheel face depth)

The above 8" rims in the front and the 9" rims in rear configurations are fairly straight forward and should not have a clearance issue. I am worried that the rear 9.5" rims configurations mentioned above may rub either on the outer wheel well lip or the inner area or both .

I should mention that my front wheel lips are rolled a little and my rear wheel lips are not.

I would appreciate your thoughts/opinion here?

I like the VN500s more, but they are way more expensive than the VN501s. I guess because they are a custom order. 

Anyone on the Forum who have American Racing VN500 or VN501, are you happy with them? What tire size, rim width and backspacing did you go with? In retrospect, anything you would do differently?

Any profile pictures would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks much!

Rich

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 10/5/2019 at 8:48 PM, Vicfreg said:

Oh Wheels are Foose Knuckles

Hi Vicfreg,

I have been following your posts on your 70 vert build. Beautiful work! 

I have a 17" wheel backspacing Question...I would appreciate your thoughts. see my post above this one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rich 

[Vicfreg 771]

Hey Rich.  I have 18" in the back. That was personal preference, just wanted to have a larger wheel look in the back.  So, the front backspacing looks good.  Depending on how the wheel is made, if you have disc brakes, your calipers may hit.  I had to add a very thin spacer on the front to avoid hitting my late mode Cobra brakes with the Mustang Steve mounting kit.

On the back, I could have gone with a bigger offset than 5.5" as I have a room between the tire and the leaf spring.   If you have a non-leaf rear end, and cut the spring bumpers off, there is room to go to 6" offset.

Here is what I have:

Front Tires:

245/45R17 25.7” high 9.6” wide Sidewall 4.3”

BF Goodrich G Force Sport Comp 2

Front Wheels:

Front 17” x 8” 4.5” Backspace

Foose Knuckle

 Rear Tires:

275/40-18 25.7” high 10.8” wide Sidewall 4.3”

BF Goodrich G Force Sport Comp 2

Rear Wheels:

Rear 18” x 9.5” 5.5” Backspace

Foose Knuckle

 

 

 

[Rich Ackermann 174]

35 minutes ago, Vicfreg said:

Hey Rich.  I have 18" in the back. That was personal preference, just wanted to have a larger wheel look in the back.  So, the front backspacing looks good.  Depending on how the wheel is made, if you have disc brakes, your calipers may hit.  I had to add a very thin spacer on the front to avoid hitting my late mode Cobra brakes with the Mustang Steve mounting kit.

On the back, I could have gone with a bigger offset than 5.5" as I have a room between the tire and the leaf spring.   If you have a non-leaf rear end, and cut the spring bumpers off, there is room to go to 6" offset.

Here is what I have:

Front Tires:

245/45R17   25.7” high   9.6” wide   Sidewall 4.3”

BF Goodrich   G Force   Sport Comp 2

Front Wheels:

Front   17” x 8”   4.5” Backspace

Foose Knuckle

 Rear Tires:

275/40-18   25.7” high   10.8” wide   Sidewall 4.3”

BF Goodrich   G Force     Sport Comp 2

Rear Wheels:

Rear   18” x 9.5”   5.5” Backspace

Foose Knuckle

 

 

 

Vikfreg,

Thanks much! two more questions if I may... 1. On rear wheel with a 9.5 wide and 5.5 Backspace did you have to cut the spring bumpers off? 2. How much wheel well lip clearance do you have to the tire sidewall and are your rear wheel well lips rolled?

[Vicfreg 771]

Yes, I cut the spring bumpers off, and have rolled rear fender well lips.  I would say 1" to 1-1/2".   My car is at Mike's, so I am going from memory.  The other thing is that my 4-1/2 leaf rear springs are really stiff, and I am going to lower the car another 1", so the top of my tire will only be about 1" from the fender well.    Next time I am over Mike's I will get a dimension.

I don't have a better picture.

[Rich Ackermann 174]

50 minutes ago, Vicfreg said:

Yes, I cut the spring bumpers off, and have rolled rear fender well lips.  I would say 1" to 1-1/2".   My car is at Mike's, so I am going from memory.  The other thing is that my 4-1/2 leaf rear springs are really stiff, and I am going to lower the car another 1", so the top of my tire will only be about 1" from the fender well.    Next time I am over Mike's I will get a dimension.

I don't have a better picture.

Thanks again! Love the way the tire and rim fill the wheel well.

[shelbyshelby 52]

Might help as reference, I’m adding a picture of the legendary magnum 500. It is 17x8. Iirc it’s 4.5 back space. I needed a roller and had some good used 235/55-17. It’s on an unfinished car so I’m hoping the body will squat some after assembly. This tire is 27 in diameter. 

[Rich Ackermann 174]

9 hours ago, shelbyshelby said:

Might help as reference, I’m adding a picture of the legendary magnum 500. It is 17x8. Iirc it’s 4.5 back space. I needed a roller and had some good used 235/55-17. It’s on an unfinished car so I’m hoping the body will squat some after assembly. This tire is 27 in diameter. 

I like the legendary 17 x 8 magnum 500s. I wish they had them in 17 x 9 or 9.5 as well, then I would buy them no question. I believe you can get a stock looking center cap for them too.

[Vicfreg 771]

Those are cool wheels.