augiedoggy

Sadly I think the bigger picture here is todays suvs are starting to surpass the performance and handling of the c3 corvette so even though they are advertised as suv all season tires the they are in reality made better and handle better than the "performance tires" originally sold for these cars....

I think this is why many who can afford it just drive a newer corvette which has a dramatic advantage in performance and then keep the period correct classic c3 for car shows and as a sunday driver...
I am not disillusioned about the fact that my company car which is a lowly Toyota camry out handles my c3... I know I can spend thousands to change that but I'm not sure if I want to rengineer the car into something different than it is (anymore than it is already)... If I had the money I probably would..

jb78L-82

As for the SUV tires, I can tell you that I have had Michelin Latitude X-ICE winter tires on my 2008 Chrysler 300 for years and they are branded as an SUV tire (235/55/18) for years and to be honest I notice no difference in ride and handling versus the passenger Michelin winter tires. I had to use the "SUV" winter tire since I could not find the passenger winter tires in my size. The only difference between the SUV and passenger tires in Michelins is the that the SUV tire sidewall is SLIGHTLY stiffer, nothing that the average person would notice though.

I must say though that a C3 can be made to handle better than a camry with not too much effort and one of the biggest improvements is upgrading the tires to ZR ultra high performance summer only tires. My 78 can easily smoke a typical passenger car in handling with some not so major changes. Here is what I have done over many years: Note this achieved with no change to the basic C3 platform, just optimization of the typical C3 suspension. The secret is to minimize any and all unwanted suspension movement primarily from rubber bushings. The 78 rides firm but by no means harsh...

Front:

550 sport springs
1 1/8 inch OEM gymkhana sway bar with poly endlink and mounting bushings
Spreader bar
Bilstein HD shocks with poly bushings
poly upper and lower control arm bushings
Custom blueprinted/rebuilt OEM steering box
255/45/17 ZR tires

Rear:

360 monospring with poly cushings
Bilstein Sport Shocks
Competition adjustable Heim joint struts rods-no bushings
3/4 inch OEM type rear sway bar with poly mounting bushings
255/45/17 ZR tires

Does my 78 handle like my 2010 C6 Z06? No but it sure can outhandle just about any standard passenger car and can hold its own against some modern sports car....

AnthonyGS

You guys are right on all counts. Today's tires are way better than tires from 40 years ago. It's literally night and day.








And jb78L.... is also correct. Thanks to the basic geometry of a C3 suspension it is quite easy and not too expensive to make one handle very well. The key is to modernize the tires and make sure you have good dampers, from there its subtle upgrades and making sure all of your bushings are in good order.


That's not all that hard.

C3Paul

I am happy with my choice.
No complaints at all.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ck-wheels.html

Ideally, I would much prefer these AVON 275-55-15, but at almost £350-£400 per tire, just way tooo much!

http://www.vintagetyres.com/item/232...-road-race--tl

I will go back to 18's in the future.

augiedoggy

I am actually shopping for 18" tires and rims myself I think the po put the cheapest 15" trailer tires they could find on this car lots of vibrations in the steering wheel.....

I think I have decided on these rims with should fit well and stick out the correct amount thanks to the -6mm offset?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301581617441?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
and I plan on going with 255/55/18 tires....
First things first though and I have next week off to try to complete the body work and paint it molten pearl (atomic orange) before july..

poly bushings and new shocks as well as lower it an inch or 2 is also on my list of things to do.. I am not looking for a racecar, just something thats fun and can hold its own... I liked the handling on my old 84 z51 but it was so underpowered and It seemed like there was no easy way to correct that with the crossfire plus I really like the looks of the older c3s more and the benefits of being able to do all the work myself.

C3Paul

and I plan on going with 255/55/18 tires....
First things first though and I have next week off to try to complete the body work and paint it molten pearl (atomic orange) before

I would go 18x10 with 5"BS and 275x45 tire for rear and 18x9 with 4,5" BS and 265x45 for the front

augiedoggy

Will these fit without mods? Was hoping to only have to relocate the rear brake cable if needed...

Metalhead140

Are you sure you mean 255/55r18? My 255/50r17s are the same diameter (just over 27") as the optional stock 255/60r15s that my '79 was fitted with. A 255/55r18 is a full 2" larger in diameter (just over 29"). A 255/45r18 is the right diameter (just over 27").

augiedoggy

Good catch I did mean 255/45... have a lot of sticky notes here with different tire/ rim combinations on them now... my car came with 225/70/15 tires when i bought it which is like 27.4 I believe... stock is like 27.04" I think..

C3Paul

Rear will fit without any issues.
Front will fit with 255 tire, but you should be able to run 265 without any issues as well.
I run 275 tire on my 1980 on the stock 15" wheels without any problems, but 1980-82 front bumper is different/slightly wider