17" wheel tyre size?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 845
Likes: 54
From: Bangor, Northern Ireland
I've got 245/50/17 pirelli p-zero on the front with 8x17 and 255/50/17 federal s595 (great tred pattern) on the rear on 9x17,but i'm putting the Federals all round soon, the pirelli's are ok but the Federals are great, loads of grip in the dry and rain and light years ahead in the handling department than the 15's , they were only £150 a pair (approx $210 ), i'm not sure if you can get them in the states,
IMHO it's a nice sidewall compromise, not too tall and dated and not too rubber band looking, i fact it looks like how the vette should have come from the factory
Look in my gallery or if you go to Vintage Wheel works and look at the GM photo gallery it was the first car on there (red '71 'vert).
17" tyre choice is quite limited, which is why most people use 18", but there are tyres out there, you just have to look, Go to TireRack and find the high performance tyres, yokohama also make an advan 255/50/17, its an sport |SUV tyre (like my Federals), don't let that put you off, there's more grip there than most c3's will ever need!
Good luck.
IMHO it's a nice sidewall compromise, not too tall and dated and not too rubber band looking, i fact it looks like how the vette should have come from the factory
Look in my gallery or if you go to Vintage Wheel works and look at the GM photo gallery it was the first car on there (red '71 'vert).
17" tyre choice is quite limited, which is why most people use 18", but there are tyres out there, you just have to look, Go to TireRack and find the high performance tyres, yokohama also make an advan 255/50/17, its an sport |SUV tyre (like my Federals), don't let that put you off, there's more grip there than most c3's will ever need!
Good luck.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 11,361
Likes: 383
From: Plano TX
255/50-17 will have the same overall diameter as stock and fill the wheel-well. You may have some slight rubbing in the front though at close to full lock. The fender lips can be trimmed to fix it (not really noticeable).
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,964
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville AL
CI 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Vet
St. Jude Donor '09-'10
I'm thinking of the same thing and will probably go with 245/45-17s all around. They're the stock tire for the front of a C5 so there's plenty of brands, including RFs.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,455
Likes: 977
From: RI, Now Franklin/Nashville TN
I have 255/45/17 ZR Kuhmos in the front and 255/50/17 ZR's in the rear to maintain the same overall diameter in the back on SLP's rims. make sure that you get Z rated tires. You will not be disappointed. Stay away from S/T rated tires if you want the ultimate performance.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
I have a 1980 'vette, and am also looking into 17" x 8" rims. The stock tire size on my car is 255/60/15, and after doing some research, I found out that 255/50/17 tires have virtually the same diameter, so they won't change your speedo reading or anything. I am not sure about the availability of this tire size, however.
Scott
Scott
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,455
Likes: 977
From: RI, Now Franklin/Nashville TN
I have a 1980 'vette, and am also looking into 17" x 8" rims. The stock tire size on my car is 255/60/15, and after doing some research, I found out that 255/50/17 tires have virtually the same diameter, so they won't change your speedo reading or anything. I am not sure about the availability of this tire size, however.
Scott
Scott
