I love them, personally, always have.

Is it just the funky backspacing or something deeper

I dont hate them, I think they look good on some cars. I just wanted 5 lug wheels and they dont make the Rivs in 5 lug to handle a 245X50.

Prolly cuz thier 5" rather than the massivly wide 5.5 Fuchs & Mahles or the Oh my God 15x6" wide 5 lug Fuchs.
Ive run across more Bug backspaced Riv's than The Porsche variety.

the day i went to get 195/50r/15s and the tire dude told me no i cant put tires that size on those rims(4.5) is the week i got rid of them.i went and got stock wheels and hub caps(5.5) sported those untill i got a set mahles. when i first got the car i liked them but over the years i seen what other wheels where availble.
and the one car that just stuck out in my head for years was a 914 -6 that i saw in the sears parking lot OMG i was in love with fuchs on the 914 ever since.

like others have said, it's the backspacing and lack of width that make them not loved.....

if you already them, that is fine, if one was going to spend money and buy some, there are better choices depending on what thier reason and use was.

If any one is looking for them I have both kinds, 3 sets I am putting on ATS wheels, they turn my clock the most and it took a year to find some that were in new condition. very Happy

Bernie

I had a Riviera crack on me along one of the spokes and down along the bolt circle. That did for me, never again. I would rather (and have) run steel wheels instead.

Pat

I have 195/50/15's in the pic.

As far as I know they are a 5.5 inch rim.

If they were 6 inches wide, strong and spaced right would the hating stop?

I have to run my stock steels to accomodate my 205/50/15 Falkens without rubbin'.

What is "backspacing"?

-WoMBaT

My car had Riv's on-it from PO, I don't mind the look, but as others have said.... when ever I get some extra $$$... it will be back to stock OE rims for me! Fuchs or even Steel with hubcaps... The teener I had before still had OE Pedrinis, they were good, but won't fit my '73. Just don't go Bling-Bling on us!

Backspacing is the distance from the inside of the rim to the face where the mounting bolts go. If you set the wheel on the ground (no tire) it would be the measurement from the ground to the part where the wheel lugs go.

Thank you MarkD. Of course you know the next question? What does different backspacing affect in handling?


WoMBaT

Backspacing affects two things, Dan:

1. the ability to actually fit the rim under the stock (or flared) fender.
2. A wider track (distance from outside edge of contact patch from tire to tire) generally means better handling.

That said, handling is the sum of many things: tire composition, alignment, shock type and setting, corner balancing of the car, suspension bushings, tie rods, etc.

A finely tuned suspension on a car with narrower track is much more fun to drive than a car with wider wheels and tires that has a neglected suspension.

Personally, I like the looks of Rivera wheels on some cars. They are definately street wheels though - their strength is not suited for track cars. I wouldn't run them even on an occasional autocross car.

-Rusty

Good knowledge! You know me...i'd just slap whatever looks pretty on there and call it quits.

Dan

Ok, here is why I don't like them. It has nothing to do with backspacing, and everything to do woth appearance. Basically, that center circle where the lug holes are is too big. Plus, the number of holes there draws the eye away from the otherwise nice spokes that it has. Obviously the reason for this is because they had to fit 4-lugs into a 5 spoke pattern, and this was their attempt at doing that without it looking awkward. The end result is that the spokes don't look big enough. Having the spokes accented in black makes the problem worse. Now, having said that, there is a photo from the "What does your car look like" thread that I found where the Rivieras do look pretty cool. I think the reason I like them in this photo is because the spokes are not painted. The car in the photo is wrecked, but the top part of the photo looks pretty nice with those wheels.

Those are the bug variety.

well i dont know if they are the bug ones.but as far as i can tell they made several diffrent types of rivies over the years. the ones in trekkors photo are the later style they have cut edges and are clear coated,american raceing i belive.the ones in thomas photos are one of te early styles they didnt have a flat spot on the spoke.over the years ive seen just about every one they made (musta made a buttload of these rims) the two that made me laugh when i seen them was the one that was a steele rim with with the mag or alum face of a riviera on it.cheap ....cheap looking.the other made me really laugh was a riviera hub cap so in its time it musta been a really popular wheel to get imatations like that made of it.i never really had a problem with the looks,they can be pretty good looking,depending on paint and polish.ive just found more appealing wheels to me

I had a set of Rivs that came on my car which I really did not like. Had these in the garage and decided to try them and I like the look. Now I can't decide between these and Mahles, and a set of old ATS wheels I have lying around.

What everyone else has failed to mention and is the main reason I like factory wheels is that the riverias are cast aluminum while the stockers are forged. That makes a HUGE diference in strength. In an accident or pothole incident at speed the cast ones will break or crack while the forged ones will bend or dent. That could make the difference between a blowout or not and complete carnage versus a dented wheel.