Tires and Wheels

I am planning to buy a new set of wheels and tires for my 1998 Buick Riviera Supercharged Coupe. What is the biggest size of rims and tires can I get for my Riviera that won't have any rubbing issues?

Personally I wouldn't go bigger than 17 or 18 in because the sidewall will be too small on the car and it will ride really stiff.

check this web-site for (original/used) OEM wheels.

https://www.originalwheels.com/buick-wheels/riviera.php

If you went higher than 18" you're gonna need a reallly low profile tire, which is fine for modern Audis and shit on tighter suspensions but on an old G body I don't think the ride quality would be very fun. That said, do some experimenting, you might like the way bigger rims fill out the wide empty wheel wells (personally I always thought the 16"s were a little on the small side of my tastes)

I really like the way the 16's ride and never break though

Jack the R wrote:

I really like the way the 16's ride and never break though

Well yeah can't go wrong with OEM but I'm guessing op cares more about newer style in this case

It's on my mind too. I think I may buy a couple 18's and just trying them on the back to see if I want to commit to the ride.

I BELIEVE THE RIVIERA HAD BEEN DESIGNED TO REMAIN A CLASSIC, SO LET'S KEEP THEM STOCK.

I had some Lacrosse Super 18" wheels I was gonna put on, but apparently they were worth a lot to another Buick nerd so I sold em. Personally if I were to put new wheels on the Riv, I would stick with rims that at least came from a Buick like that. New Lacrosse and Regal wheels are nice as hell.

I have Lucerne 18's on and I feel they look "right" on the Riv!

Jbird

stan - The "stock" approach is perfectly valid, but it can't be more wrong to modify an 8th gen Riviera than it is to modify a 1-3 gen Riviera.  I vacillate between keeping it stock and modifying - but I've already done the strut tower braces and the modular pulley, and gutted the air box, and I can't see undoing any of those mods.  I hate the way the Riv plows in the turns with the stock sway bars.  That's the worst thing about it.  So I'll upgrade the sway bars.  In a year I'll be able to switch my insurance over to Hagerty and I plan to go nuts with the mods once I can do it without having an insurance agent breathing down my neck.

jbird - How did the ride and handling change when you switched to 18's? I'd hate to lose the Rivs ride quality.

Jack,
I feel it suffered some on bumpy/harsh roads, which we have our share of here in NE Ohio.
That being said, any reasonable road or highway and it rides excellent. I put on Goodyear Comfort treads they are 225/50-18, these are a similar OD to the stock rim & tire size.
Handling, harder to tell, I put these on right after buying the car so I don't have a good feel for the before/after. I also have KYB struts & an STS STB, so it handles pretty well.
Jbird

jbird wrote:

I have Lucerne 18's on and I feel they look "right" on the Riv!

Jbird

Jbird I would love to see how they look actually!

Of course Jack i've nothing against upgrading you car with 2021 parts, i`m actually against changing the looks and stance of it. I love the elegant line of the car and i still don`t think all the new mods to the body and wheels can perfectly blend in with the designer`s thought.
i`d take ..... 2021 exhaust ,2021 brake system, 2021 re-chrommed wheels, 2021 porcelain paint and so on..... but on the outside i want the original looks as if my Riv`s been driven out of the assembly line.
Hahahahahaha..crazy a? (i must be)

I may drop it, but I've scraped it a few times with the stock ride height. I do like the looks of the dropped cars though.

I wish I had pics of the car that had the custom bumpers.

" I do like the looks of the dropped cars "

.....not me.

It isn't what I'd do, but I appreciate the sentiment of "ridin' above the ghetto."

Trying to find a stanced 8th gen, but nothing is coming up . . .

So update:

I was able to fit 2012 Genesis wheels (I'll put the wheel caps on eventually, then they'll look even better) on the Riv and I think they fit the aesthetic pretty well. 235s with 18 in rims so they're definitely bigger wheels with fatter tires but not crazy like the white Riv lol. I did have to bore out the center to match the Rivs 70.3mm? center, but I got the wheels cheap and boring em out was only 25 a piece at my local wheel shop. I'll let y'all know how it rides or if I fall apart

https://imgur.com/a/52liukZ

Jack the R wrote:

It isn't what I'd do, but I appreciate the sentiment of "ridin' above the ghetto."  

Trying to find a stanced 8th gen, but nothing is coming up . . .  

I saw one similar to this for sale in Washington State recently, someone bought it.

Still, these things tend to make me laugh. I'm recalling the Chargers I'd see with 22" on the fender, but they're rolling on the stock rims. Really? Just got your rims repossessed? How quaint!

Not ridin' above the ghetto no more! On the bright side, can corner again!