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Are there any real benefit from increasing my tire size from 16 inch to 17 inch . Additional questions about tires, Do tires have a shelf life, my tires have plenty of tred but are 10 yrs old with no cracks on the inner or outer sidewalk. Pretty well have been kept in a warm inviroment should I just change them
Last edited by Klgrayson; Mar 5, 2019 at 09:30 PM.
Reason: More information on tires
Are there any real benefit from increasing my tire size from 16 inch to 17 inch
I'm running 19" C6 rims on front and rear (96 auto coupe). Bought the car with 18" front and found a deal on a pair of 19" with tires, same size front and rear. Noticed a big difference in the front 18-19 but probably because of the wider tires. Never ran the car on 17" but it's on rails with 19".
If you keep a tire that is the same outside diameter the shift to larger diameter wheels will mean a shorter sidewall. That difference will mean a stiffer/harsher ride which most people don't like, but the stiffer sidewalls may make it handle a little better.
My choice is the 17" wheels that I feel are a good balance of having some tire options, a large enough wheel to clear C4/c5 brakes, wide enough tires for good traction, sidewall stiffness that works with my suspension the way I like.
Past that it is simply personal choice. Many people like big wheels. I like a wheel big enough to clear the brakes and then go wide with the tires. Each to their own.
Are there any real benefit from increasing my tire size from 16 inch to 17 inch
Yes more tire choice and newer tread compounds for better grip wet or dry, however even 275 40 17 are getting less choice every year.
Perhaps look for 18x9.5 or 19x9.5 inch wheels and 275 30 18 tires for instance.
The fact you mention 16" implies to me you have an early C4. My 86 had 9.5x16 38offset rims on it with 255x50zr16 tires oem on it. 16" tires are difficult to find when I was looking. I figured out 9.5x18 40 offset rims with 255x40zr18 tires fit almost exactly as the oem's did and that's what I went with. The sidewall is slightly shorter than the oems were but the ride quality is the same. I did increase the tire pressure 2 pounds in the rear. You will find there is a much larger selection of tires in this size, both by brand and model.
Finding the right rims with the correct offset was not the easiest thing to locate but I did find some so no spacers are required. If you change sizes, obviously you will need both the rims and tires. Insure you can get both before laying down your $$. I had a different set of rims selected and ordered them only to have the order cancelled due to unavailability. I found my rims elsewhere then got the tires to go with them. I honestly cannot tell any real difference between the 16" vs 18" tires, both handled well adjusting for the age and hardness of the old tires. Given my results, I'd do it again if I had to.
17x9.5 all the way around on both my 85's. Had 16's available but couldn't find tires I liked. I wanted all season. You will need spacers. .75 I believe gets you to the stock offset.
Tires size
