I have a pair of sawblade fronts that I'm pretty sure are 8.5 wide, but have tires on so hard to measure.
They are the painted style and I've been told that silver painted sawblades didn't come in 8.5". Which is correct?

Thanks
Evan

 

What size tires are on them? As long as the right size tires are mounted 275 or 285 are rears on 9.5 rims.

 

A 275 will fit on an 8.5 rim but it's not optimal.

Were 8.5" widths made in the silver painted C4 early sawblades?
That's what I'm asking

 

The all silver painted sawblades are 9.5" wheels.

1993 was the first year sawblade with the "machined" flat area and lip with the curved part of the "blade" painted silver. This is also the first year sawblade that was 8.5" fronts with 9.5" rears unless you had the Z07 handling package, which came with 9.5" wheels all around.

I believe the 8.5" wheels were 255/40/17 with the rear 9.5" wheel having 285/40/17. The Z07 handling package had 275/40/17 all the wat around.

 

OK, someone pointed out that it is molded to the back of the rim... Duh.
17.2x8.5x56
I guess that makes them Machine finished.
Thanks
Evan

 

Wrong! My '94 OEM's are not machined and are painted silver (or grey), 8.5 fronts and 9.5 rears.
I always wished they were machined with the distinct line from flat to curved so I could paint the curved part and polish the flat part.
So I settled for a new set of ZR1's chromed instead.

 

Actually he is 100% correct.

The sawblades changed to a machined finish like this in 93:


If yours look like this they are 92 or older.:


The flat surface on the spokes on the newer wheels is a give way even if the wheels have been painted.

 

I have 91-92s on my rear and 93-96s up front. Not a single person has noticed a difference though.

 

Mine are like the second picture in your post and they came on the car, a '94 Vert.

All '92 and older cars, the sawblades were 9.5 wide all the way around and the '94 had 8.5 wide fronts and 9.5 wide rears. Mine are 8.5 and 9.5 wide wheels and I always wished they looked like your first picture and I've always thought the machined ones were aftermarket.

My friend's '92 has the exact same wheels as mine except they are 9.5 wide all the way around. Where did my 8.5 wide ones come from if '92 and older were all 9.5 wide?

 

hmm...are you the original owner?

My machined finished ones are 9.5", the smooth ones are 11"s.

maybe somebody did some custom work or something...?

 

Based on those pics, which I never saw before, these are definitely machined finish and 8.5.

3rd owner

 

No, not the original owner and the car only had 81K on it and came from an estate sale.

Why would anyone go back to ugly wheels and that still doesn't answer where the 8.5 wide front wheels came from?

I think the '92 and '94 had a different offset on the front wheels. I know my 8.5's barely cleared the a-frame and a 9.5 with the same offset would not have cleared. I now have the AFS ZR1 w/ Grand Sport offset on there now and clearance is the same amount, but with 9.5's.

 

Hey, Before you call me out as "wrong" check the facts, not your car...I'm the original owner of my 1993 and as a matter of fact my car is an early '93. I've had this Vette for 15 years! It came with the machined sawblades and it was the first year for the machined sawblades with 8.5" front wheels.

Are you the original owner of your '94? Not sure how a '94 would have the painted ones and also be 8.5" fronts. Some one changed them, or they are aftermarket, or someone replaced the originals with '91 or '92 wheels. Maybe the wheels got damaged or curb rash and somebody sent them to a wheel shop and they smoothed out the blades and powdercoated them.

If you do your research you're going to find that 1993 thru the end of the C4 run, all the sawblades where machined finish.

PS. If I have a question on sombody's post I don't say "Wrong", It may be better recieved if you phrase it as a question such as..."Are you sure '93 and up are machined? Because my '94 has painted 8.5"

Also if your not 100% sure on something..you should say "I believe that...Etc" If you look at my post..It has been many years since I have run the OEM size tires on my fronts ( I run 275/40/17 ) so I was not sure about the OEM size if it was 255/40/17 or 255/45/17...I was too lazy to look it up. So I started the statement "I believe the tire sizes were...." In fact do to your reply to my post I did look it up and I was wrong...the tires on the front were 255/45/ZR17 which is what I originaly thought because since the tire is narrower, you need to increase the sidewall to balance the rear, but posted the 255/40/17.

 

Heres some info I found on the 1993 Corvette from a C4 facts web page

Front wheels for base cars were decreased from 9.5x17 to 8.5x17 and the front tire size from P275/40ZR17 to P255/425ZR17. Rear tire size was increased from P275140ZR17 to P285140ZR17. For RPO Z07, 9.5x17 wheels and P275140ZR17 tires were used front and rear.

·Although the same in design as the previous model, 1993's wheels had a different surface appearance due to a change in fmish machining.

 

Want to sell them?

The only 11" painted sawblades of that style that I know of came on the ZR1. Fairly rare item.

I'd love to get my hands on a pair to have chromed for the rear of my 92.

 

Does sound strange. Have you had them off the car where you could measure them?

To the best of my knowledge the front end setup didn't change from 92 on.

 

Yes, they are from a zr1. They are powdercoated black with new Mickey thompson ET streets. I love them! I'd sell em if the price is right though...

 

 

Hey, what can I say...I need gas money to run the generators after this storm comes through. I could always bolt the old turbines back on.

 

Thanks for the a$$ chewing. I stand corrected and have learned where my place is. :o

If I can speak, the wheels are definitely painted and are not machined, must not be the OEM wheels this car came with. Still can't believe someone would change to an older and uglier wheel and I had no reason not to believe they weren't '94 OEM since everything else on the car is '94 OEM.

Checking the old and uglier removed wheels now in the boxes my new wheels came in (ZR1 AFS 9.5" and 11"), here is what the old ones reveal on their back sides.
Front, left and right, 17.2 x 9.5 x 55 Japan with new Potenza 255-45/ZR17 tires mounted and Rear, left and right, 17.2 x 9.5 x 56 Japan with new Potenza 275-40/ZR17 tires mounted and the way I purchased the car. Strange that the fronts are 55 mm and the rears are 56 mm.

I should not have assumed what I didn't know to be true and I based my statement on the tire sizes, front and rear, and since they looked right for the car. I always wished mine had the machined ones.

I will go stand in the corner now.