Going 1" wider front and rear - tire selection help!

1013 Views 13 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Redshift, Jul 6, 2001

Redshift

Discussion Starter · Apr 1, 2001

This is applicable to you guys, since my new wheels are going to be identical in size to your factory Z06 wheels.

I hope to be getting my grubby hands on a new set of Y2K chrome reproduction wheels soon (before the Birthday Bash), but the catch is they'll be 1" wider in front and rear.
For sure, I'll be going with 18x10.5" in back, but I have a choice of 17 or 18" wheels in 9.5" width for the front. The problem as I see it is my choice in tires. The rears should end up being 295/35ZR18, but what about the fronts? 265 series? If so, and I choose 17", I can only find Z06 tires (i.e. Goodyear Supercar brand) in these sizes.

Should I go with 18x9.5 for the front? If so, what brands of tires do I have to choose from?

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liquidRubber

· #2 · Apr 2, 2001

I would recommend that you stick with a 17" wheel up front. If you go up to an 18", you would either have to go up in overall diameter, or get a lower profile tire, like a 265/35/18. A shorter sidewall in the front than the rear might upset the balanced handling and degrade the ride. 18" tires are more expensive too. A set of Eagle SC's will run about $1100. It's about $200 more to run four 18" BFG G-Force. Take a look at tirerack.com for other brands that fit the z06 wheels. Also, I don't mean to be picky, but "series" usualy refers to the sidewall aspect ratio, not the width. Good luck with your new wheels.

-liquidRubber

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 2, 2001

Thanks for the information. I am aware of the "plus one" concept, and don't plan to deviate from my 2000 stock diameter by more than 2% at most. The 265/35/18 is a good example of an excellent "plus one" size for the front, while still retaining the 30mm width difference from the 295/35/18 I plan to run on the rear.

I'm moving closer to Pilot Sports for the tires, just need to line up the funds /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif

My apologies for the misuse of the "series" concept. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

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hcvone

· #4 · Apr 4, 2001

Brian, I will have a set of the stock Z06 tires and wheel as soon as my car comes in, I am going to 18" all around like my C5, I want to show those new bigger brakes off in the front, and I have never had any luck with Goodyear tires, I will be changing to Pilot Sports.

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 2, 2001

Sorry to re-hash this but my new wheels are due in next week and I've chosen to stick with 17x9.5 in front and 18x10.5 in rear. Neither Pilot Sport or Pole Position S-02 comes in 265/30/17 for the front - can anyone recommend a good size in either of these two tires for the front wheels?

I plan to go with 295/35/18 in the rear.

Carl, any comments?

Thanks.

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hcvone

· #6 · Jul 2, 2001

Brian, get the 18" wheels for the front, it makes cleaning them MUCH easier, and I feel they look better as well. I do not know what size tires come in the 17" size, but I will check into tonight. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 2, 2001

Carl, I'm concerned with the ride quality as someone mentioned above, plus I want it to look proper, also - I don't want to look goofy up front with such huge wheels. I thought the 17 was a better choice...

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hcvone

· #8 · Jul 2, 2001

I am running 265/35/18's on the front, the ride is better than the run flats by a big margin, and the cost of my Pilot Sports was $1200.00 mounted and balanced and that was for 265/35/18's and 295/35/18's, I may run 275/35/18's on the Z06 up front, but I will be using 18's all around because the Brembo brakes with 14" rotors need 18" wheels minimum for clearance. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

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hcvone

· #9 · Jul 2, 2001

Here is a pix of my 18's all around, before the car was lowered.

_________________
Carl V. *****Authorized Zaino Distributor*****
Huntingdon Valley, PA.
2002 Z06 Electron Blue - on order with build date
**FOR SALE** 2000 Magnetic Red Convertible **FOR SALE**
** Corvette Club of Delaware Valley **
www.hcvind.com
E-Mail: [email protected]

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 2, 2001

I am kind of surprised that they don't make the 265 series in 17" diameters for either of the tires I'm looking at. I could have sworn when I went through this a couple months ago I figured out that both tires were available in this size, but it doesn't appear as such. Any advice for someone who might still be sticking with the 17" wheels? I don't have enough cash for the Brembos, so I only have the meager 12.5" front brake setup /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif

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hcvone

· #11 · Jul 2, 2001

I am /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_cry.gif for you. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 6, 2001

Well, I've decided on my tires. I've heard a ton of good things about the Toyo Proxes T1S, and the price is also very good.

Front: 265/40/17
Rear: 295/35/18

Less than US$1000 for all four tires.

I'll let you know how they work out - they do have a trial period so if I'm not happy I can return them and go with the Pole Positions. But I hear these are equal or better.

Rock on!

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hcvone

· #13 · Jul 6, 2001

Pole Positions are very good tires, I wanted them but the sizes were out of stock so I got the Pilot Sports, I have been reading that they are pretty equal. /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

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Redshift

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 6, 2001

My only goal for this set of tires was MAXIMUM Performance. I don't get the impression that I'm settling for these - they should be every bit as good as Pole Positions. I have heard that Pilot Sport is a great tire, but more of an all weather type of tire and not at the same level as Pole Positions or Proxes T1S. We will soon find out.

I will let everyone know how these do, and I plan to put together some nice wheel and tire packages with chrome Z06 and C5 wheels in widths from 17x8.5 up to 18x10.5.

Stay tuned.

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