Thread: Staggered wheels - How much is too much??

Tweet

Good morning fellas! My '39 Ratrod project is moving along faster than expected! I think it's time to start shopping for some wheels and tires. Although I'm trying to keep the project under $10k in total, I've budgeted about 1/5 of my total project to where the rubber hits the road.

My original plan was to run 20" in the front and 22" in the rear. After a lot of modeling on the computer however, I've discovered that it might be a bit too tight with my side-steer setup to run such a large front wheel. I'm considering stepping down to an 18" front wheel, but I'm not sure how that would look with a set of 22" in the rear? Not too much comes up when ya search for it on the 'ol Google, or maybe I'm just not searching for the right stuff?

Anyway, I was wandering what you guys think about running such a staggered setup? I've included some [rather crude] photoshopped images of some of the wheels I've been looking at.

PS. Sorry for the neon green engine - $800 Craigslist purchase that hasn't been fixed yet

What's to fix. The color is eye-catching

Since you asked for an opinion, here's mine. (Remember, you did ask) All of those wheels will look out of place on a rat. High-tech shiny wheels and a rat rod are a contrast in terms. If it were mine, I'd be thinking about steel wheels with a dog dish cap.

I have to agree with Henry, if you are leaving the body as it is, modern style wheels and tires look completely out of place.

But personally I never understood building a rat rod either.

Mick

To address your question on "stagger", which is more often called "drop" or "rubber rake", for a traditional late 20's early 30's car I go back to a "How To" article that quoted Roy Brizio (JR) saying that he looks for a six to eight inch drop rear to front, then gave an example of 30" OD rear, 23" front on the Deuce Roadster he was finishing up with. The wheel & tire combination becomes the defining factor for any old style hot rod, so proceed with caution. Also consider the availability of the tires you choose to run, as a lot of what were common a few years ago are gone today, or available only from specialty shops like Coker.

On your wheels, I have to agree with Jack & Mick. Steelies & dog dish caps would be a nice fit to the old school look, and another really neat choice would be artillery style wheels with caps, and I wouldn't go any bigger than 16's, maybe 17's with a healthy sidewall ratio. Pie crust cheaters in the back might just be the ticket, too, but I'd groove them to be more friendly in the wet. Just my opinion, and like Jack says, you did ask.

Definitely not a "rat", but this is a sweet little truck built in the style you're chasing, and it's seen a lot at shows in the region. Has that "bad boy hot rod" look.

DSCN5280.JPG

DSCN5278.JPG

DSCN5279.JPG

It's really hard to tell what look you're really going for with your "photoshop" job. Will the truck stay the same color(s) as in the pic or are you going with satin black or another solid color? As far as the "staggered" look, I'm not sure if there's an official rule of thumb but when you get the right combination/ratio of front/rear wheel size and tire size, it can look killer. To get a better sense of that, you're going to have to scroll thru a bunch of pics of what others used or do so some better photoshopping, including photoshopping the big wheels on the rear.

If you wanna go with the steelies look that some of the others have suggested yet still go big with the rims, you could do something like this:
1967-chevrolet-c10-front-passenger-side.jpg1967-chevrolet-c10-center-line-smoothies-with-sumitomo-rubber.jpg

See, R2's one of those guys who have embraced rubber band tires on just about anything that rolls We're trying to get him into a program, but may have to resort to a intervention/forced rehab since he's pretty far gone.....

Just kidding R2....... maybe

Originally Posted by rspears

See, R2's one of those guys who have embraced rubber band tires on just about anything that rolls We're trying to get him into a program, but may have to resort to a intervention/forced rehab since he's pretty far gone.....

Just kidding R2....... maybe

Haha, Roger!! I wouldn't go so far as to say I've "totally" embraced the rubber band tires on everything but I do think 17's are the new 15's and is probably the smallest diameter I would go on about any motorized vehicle these days.....I kinda top out at 20's though, depending on the vehicle. For example, some of the new trucks have wheel openings the size of garage doors and you gotta fill them up with something! I think just about every full-size American car from the 50's & 60's look better with 17's, 18's, 20's and sometimes even 22's, depending on the car, ride height, etc. Obviously, wheel design is equally important! e.g. Wheels that are too shiny, flashy, blingy in any size seem wrong for the ratrod above. If he paints the truck satin black, he can get away with something a little more shiny if he wants. Just my opinion... Now, for my '37, I'm planning for 17's front, 18's rear but there will be enough sidewall on the tires(particularly the rear) to dispell any rubberband comments.....

Now the Chevy truck I posted above.....the wheels are a little bigger than I prefer but the OP was planning on 20's & 22's on his ride so I thought that he might like to see an option that sorta embraces a combination of his desires and the suggestions you old school guys were making about steelies and hubcaps.

As our recently MIA friend 34_40, aka Mike, is fond of saying, "Just pokin' the bear, R2, jus' pokin' the bear!"

cDuck28Z, hope you don't let our messin' with one another bother you. Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone's got one but the most important one for your build is YOURS! Take what we say as simple opinion, then make your decision and do what you want. It only needs to please you in the end.

Like I said on another thread, they are making wheels that mimic the side walls, once the wheel band is paint white as in white walls or black to match the tires, they look old school with modern availability. Sorta like having the cake....

OK, I emailed Kendigit Designs (bitching rides), and asked about the wheels I talked about above. They got right back to me, explained they are one off custom and cost (aaah, gulp, gasp), $2500. 00 a set, then asked if I would like to order a set, I declined.
Sorry about the miss steer, I thought they were production wheels...

I kinda agree with most, it depends on the "theme" your after, some of those samples just don't go with the ratrod theme to me, maybe more like a lowered S10 type wheel. There is a local rat rod truck, more of a unrestored truck (late 40's International) actually running around thats running chrome 5 spoke wheels that looks pretty decent in my opinion, the truck is lowered but sits level nicely. I sort of always migrate towards a 5 spoke wheel on hotrods, not that others don't look good or maybe even better but with me 5 spokes are timeless and a sound choice. Filling the wheelwell with size appropriate is what looks best and oversize rims are just about as bad as undersized rims. I don't mind the green motor either, of coarse I am a green fan, hey if you don't want it noticed ya better not be driving a hotrod!