Help me choose my new wheels

Hi George,
Late to the party here but I slightly prefer the 10 spoke as well. I think a 5 spoke wheel is more vintage but neither of the wheels you've chosen has a vintage style anyway.

BTW, in my humble opinion the sidewalls are too thin and the wheels too big in the photoshop versions. I'd prefer a little more sidewall to not have the wagon wheel effect.

Basically you won't go wrong with either one. Once you have them on the car, you will soon move on to other things to ruminate about and forget about this discussion!

Dennis

quote:

Originally posted by sjdennis:

... ruminate ...

LOL ... that's what I'm good at, rumination. I grew up on the knees of some great ruminators, and I've been ruminating myself since a young age.

On the sidewall issue, I have my personal limits, but what I realize about myself is that my "sidewall limits" are much thinner than the limits of other De Tomaso enthusiasts. I really liked the previous set of wheels and tires on 6018. The car looked more bad-ass in person than any Grp4 clone I've ever seen, even though the wheel wells weren't flared.

I am emotionally pulled towards an 18" front/20" rear wheel pairing, because it looks so good. If that emotional "pull" weren't there, my logical mind would steer me to an 18" front/19" rear pairing, or a 19" set at all 4 corners. The 17" tire market has been a dead issue for a long time, the variety of 18" tires offered by various manufacturers is now on the decline. A 25" diameter front tire, mounted on a 19" wheel, only has a 3" sidewall. That is a short sidewall even for my taste. But when you factor future availability into your choices, those are the things necessary to consider.

Thanks for your comments Dennis, and thanks to everyone else for your comments and votes as well. I can't help but believe there are more people than myself learning from this thread.

Hi George,
I'm waiting for the new wheels & tires I purchased for my 73 to arrive. They are 18" x 9" for the front and 20" x 12" for the rear. They are 10 spoke so my vote is for the 10 spoke. Choosing the tire/wheel combination has been the most difficult decision for my build so far.
Mike

After following this thread intensively, here is my vote for this song contest: Number one, five spokes but only with darker inserts, possibly matt grey. Number two, ten spokes.

I made this, and I don´t like about it. So I´m changing my mind and I´m now voting for the 10 spokes.

Hey Georgie, Pantera becoming a daily driver? You may be the ultimate fan, good for you!

And if we must choose between the two wheel choices...

I'm in the minority - as usual, but we claim our taste is rare and elevated - and prefer the 5 spokes. Also, in near blasphemy, hope you'll strongly consider the smaller diameter rears.

To my eyes, there's a proportional upset much larger than 18 (realizing 17s are nearly done for). The narrow sidewall coupled with so much metal face distorts the notion of 'classic' and forces too much attention to the wheels. Like an elegantly mature lady wearing age-inappropriate shoes. Photoshop will of course be your friend there.

But, I'm a freak. My NSX had 19's on it when I got it and I pulled/sold them instantly. My Boxer's ancient and idiotic metrics (what were they THINKING? or DRINKING?) could - at the time - only be 'upgraded' to 18's.

And every pic I saw made it look like that car was auditioning for the ballet.

Anyway, said my peace: meatier side wall, 5 spokes. Tom Tjaarda would be on my side by the way! You may want to get the *ultimate* opinion from him. An honor for you both.

Whatever you choose will still get my thumbs up if it makes you happy.

I agree with Adams on both points (5 spoke and sidewalls).

There is a Scandinavian car with really big (20"?) wheels with very low profile tires - the look of the wheels doesn't suit my tastes.

You asked for it (opinions), you got it, (Toyota)Pantera!!


I like something like this (Interceptor Mark III wheels), but I am sure they wouldn't fit the car, and certainly couldn't give you the width in the rear.

I agree with Adams and Rocky. The biggest wheel on a Pantera is 19" like the ones from Chip Foose. For wheels on the Pantera I would either run the Pantera replica wheels 17" or 18" front and 18" rear, the Chip Foose wheels 18" front and 19" rear, or the wheels Ron McCall has on his Pantera. The wheels that you posted are okay, but look too spokey for me. With the 18" x 11.5" rears you can run a choice of 295/35/18's, 315/30/18's, or 335/30/18's. Good luck with your decision.

George, times change and you're just ahead of most of us. When I put 17"/18" HRE's on my Pantera, some people who saw it didn't like the short sidewalls. That was in 2006 and I can still buy a matched set of 245/335 section width tires. The reality is, you need to buy wheel sizes where you stand some chance of buying a matched set of tires three years from now. That means 18", 19" or 20"'s. You can make the sidewalls appear taller by using a rim that's on the narrower side of recommended widths. Also, using stepped outer rim sections makes the sidewall visually taller. Using tires that are OEM on current models will help to ensure future availability but that's not always the case, as evidenced by 17"/18" Viper sizes. As far as your wheel decision is concerned, I'd ask non-Pantera owners and six year olds for their opinions. I think you'd find a strong bias towards the 5 spokes. Ask yourself, if Hot Wheels came out with a George Pence Pantera, which wheels would it have? Mind you, a Hot Wheels Pantera would have 335's on the back! Hey, you know I couldn't resist that last comment!!!

quote:

Originally posted by David_Nunn:

... As far as your wheel decision is concerned ... I think you'd find a strong bias towards the 5 spokes. Ask yourself, if Hot Wheels came out with a George Pence Pantera, which wheels would it have?

Perhaps one of these. Comments anyone?

...See New Avatar.

George, Go Black! It's the Latest Wheel 'Look' for Today!

...with lime green brake calipers.

But the first five spoke wheels were better.

quote:

Originally posted by Marlin Jack:

... Go Black! It's the Latest Wheel 'Look' for Today ...

Marlin, my friend from Manteca. Tú eres mi hermano del corazón, para siempre. OO-Rah!

quote:

Originally posted by David_Nunn:

... But the first five spoke wheels were better ...

David, how did you know my brake calipers were lime green?

Can you expand upon why these last 5 spoke wheels are worse than the first 5 spoke wheels?

Like many of you I am a pilgrim negotiating the path of De Tomaso ownership. The wheels last pictured answer some of the concerns of the folks who have posted over the last 7 pages, at least I thought they did. Its the peer review concept. I'm throwing ideas against the wall, and watching to see which ones stick. My learning process goes on ...

I appreciate YOUR help. Let everyone understand that your honest opinion is welcomed and appreciated. You can't hurt my feelings.

George, IMO the Pantera needs a wheel that's less "bulky" looking than the second 5 spoke design.

Check out Zito Wheels (http://www.zitowheels.net/). They have the sizes you're looking for and have great sales on sets of 4, from time to time.

I've always thought the FR500 (Mustang) Wheels in a matte silver look great on our cars.

There are a few running them.

They look like the ones David posted above, but not as deep.

I haven't been able to the the sizing figured out, though.

Rocky

TSW has an identical 5 "Y spoke" design. Available in a greater range of wheel diameters, and less expensive than the Zito (which was only available in 19" & 20"). Obviously the wider wheels having less offset will be a bit more concave (deep dish look) but not as dramatic as the Zito. Almost every wheel manufacturer has a wheel like this in their inventory, so I guess the design is popular. So does this work for some folks?

The first 10 spoke wheel I posted back on page 1 was actually a 5 "Y spoke" design too.

I like it!

Here are some wheels that are nice that were on the Ring Brothers Pantera.

These are wheels I like.



It's like the wheels Jimmy posted, which I also like, but could never afford...

Rocky

I like the 5 Spoke with the Matte black!