i am looking for some new wheels for my wagon to replace the oem steel wheels that are on it now. i am looking for some suggestions. so i thought i would ask what is your favorite wheel on a first gen? when i ask that i mean any wheel from any manufacturer just what is your favorite on our cars?
thanks.
It really depends upon the look you want. Practically any GM front wheel drive wheel will fit on a first gen wagon. I have 2000 Z-24 wheels on my wagon:
I've always liked those wheels and finally got something to put them on!
They look clean, without being over-the-top. They fit right, don't scrape and have practically no affect on the speedometer.
This is a good website to see how tire sizes compare and affect your speedometer:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php
I've used it in the past and the information is critical in getting tires to fit your vehicle properly.
I've seen Beretta Diamond spoke wheels that look awesome on Cav wagons as well as practically ANY Z24 wheel.
I understand that numerous other FWD applications fit our Cavs as well (Dodge Neon, some VW FWD cars, etc.), but do the research before shelling out your $s.
You can go aftermarket, but OEM wheels are just as good a quality (if not BETTER quality) than the aftermarket wheels.
Good luck!
~ Mike ~
im mostly looking around for oem gm wheels. obviously because of price. im just trying to get some opinions and see what other people are running on their first gens. ive tried google searches but never find any first gen pics.
I used 03-05 LS cavalier wheels on mine. I wanted to go bigger but not over the top. Most applications say they only fit 88 and up but they fit just fine. If you go 16 inch like I did a 205/50R16 will keep your Speedo and ride height correct.
Out of curiosity what is the widest wheel that can be fit on a first gen without having clearance issues?
I put 15 inch wheels from a 92 Z24 on mine. You can see pictures of them on the Summer is Coming back thread. My Cavalier is the convertible in the middle of the brown 83 and the other red '85.
I think the widest wheel that will fit is a 6.5" rim.
Dang. I found a good deal on a set of beretta GTU wheels nearby. But they are 7in wide.
I could be wrong. See if the owner will let you mount one on your car to see if it fits. I just know that the 16x6 I use on mine are tight but my rims are also 2" taller than what it came with.
I saw a '92 Cav wagon with Beretta diamond spokes which are 7" wide, but I don't know if the guy who owned the car used wheel spacers or not (which I don't recommend using).
~ Mike ~
Any 1st-3rd gen J-body rim will fit. N-body 1985-1998 Pontiac Grand Am, Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais/Acheiva, Buick Somerset/Skylark will fit. L-body 1987-96 Beretta/Corsica will fit. Pontiac Fiero rims will also fit.
Use this to find other makes/models that fit.
Thanks for the clarification. I assumed most fwd gm wheels would fit but I didn't know for sure.
Well that just sucked, typed up a whole list with pictures and the site page went kaput
lets try it again and hope this time it works.
From the info I seen it seems GM had 2 bolt patterns for fwd vehicles: 5x100 for compact to midsize and 5x115 for midsize to large.
In addition to the vehicles I already mentioned: 1980-85 GM X-body Buick Skylark, Chevy Citation, Oldsmobile Omega and Pontiac Phoenix have the 5x100 bolt pattern. Some A-body Buick Century, Chevy Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera & Pontiac 6000 had the 5x100 bolt pattern. Go to
http://www.car-part.com/ and search with any of the vehicle names listed to see the pictures of the rims they had as options. If you like the Beretta crosslace rim but aren't sure it will fit with the 7" width 1998-99 Cavaliers had a crosslace wheel option that was 6" wide. Hope this info helps you guys... although it probably just made wheel choice a whole lot harder
as it did for me lol.
I never knew that a cross lace wheel option was offered on a cavalier. Learn something new everyday. Thanks for all the helpful info.
