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I have a 95 vert. with stock (saw) wheels.I believe the size rims are 17 x 8.5 front and 17 x 9.5 rear.the tire size is 275 all around.Can I rotate the tires even if the rims are a different size ?
Thank You
What tire size came standard with the car?Are the rim size the correct dimensions that I previously mentioned ? This is the way I purchased the car from original owner .
Thanks
From: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
You can rotate, but the correct size for the front tire (for an 8.5" rim) is 255-45.
If you rotate with the present set-up (put 8.5" rims on the rear), the handling may feel a little odd, and the offset will be wrong...but you can do it.
I wouldn't.
What I would do is verify the width of your front rims...then get back to us.
And the rear tires on 9.5 rims from the factory are 285/40. The 275s fit fine on the 9.5 rims, but really should not be on an 8.5 rim. At the very least I would measure the rims to see what you have (I am guessing previous owner put 9.5 rims all the way around?). If they are really 8.5 and 9.5s I certainly would not rotate them.
From: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
Originally Posted by enventr
Thanks guys-I guess I will have to measure the front rims.
The easy way would be to look at the depth of the "lip"; 9.5's have about 1/2" more lip than the 8.5's. Examined side-by-side, the difference is unmistakable.
Good luck!
Well, wait a minute. The Z51 option uses 275-40-17 tires at all four corners, right? Granted, the rims should be 9.5" all around as well. But that means the rears on a Z51 are 275-40 on 9.5" rims.
Matter of fact, Luke (fr. tirerack) has suggested to me that the tire width is negligible from 285-40 to 275-40, and will provide the opportunity to rotate, at least front to back, with my four, 9.5" wheels.
In many cases the difference in width of a 275 and 285 tires is not a lot, probably a half-inch or so. But there is a difference in the diameter and that can be a good 10-12 revs per mile. That may show up in the odomerter reading over a period of time but may not show up as as speedo error.
Also, some brands may have a much narrower tread width for a given size compared to others. The early Firestone SZ50 tires had close to a full inch less tread width compared to a BFG or Goodyear tire of the same size.
The Tire Rack has specification pagess for their tires by brand and type. One spec is the rim width range for a given size of tire. In most cases, the 285/40 tire shows a recommended rim size of 9.5 to 11" and the 275 tire shows a 9"-11" wheel width. IMHO, the high end of 11" is a bit too wide for either of these sizes.
The factory wheels should have the wheel width and diameter cast into the inside of the center.
C4ruiser,
If the stock rear tires were 285/40-17,(std equip)and I have 275/40-17 on the rear(also front)how would that affect the revs per mile.Just the width is different in the rear-same height.The fronts were supposed to be 255/45 from the factory.If that tire was on the rear I believe the revs per mile will change.Aren't all "40-17" the same height?
Thanks for your input
From: Why are there squished peanut butter cups in my underware?
Originally Posted by aminnich
The 275s fit fine on the 9.5 rims, but really should not be on an 8.5 rim.
Originally Posted by LT4CompYell
Well, wait a minute. The Z51 option uses 275-40-17 tires at all four corners, right? Granted, the rims should be 9.5" all around as well. But that means the rears on a Z51 are 275-40 on 9.5" rims.
That's correct.
All `95 verts came from the factory with 8.5" 255s on the front, and 9.5" 285s on the rear.
C4ruiser,
If the stock rear tires were 285/40-17,(std equip)and I have 275/40-17 on the rear(also front)how would that affect the revs per mile.Just the width is different in the rear-same height.The fronts were supposed to be 255/45 from the factory.If that tire was on the rear I believe the revs per mile will change.Aren't all "40-17" the same height?
Thanks for your input
No, all 40-17s' aren't the same.
The 40 indicates height of the tire in % of width, so a 275x40 is 275mm wide, the height is 40% of 275, or 110mm high. for a 285 tire, the height would be 114mm high.
Hence the difference in rotation speed/rpm differences.
(a mm is equal to .03937", so 4mm would be a diff. of .160")
(as for the width, it's .400" wider on a 285 compared to a 275)
Alot of times, you'll see 285-35 tires that are equivalent in height to a 275-40. these tire sets would be fairly close in height to each other.
The "40" is the sidewall aspect ratio and that value multiplied by the width of the tire cross section (not necessiarly the tread width) determines the tire diameter.
But installing a tire on a rim width size that is outside of the recommended range will change the tire diameter because the sidewall may not be plumb with the wheel diameter.