Thanks to Rudy - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

CamaroFred · 05-06-2017, 03:14 PM

Back in March I placed an order with Tire Rack for new wheels and summer tires. I love the way the American Racing Torque Thrusts look, decided on the Anthracite with machined lips.
Original plan was to use stock size 245/275 tires so I ordered the 8.5 and 10 wheels with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires.
Turns out the 245 were out of stock. Rudy called me and said it would be at least 60 days. I thought, well, that would be early May, so I told him I would wait.
Well, the weather started turning nice and I was getting antsy. In the back of my mind I had considered going with fatter fronts as I love to hang turns. Another week went by and the weather was bad again, then it turned nice again (spring, eh?) so I put off calling for a bit.
Then I decided to go big. So I called Rudy and we changed the order. 9" front wheels with 275/40X20, keeping the rear 10" wheels with 275/40X20. In about 5 days they were in my garage.
Well, the weather went south again, I hurt my hip again, and they sat and every day I walked out to look at them. I bought a TPMS reset device, a set of Gorilla locks and an electric impact gun with 240 lb/ft.
This week my hip was better. I went to the garage, unpacked them all, waxed them inside and out. Then more cold and rain.
Finally, yesterday was the day.
I recruited my son, pulled out the new impact gun, ratchet, torque wrench, sockets, etc.
Since the rears were on the top on the stack we started with the right rear. Well, the electric impact failed to loosen any one of the five lugs. I pulled out the breaker bar and put a 3 foot piece of pipe on it to crack them loose. Then the freakin wheel was so stuck to the hub I had to pull out a 3 foot crowbar and try to weasel it between the hub and a spoke. Finally I got it to catch and one side of the wheel budged. We turned the wheel over and, believe me, trying to keep the bar on the hub and not the rotor, and get it to stay behind a spoke is not easy, finally got the wheel off. I thought, crap, this is going to take forever. I was imagining about an hour for the whole job, complete with learning the TPMS and adjusting pressures.
So we go to bolt on the new wheel/tire. My son asks if we should take the sticker off the tire. I said no (more about that later). Bolt it up, torque the lugs. I said, well, we have to do at least the other rear. We were both pretty tired and frustrated.
Fortunately, we had no such issues with the left rear. I guess the tech fell asleep with his finger on the trigger on the right rear. We took a break before tackling the fronts.
Fronts seemed like a piece of cake, took the expected 10 minutes each. Learned the TPMS, adjusted the pressures, put away the tools, washed up. I asked my son if he wanted to go for the test beat. So we tool slow around the subdivision, making full lock turns to check for any rubbing or odd sounds. Hit the main drag. Now it is 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, so the beginning of rush hour. So we didn't get to give them the full test, but when I first hit the main drag, I turned out slow, got it straightened out, and of course I smacked it. The back went left, we went right, left, right. My son's eye's got as big as the moon and he had a huge smile. I said, "We just removed those stickers from the tires." and we laughed. We did hit one street with minimal traffic and got to do a couple of second gear sprints and then we circled back home.

swampcritter · 05-06-2017, 05:02 PM

Sounds like you are raising a future Hot Rodder !

CamaroFred · 05-06-2017, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampcritter

Sounds like you are raising a future Hot Rodder !

Ah, no. Too late for that. He's an adult. He did the heavy lifting for me.
He likes the computer games more than mechanical things though.

He has driven the Camaro many times, and he is an excellent driver. He is smart enough to know not to mess around in the Camaro, so when I give him a ride he can enjoy it!

SharpOldNo7 · 05-06-2017, 10:08 PM

Hey CamaroFred,

Im looking for a couple of 20" Polished rear wheels. What did you have on there originally?

CamaroFred · 05-06-2017, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharpOldNo7

Hey CamaroFred,

Im looking for a couple of 20" Polished rear wheels. What did you have on there originally?

Sorry, Scorpions are mounted on my Midnight Silvers. Getting a rest until October.

05-06-2017, 03:14 PM	#1
CamaroFred Drives: Miss Con Ception Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,998	Thanks to Rudy Back in March I placed an order with Tire Rack for new wheels and summer tires. I love the way the American Racing Torque Thrusts look, decided on the Anthracite with machined lips. Original plan was to use stock size 245/275 tires so I ordered the 8.5 and 10 wheels with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. Turns out the 245 were out of stock. Rudy called me and said it would be at least 60 days. I thought, well, that would be early May, so I told him I would wait. Well, the weather started turning nice and I was getting antsy. In the back of my mind I had considered going with fatter fronts as I love to hang turns. Another week went by and the weather was bad again, then it turned nice again (spring, eh?) so I put off calling for a bit. Then I decided to go big. So I called Rudy and we changed the order. 9" front wheels with 275/40X20, keeping the rear 10" wheels with 275/40X20. In about 5 days they were in my garage. Well, the weather went south again, I hurt my hip again, and they sat and every day I walked out to look at them. I bought a TPMS reset device, a set of Gorilla locks and an electric impact gun with 240 lb/ft. This week my hip was better. I went to the garage, unpacked them all, waxed them inside and out. Then more cold and rain. Finally, yesterday was the day. I recruited my son, pulled out the new impact gun, ratchet, torque wrench, sockets, etc. Since the rears were on the top on the stack we started with the right rear. Well, the electric impact failed to loosen any one of the five lugs. I pulled out the breaker bar and put a 3 foot piece of pipe on it to crack them loose. Then the freakin wheel was so stuck to the hub I had to pull out a 3 foot crowbar and try to weasel it between the hub and a spoke. Finally I got it to catch and one side of the wheel budged. We turned the wheel over and, believe me, trying to keep the bar on the hub and not the rotor, and get it to stay behind a spoke is not easy, finally got the wheel off. I thought, crap, this is going to take forever. I was imagining about an hour for the whole job, complete with learning the TPMS and adjusting pressures. So we go to bolt on the new wheel/tire. My son asks if we should take the sticker off the tire. I said no (more about that later). Bolt it up, torque the lugs. I said, well, we have to do at least the other rear. We were both pretty tired and frustrated. Fortunately, we had no such issues with the left rear. I guess the tech fell asleep with his finger on the trigger on the right rear. We took a break before tackling the fronts. Fronts seemed like a piece of cake, took the expected 10 minutes each. Learned the TPMS, adjusted the pressures, put away the tools, washed up. I asked my son if he wanted to go for the test beat. So we tool slow around the subdivision, making full lock turns to check for any rubbing or odd sounds. Hit the main drag. Now it is 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, so the beginning of rush hour. So we didn't get to give them the full test, but when I first hit the main drag, I turned out slow, got it straightened out, and of course I smacked it. The back went left, we went right, left, right. My son's eye's got as big as the moon and he had a huge smile. I said, "We just removed those stickers from the tires." and we laughed. We did hit one street with minimal traffic and got to do a couple of second gear sprints and then we circled back home. Attached Images __________________ 2011 1SS/RS LS3 CGM

05-06-2017, 05:02 PM	#2
swampcritter Drives: 2014 Camaro LS / 13 zl1 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Hayes , Va. Posts: 368	Sounds like you are raising a future Hot Rodder !

05-06-2017, 10:08 PM	#4
SharpOldNo7 Drives: 2015 2LT RS Convertible Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Mississippi Posts: 298	Hey CamaroFred, Im looking for a couple of 20" Polished rear wheels. What did you have on there originally?