My 96 coupe has 17/8.5 fr and 17/9.5 r, as original equip. I am thinking of upgrading to 17/9.5 fr and 17/11 r. What are the advantages, disadvantages, or problems/changes in handling, ride, or performance I could encounter with the upgrade?

Thanks

 

Well, the obvious disadvantage is the tread price...the 315s that go on the back to cover the 11" rim tends to be more expensive (but looks cooler!).

I'm sure the auto-x people here will tell you the wider tread in front gives you better handling. I've even seen several posts on an individual bumping the fronts to 11" also.

One other consideration...have the fronts and the backs be 17/9.5. Then you are able to rotate the tires.

That's the best I can give for now...I know my answers are "cheap"...not indepth. Hopefully one of the auto-x people will give you more expanded answers.

 

I'll let you know in a few days. I have the 9.5s and I'm putting 11s ZR1 Wheels on with these tires http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ng=Y&minLoad=S The tires should be here in a few days. I wanted Goodyears but they were not available because they had a strike. The wheels are from AFS chrome ZR1.

 

Once you see the back of your car with 11" wide wheels and 315 tires, you will never go back.

 

my new 92' has brand new ZR1 rims tires same all around

Would love to see some pics of 17x11 rears on non-ZR1 Vettes...hey I love those rims sticking out past the fenders!!!!!

Please post some if you have them.

Also, any w/ 11" wide up front would love to see...any clearance rubbing issues w/ 11" wide in front!

Post pics if you have them!

Thanks

 

 

Too sweet!! Awesome look!

 

You will be adding approximately 20 lbs of weight to the car and that is all unsprung weight. There have been many debates on teh effects of heavier wheels decreasing acceleration and such.

I can tell you by lightening my car with Weld wheels(15 x 3.5 front and 15 x 10 rear) I shaved off about 64 lbs from the wheels and gained about 2 tenths in the 1/4.

As for 17 x 11, I have them on my six speed car and I love them. Usually when you put a wider wheel, people will tell you it could affect the load on the bearing, but since GM put 11" on factory cars(GS and ZR1) I wouldn't worry(though the offsets are different from the ZR1 wheels).

One thing you will find out, and I don't mean to discourage you. 315/35R17 tires are becoming scarce. Michelin stopped making them, BFG was out of stock last time I checked, so I ended up with Goodyear which I didn't want, but between putting Goodyears on and driving the car or letting it sit with no tires, I opted to buy the Goodyears.

The look that the extra width gives the car is simply awesome.

 

When you go shopping for the 11x17 wheels, make sure you get the wheels with the "Grand Sport" 56mm offset. The ZR1-specific wheel has a 36mm offset and they will sit a good inch outside of the wheelwell and you can expect some tire/wheelwell contact.

One problem with the 315/35 tire is the lack of selection in that size. If you do a search on the Tire Rack website for 315/30-17 you will on ly get a few matches. The Sumitomo is the cheapest but IMHO, they do not have the traction and tread life that the other tires in that size. The TR search resluts allow you to compare the tires and you will see that the Sumitomo is the worst of the 5 tires available.

If you are buying tires for tread life, then I would stick with the same size all around so that you can rotate the tires for better wear. You can also run a 285/40 on a 9.5" wide wheel at all 4 corners so that may be a good compromise.

Another thing to consider is that if you were to have a flat tire with one of the 315 tires, it will not fit in the spare tire carrier once you mount the spare. The ZR-1 came with a bag for a 315 tire if one went flat and it has to be placed in the cargo area for transporting.