GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

hey all. I was thinking about replacing my stock 16" steel rims and hub caps with 17" Scion tC wheels with summer tires(215/45/ZR17). The Scion rims have a 45 mm offset. Through a search, it looks like whey will fit and not rub, but will the 45mm offset rims look ok? Will the tires be tucked under the car too much? Any issues with handling or drivablility?Does anyone have any experience with this wheel/offset/tire combo?Thanks in advance.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

Oh yeah, a few Vibers have the tC rims and they look great!

you intrested in selling the stock wheels/tires? I am looking for some steels for winter.

Sorry, I will run my steel wheels in the wintertime, too. All of the snow and salt in our area takes a toll on nice rims.

Just put the Scion rims on my Vibe. Check it out! PlatinumVibe08

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thats pretty hot. ive been lokig into a set of lexus oem rims on craigslist...... but im a lil broke right now

Did you change out the Centercaps?? Or do they have the Scion logo on them still.Check out the graphics of Ycart on Matrix Owners or Grafxwerks as one of them does offer vinyl applique center cap decals.

if you get the layovers youll have to grind the centercaps down to make them smooth i did it the best i could it looks alright......theyre my winter wheels so i dont mind too much

Quote, originally posted by GoodVibErations2004 »thats pretty hot. ive been lokig into a set of lexus oem rims on craigslist...... but im a lil broke right nowThanks! I think they look pretty good too. I feel your pain on the shortage of funds issue. I'm glad I've only got $370 in these wheels and tires off Ebay, which I think is a pretty righteous price of admission for a new set of shoes for my Vibe. Quote, originally posted by Whelan »Did you change out the Centercaps?? Or do they have the Scion logo on them still.Stock centercaps with the Scion logo, sort of. Took small strips of the same chrome tape I used to dress up the ribs in the lower front grill and covered up the word. Check it out.PlatinumVibe08

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they look good with the platinum vibe

The Scion rims look really good. Do you notice the off set difference? Can you snap a pic of the front or back views to show the off set?

Quote, originally posted by 05Abyss »The Scion rims look really good. Do you notice the off set difference? Can you snap a pic of the front or back views to show the off set?Thanks. I don't notice any ill effects regarding the difference in offset. The only difference is the firmer ride do to the lower profile tires. I've switched back to my stock rims for the winter so I'll have to wait a while to take the requested photos of the front/rear views.

I was curious if the Pontiac OEM Center Caps would fit these rims? Upon further inspection I found that they do not.

The optional first gen Vibe 17 inch alloys have a +45mm offset. The steelies are +39mm offset. You can find a Vibe with the OEM optional 17 inch alloys to judge what this offset looks like. My 17 inch alloys are +38mm with a 225 tread width tire... and no problems with fit. The +38 fitment ends up a little more flush looking than the OEM's. Then again, 10mm is a pretty short distance, only about [---] that long (the dashes inside the brackets). You could probably go all the way out to +35 on this car with little problem and still not stick outside the wheel well. The Scion rims really look great.

Is it safe to assume that 03-08 rims are the same as 09's? Corollas, vibes, matrices, and tC's? How about xA, xB, and xD? I could go for some nicer rims than my stock steeleys.

Some of the 09 rims are the same as first gens (03-08), at least the steelies, but I've heard that the GT wheels are different. You might want to check on that, because I'm really not completely sure.

Quote, originally posted by 05Abyss »The Scion rims look really good. Do you notice the off set difference? Can you snap a pic of the front or back views to show the off set?Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 »Thanks. I don't notice any ill effects regarding the difference in offset. The only difference is the firmer ride do to the lower profile tires. I've switched back to my stock rims for the winter so I'll have to wait a while to take the requested photos of the front/rear views. 05Abyss,I put the tC rims back on the Vibe and took the following photos as promised.PlatinumVibe08

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nice pics. vibe looks good!next winter im going to paint my TCs glow in the dark pink haha

Post revival!I'm looking to get a set of these rims, but was curious if the center caps pop out. Does anybody know if they can be taken out? Better yet, a pic? Thanks!

The center cap does come out.

Quote, originally posted by jkm311 »Post revival!I'm looking to get a set of these rims, but was curious if the center caps pop out. Does anybody know if they can be taken out? Better yet, a pic? Thanks!Yep, caps pop right out. Easiest if you just push them out from the back side when the wheels are off the car. Unfortunately, the Pontiac center caps from your OEM Vibe wheels will not fit. Here are a couple pics.PlatinumVibe08

I know this is kind of old news, but where did you get the chrome tape that you used to spiff up your lower grill and the center caps? (I might steal your grill idea, looks good with the silver).it's been a while since you put it on, how's it holding up?

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »I know this is kind of old news, but where did you get the chrome tape that you used to spiff up your lower grill and the center caps? (I might steal your grill idea, looks good with the silver).it's been a while since you put it on, how's it holding up?Hi James,I bought the roll of chrome tape at O'Reilly Auto Parts. It was located near the pinstriping and body repair merchandise. You could probably pick it up at nearly any auto parts store. It's been on there about a year and a half and still looks good. I think the tape on the grill really dresses up the front end of the Vibe. Post a pic of yours if you do this.Later,Greg

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I have a 2009 base Vibe with 16" steel wheels. I have found quite a few Sion rims for sale and am considering making a purchase. I have two questions.....- From the 16" wheels to the 17", do you know the difference in the speedometer? - I don't understand the "setback". Do you know the difference from the Scion 17" from my stock 16" wheels?Thank you so much.

Quote, originally posted by DocDoug »I have a 2009 base Vibe with 16" steel wheels. I have found quite a few Sion rims for sale and am considering making a purchase. I have two questions.....- From the 16" wheels to the 17", do you know the difference in the speedometer? - I don't understand the "setback". Do you know the difference from the Scion 17" from my stock 16" wheels?Thank you so much.I put the same wheels on my car. As long as you have the same outside diameter of the tire, the speedometer will be the same. Check out this thread for a link to a tire size calculator. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1066

Setback is Offset. Offset refers to the wheel's inside hub surface (where it meets the car's hub) and where it is in relation to the centerline of the wheel. On your vibe, if it's an 03/08, the factory offset numbers are...1) OEM steel wheels -39mm 2) OEM 16 inch alloys -39mm3) OEM 17 inch alloys -45mm The larger the number, the farther inside the wheel well the wheel is positioned when bolted on. A 35mm wheel offset will put the wheel almost flush to the wheel well's outside edge on the 03-08 Vibes. A 45mm wheel offset puts that wheel another 10mm farther inside the wheelwell. If you went with a wheel offset, say around 30mm, the tire would probably hang outside the edge of the wheel well and at the same time increase the load on the wheel bearings and other suspenssion and steering components.If you went with a wheel offet around 50mm, your wheels would be tucked way inside your wheel wells and could cause interference problems... especially when turning. If you get a picture of a stock 1955 Chevy Bel Air (or most other domestic cars of that period), you would see what this effect looks like. The tC 17 inch alloys and 17 inch OEM Pontiac (03-08) option alloys have the same offset numbers. No problems mounting or driving. I bought aftermarket 17 inch alloys with a 38mm offset to bring my tire (225/55 17) almost flush with the wheel wells in front... the rears are still tucked it a bit more than I like, but I don't want to mess with spacers or the problems that they might induce. The tC rims look great on Vibes.

Thank you for the clear explanation! I appreciate it!!!

Glad to help.

Does anyone know of a Pontiac center cap that would fit the TC rims? I've been looking around a bit and it seems the TC caps are 50mm or 64mm depending on the year... not confirmed though