rcskisfast

Hey Guys, talking to discount tires about replacing tires and wheels. I think I have decided on Michelins and want to go to 18" frt & 19" rears. Will that affect the handling? Any Feedback is welcome! thanks, Ron

mikes1hog

I just had the same consideration and I ended up with TSW's and Generals in 17/18 sizes from DTD. I read the advice of others who are running 18/19's; the key was to keep the same overall height of the wheel and tire and the correct stagger from front to rear and by doing so, you don't affect the electronic "helpers" and the overall suspension. Now I am not an engineer, but as I thought about the whole picture - If the height and stagger remained the same, how much different would the look be? Yes, more rubber on the ground, but if that's all it is, we're talking a major difference in cost of wheels and tires (and selection). At the end of the day, I argued with myself that the engineers designed the suspension and the electronics for a 17/18 wheel setup; why should I tamper with their design? Just to spend more money, bragging rights, I did it too? I will tell you that my "new stock" setup with non-run flats A/S tires is fantastic compared to the RF Goodyears!

zeevette

I like my 18/19 combo alot. On 11" wide rears, I fit 325-30/19s without rubbing. Wheel offset is important to be able to fit this large tire inside the wheel wells. Mine are 65mm.

NukeC5

You can run 18/19 and have the same performance. It really comes down to the tires. Using a tire calculator you can play around with what sizes will retain the same basic diameter on the new wheels. You also have the choice between a stiff or soft sidewall, run or non-runflats, etc.

rcskisfast

I am leaning toward run flats but maybe for the cost difference I should invest in a compressor and some green slime! Most of those run flats are rated for 20,000 mi. At that rate I'll be replacing tires every 2 yrs! Keep the feedback coming, trying to make the best choice. This is the first set of tires I ever purchased for a vette. THANKS, Ron

printmanjackson

I would NOT get run flats! ride like crap, don't handle as well and are way heavy!

Here is my 18/19 combo with Michelin PS2

zeevette

Beautiful car, Printman. Nice stance, too. I can't go that low where I live.

printmanjackson

thanks, from the looks of yours I think we're about the same ride height

rcskisfast

Hey Printman what kind of exhaust system are you running?That's my next project

WKMCD

I've run 17/18, 18/18 and now 18/19. Not much difference in handling but each time I went with bigger tires. I run 275x35x18 and 345x30x19 now and that did require a little suspension and alignment adjustment. I also run coilovers which like yet another alignment spec. I ran PS2's on the 18/18 setup and still run them on the 18/19.

printmanjackson

the ones in the pic are Corsa but I have since switched to Ti's because after heads and cam it was just too loud. The Corsa's are very heavy too.

rcskisfast

Thanks for the input. Ron

SaberD

the lower profile tires will break traction quicker. I think the 17/18 setup is optimum for handling predictability and smoothness.

You can get the same effect with the 18/19 setup and a softer sidewall, but then you are going to run into outer edge wear issues.

printmanjackson

that's not true and I auto cross my car all the time. in fact with the shorter sidewalls it handles better. I have tried both

SaberD

did you use the same brand and model tire? if not, you can't make that comparison. While you can get more friction and better handling with a lower profile tire, they are more difficult to control. A higher profile tire is more forgiving because the transition from static to dynamic friction is more gradual. It's really a driver preference and depends on the course.