FAQ: Rims, Wheels that Look Good on the Riv

No, I can't feel any difference in ride and handling and why would I - the tires are the very same.

Oh, that ))
Heavier rims should affect number of things, of course. But let me tell you this. Several months ago my rear sway bar snapped at the end so the sway bar link disconnected and the sway bar stopped doing its job completely. And I didn't notice ANY difference - it gives you a hint of what kind of driver I am ) I drive very gently, I never corner hard, I never exceed speed limits (on purpose). So - no, I can't feel any difference in ride and handling with heavier rims.


P.S. I still haven't fixed my rear sway bar )

The matter of weight is paramount on any aftermarket rims I'd buy. Fortunately, Tire Rack lists the weight of their wheels, and allows you to filter them by weight.

The only non-stock wheels I've ever seen on a Riv that I liked enough to buy are those cool 18" 5x120 chrome Lacrosse rims Dave (ghpcnm) put on.



I'm trying to decide if I can make them work.

My stock 12-spoke rims have a +32 offset and the Lacrosse rims have a +42 offset. That means, if my understanding is correct, that the Lacrosse rims - if the bolt pattern actually matched - would move the wheels 10mm inward when mounted. The wheel's wider width comes into play so that the net result, I think, is that the Lacrosse wheels would end up 2.7mm further out than the stock ones.

But of course the bolt patterns don't match and the only local shops I can find willing to do a redrill each want $200 per wheel, which I refuse to pay. So I've decided to go with adapters. I know that's not ideal, but if I get quality American-made ones and install them properly, I should be OK. I don't drive my Riv hard at all and really not even that much (about 3k per year). I think it's a reasonable risk if I am careful.

But then there's the question of how wide the adapters will be and how much width can be added before the car looks bad. I haven't yet determined the necessary width to ensure a flush wheel mount, but let's assume 1.5 inches. That would mean the wheels would protrude 1.6 inches wider than the stock wheels, which would make them just a mm or two wider than the fenders. I'm not sure how that would look. I might actually like that look or it could look silly. Has anyone mounted wheels that protruded outward that much? Do my calculations seem correct?

That would work for me.

DeepFrozen wrote:

Oh, that ))
Heavier rims should affect number of things, of course. But let me tell you this. Several months ago my rear sway bar snapped at the end so the sway bar link disconnected and the sway bar stopped doing its job completely. And I didn't notice ANY difference - it gives you a hint of what kind of driver I am )  I drive very gently, I never corner hard, I never exceed speed limits (on purpose). So - no, I can't feel any difference in ride and handling with heavier rims.


P.S. I still haven't fixed my rear sway bar )

I have seen your Russian dash cam vids. You're going to have to dodge someone someday, so you might want to have that sway bar working for you.

Steve98 wrote:

The only non-stock wheels I've ever seen on a Riv that I liked enough to buy are those cool 18" 5x120 chrome Lacrosse rims Dave (ghpcnm) put on.



I'm trying to decide if I can make them work.

My stock 12-spoke rims have a +32 offset and the Lacrosse rims have a +42 offset. That means, if my understanding is correct, that the Lacrosse rims - if the bolt pattern actually matched - would move the wheels 10mm inward when mounted. The wheel's wider width comes into play so that the net result, I think, is that the Lacrosse wheels would end up 2.7mm further out than the stock ones.

But of course the bolt patterns don't match and the only local shops I can find willing to do a redrill each want $200 per wheel, which I refuse to pay. So I've decided to go with adapters. I know that's not ideal, but if I get quality American-made ones and install them properly, I should be OK. I don't drive my Riv hard at all and really not even that much (about 3k per year). I think it's a reasonable risk if I am careful.

But then there's the question of how wide the adapters will be and how much width can be added before the car looks bad. I haven't yet determined the necessary width to ensure a flush wheel mount, but let's assume 1.5 inches. That would mean the wheels would protrude 1.6 inches wider than the stock wheels, which would make them just a mm or two wider than the fenders. I'm not sure how that would look. I might actually like that look or it could look silly. Has anyone mounted wheels that protruded outward that much? Do my calculations seem correct?

I have seen a lot of rims with the same design on 4wheelonline. It looks stylish but I am really not a fan of glossy wheels.

I agree they would look beautiful but that's probably an awful lot of work.

17 inch rims. Tires are to be updated to 235/50 17s shortly . These are only 215/45 17s now that came with the wheels off of a guess what .... (without using image search)

Steve98 wrote:

The only non-stock wheels I've ever seen on a Riv that I liked enough to buy are those cool 18" 5x120 chrome Lacrosse rims Dave (ghpcnm) put on.



I'm trying to decide if I can make them work.

