4th gen rear to a 3rd gen questions

[Gottork]

I found this in the FAQs and had another question on it.

Q:What parts will interchange between third and fourth generation FBodies?

A:Rear suspensions are identical (lower control arms, panhard rods, torque arms), rear ends will also interchange physicaly (fourth generation are 2" or so wider, and can have ABS / ASR).



I thought I read somewhere that you can fit larger/wider rims with a 4th gen rear over a 3rd.. Huge amount of Backspace?

[WMCCjames]

Backspacing has nothing to do with the width of the rim. Backspacing is just a measurement that places the hub inside the rim.

[Gottork]

Yes I understand that James, just trying to clarify and have my facts straight..

ty for the help though..

[Darren]

4th gen rears are wider by almost 2 inches on both sides! I've been looking into doing this swap, it is a direct bolt up but the wheels will stick out farther. I actually like the stance it gives a thirdgen.

[WMCCjames]

Yes I understand that James, just trying to clarify and have my facts straight..

ty for the help though..

I guess I don't understand your question then? It sounded like you were asking if backspacing made a difference on how big of a wheel you could fit. Backspacing has nothing to do with the size of the wheel you can fit on a car......your axle flange location determines your appropriate backspacing. This places the wheel relative to the body of the car. This way, for instance, when your order custom made wheels, you can get the maximum width of wheel that will fit in your wheel house and still play with backspace to make sure the wheel stays with-in the confines of the body. Hope that helps.

[ICEPICK]

well i know if you take a 4th gen car and put 3rd gen rims on it it looks kinda funny and if you put 4th gen wheels on a 3rd gen car they dont fit, soooo if you put 4th gen rear in a 3rd gen car you could probly get a wider 3rd gen rim but it will look like a beetle going down the rd.

i.e. your rim will stick out further than normal

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

Something to keep in mind though is that the 3rd gen rear width is actually narrower than the front tire width spacing...so if you do drop a 4th gen rear in, it will track much closer to the front.

BUT...the rear tires will probably appear to stick out of the rear fenderwell as the departure angle of the quarterpanel and gfx going rearward in car was not designed for that larger width.

You'll have to determine for yourself if that's desirable.

[Gottork]

ok that explains what I had a misconception of..

No I understand how backspacing worked I thought the 4th gen was 2 inches narrower, I am not sure why I thought that.

think I confused myself on this one.. but thanks guys it does answer the questions I had..

I thought I read somewhere that you could fit a 10 inch rim on a 3rd gen with a 4th gen rearend with diff backspacing but you could only fit a 8.5 inch rim with a normal rearend .. My misunderstanding is all..

[4SFEDSS]

If your going to be using a 4th gen rear, you need to use 4th gen rims.