At 1500 kms a year im sure i dont need better tire than a 255/60/15. When i bought the car the Bfg had the white lettets installed inside leaving a black wall on a black car didnt look as good. No m runnng firestone white letter nd it look real good. Like the old school look.

 

I'm sorry but why won't a 17 or 18 inch wheel fill the wheel well? If you put the right size tire on them they will have the same diameter as the stock rims and fill the wheel well the same. Correct me if I'm wrong (wouldn't be the first time) but 27" is 27".

 

NEWS FLASH!

What Raphiki said!

Tire Diameter
225/70-15=27.4"
255/60-15=27.0"
255/50-17=27.0"
255/45-18=27.0"
Disclaimer: not all tire brands are exactly the same dimentions but they are for the most part close.
I do think it's safe to say that what ever tire of the above sizes listed was on a given car if you measured from the bottom of the rocker to the ground the difference would be neglegable.

OK sorry to interrup. Continue

 

You may find this appealing, but I don't.

 

You're not wrong. There's NO reason 17 or 18 inch wheels won't fill the wheel well with, as you've pointed out, the right tire selection.

 

I don't find that paticular combo appealing at all, but IMHO wheel diameter shouldn't be blamed for the result of fugly styling, high-water ride height and small tires.

 

I just had BFG Radial TA's installed on my Rallie's. 225/70 R-15 with white letters. Looks great and rides fine. I too like the old school look.

 

But until someone finds and post the absolute right size, 95% of people buy the wrong size tires and rims.
People can't buy a set of rims and tires and then have to lower their car also.

 

Sorry, hard to feel sympathy for anyone who can't manage to do a little homework on the subject first in this day and age, and believe your "95%" a good bit high given the many threads (with pics) right here on the CF regarding non-OE wheel/tire fitment.

 

I'm really not looking to turn this into a more heated discussion than it already is but.......

There is no reason at this point for someone to not be able to find the correct height tire. There are tire calculators on line all over the net. The Tirerack lists tire dimensions for all the tires they carry. You don't even need to go to one of the sites. Most people have calculators on their cell phone. You can just multiply the millimeters by .03973 to convert to inches and then do the math.
A 255/60-15 is 255x.03937=10.04"(wide)x.6(aspect ratio)=6x2(the top and bottom of the tire on each side of the rim)+15"(the rim diameter)=27" tall.
This topic has been covered over and over again and every time it turns into an opinion on who likes/hates and who doesn't like/hate 15" or larger diameter wheels. As far as lowering the car goes most people do it for looks and some do it for performance and others for both.
Since this type of thread comes up all the time maybe a sticky is in order. Members can post what they have on there car with the specs for the wheel/tire combination along with a picture if possible for info only and no opinions allowed. Something maybe the moderators can think about. It may not be a bad idea to do it for all of the 6 generations of Corvettes.

 

False information is like bung holes. I don't like to look at either.

Thanks for correcting this thread!

 

First thing I'd do to that car is get rid of those 80's style dated wheels and install a nice set of classic design 18" wheels.

Something like this:
http://www.graemeinglis.com/gallery3...tte/Image00001

Then a nice set of correct sized tires would do it wonders.

 

i think they look better with some rubber between the fender and wheel. 15" all the way

 

Thats just a matter of opinion if you like the wheels or not, the real issue is 95% of people can't buy the right size tires.

Someone go out and measure the height of their 255/60 mounted on the car and sitting on the ground with a tape measure from the ground strait up and across the tread and see if its 27 inches or not, please.

This guy has a skirt on, im really not going to follow his lead.

 

I bought my 17's for a few reasons, I wanted TT 2's for the looks, and I went with 17's for the added performance. A C3 is a good handling machine, add the right tires and it becomes a great handling machine. A lower profile tire has way less sidewall flex, add to that you can get a Z rated sticky tire in a 17 and it is a great combination. My tires are the same height and width as the stock 255/60-15's. And no ricer or ghetto look with the TT 2's.

 

The size of the rim has NO bearing on the space between the wheel and fender. My 17 x 8 wheels have tires the exact same height and width as the stock tires, same space between the tire and fender. You just have to buy the right size tire.

 

So what is your B/S on the rims and tire size/s

 

There are quit a few posts about tires / rims so I may have missed this. If I went with 16" wheels, wouldn't that allow a wider range of tires and still allow a taller sidewall so they wouldn't look too far off from a stock tire?

 

HAHA it's not the wheel size that makes that unappealing!

 

I am definitely staying with the stock wheels. The big, old school radial is what gives the shark its classic lines.

There are 255 60 15's out there. Even Pepboys has a Futura that fits.

I like the Firestone Indy 500. But the Mickey Thompsons at Summit are really calling to me.