My stock 12-spoke rims have a +32 offset and the Lacrosse rims have a +42 offset. That means, if my understanding is correct, that the Lacrosse rims - if the bolt pattern actually matched - would move the wheels 10mm inward when mounted. The wheel's wider width comes into play so that the net result, I think, is that the Lacrosse wheels would end up 2.7mm further out than the stock ones.

But of course the bolt patterns don't match and the only local shops I can find willing to do a redrill each want $200 per wheel, which I refuse to pay. So I've decided to go with adapters. I know that's not ideal, but if I get quality American-made ones and install them properly, I should be OK. I don't drive my Riv hard at all and really not even that much (about 3k per year). I think it's a reasonable risk if I am careful.

But then there's the question of how wide the adapters will be and how much width can be added before the car looks bad. I haven't yet determined the necessary width to ensure a flush wheel mount, but let's assume 1.5 inches. That would mean the wheels would protrude 1.6 inches wider than the stock wheels, which would make them just a mm or two wider than the fenders. I'm not sure how that would look. I might actually like that look or it could look silly. Has anyone mounted wheels that protruded outward that much? Do my calculations seem correct?

I had wheel adapters custom made to be HUB CENTRIC. Most adapters are BOLT CENTRIC because of differing hub sizes that share this pattern, and wheel choices. . A Riviera is 5 x 115mm with a 70.3mm center bore. My chosen wheels are 5 x 114.3mm or 4.5" with a 60.4mm center bore. The adapters are 1.25 inches thick, although 0.75" would be a better choice. So my adapters have a 70.3 to match the car hub and a 60.4 to match the wheel. The 5x114 was chosen as its a popular OEM wheel size and I am using an OEM wheel that's easily replaced if damaged.

Chrysler uses 5x115 on chargers, challengers and 300s..but the bore is 71.6mm so hub spacers would make them hub centric on a Riv and theres some cool wheels in that parts bin. The offset on the Dodge is 24mm and 35mm on the Riv so there's
a 10 millimeter diff pushing the wheels out slightly but in a good way. My offset is 19mm with the adapters and I would say thats the limit on the Riviera.

Useful website to compare offsets and tire sizes

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/buick/riviera/1998/

C5 Z06 rims.  I believe these are 18's.  They're also more period correct than the C4 ZR1 rims.

Jack the R wrote:

C5 Z06 rims.  I believe these are 18's.  They're also more period correct than the C4 ZR1 rims.

yes yes yes! i have c6 wheels and they would look amazing but they dont fit, ill have to get me a set of c5 or the zo6 wheels. i was right about to post my new wheels i got on the riv

These may not fit any better, and they're harder to find. I saw a set on eBay and they wanted nearly $3000 for rims with curb rash and no tires. I'd rather have clean reproductions unless there's a big difference in quality.

Jack the R wrote:

These may not fit any better, and they're harder to find.   I saw a set on eBay and they wanted nearly $3000 for rims with curb rash and no tires.  I'd rather have clean reproductions unless there's a big difference in quality.  

$3,000 is crazy, i can buy a whole corvette with that much! sheesh.. i coulda bought my riviera 5 times with that amount

I was curious about how good the replica wheels are. They look great in the pictures and they're priced well. Most of this era vette wheels are forged and I would not want a cast reproduction of a forged design. I rounded up used oem wheels and frankly not the nicest ones but they still get the job done! Those zo6 wheels looks really good too

Good point about cast vs forged.  Here is a source for the C5 Z06 rims in chrome, but it doesn't say whether they're cast or forged - Link

CorvetteMods.com has the C7 Z06 rims too, but they're cast - Link

I bet that rim would look great on a Riviera too, but it's not period, FWIW.

Here's an article about cast vs forged - Link

Quote :

Contrary to what some enthusiasts will tell you, cast wheels are not terrible. A properly built cast wheel will weigh more than a forged wheel, but the build quality is typically more than enough for street use and light track use. Heavy track usage is where you’ll see low-quality cast wheels (often replica wheels) fail, resulting in an ugly crash. A high-quality cast wheel will survive heavy track usage, but the heavier design it not ideal.

Now I know why the eBay seller wants $3000 for a set of rough Z06 rims!

It sounds like the best way to approach this is to have cast for normal street usage and a set of forged with sticky rubber for those all-too-frequent Riviera track days

 5 x 115 17 inch, I was told they came off a 2006 lesabre but i dont see the buick trademark on the center caps? waitng to get center bore size and offset does anyone know if the 2006 lesabre wheels bolt up to a 1995 riv?

Nice!
But whoever puts weights on the outside of the rim, should be punished

Rivieraz wrote:

 5 x 115 17 inch, I was told they came off a 2006 lesabre but i dont see the buick trademark on the center caps? waitng to get center bore size and offset does anyone know if the 2006 lesabre wheels bolt up to a 1995 riv?

If you're in the market for wheels I have 4 chrome Riv wheels for sale