Kinkajou

Hello forum members:
As some know, I have a fractured wheel and suggestions indicate that I should change and not repair the wheel.


Here in Mexico it is difficult to get my hands on same model wheels, but I am offered with C5 wheels.
Price is good, but I have my doubts because C5 uses 17" front and 18"rear.

That should give the C4 a butt up stance and I am afraid that handling could suffer, specially on twisty roads. And maybe benefit in 1/4 mile.

Any suggestion, somebody had the experience with this conversion?
As always your coments are invaluable, Thanks!
Roberto

This are the C5 wheel being offered, by the way if someone has a picture of a C4 with this wheels would be great to look at.

SJW

I have the later-C5 thinspoke wheels on my '94. The front are 17 and the rear are 18. The car looks fine with them on there, and the stance isn't noticeably altered. If you select a rear tire that's the same outer diameter as the original tires on your C4, the stance will be identical, and your spedometer will still be accurate.

You can find a decent tire size calculator here:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Be well,

SJW

LT4 F45

if you have a look in my photo you will see 99 wheels on my 87 convertible the handling is awesome since i have a dropped suspension and dont worry about butt up the little differences are in mpg and speedo being not as exact but you will enjoy them for sure and you can have them painted the color you want to fit your car... i have mine painted white since my car is red on red with white top but is it your choice to live them as is if you get them for cheap!!! the tires are not cheap... have a look at the price before you buy the wheels

Aardwolf

I picked up some C5 thin spokes, I got a pair at a time and got all rear rims. 18x9.5" all around. If you want to, the lowering bolts for the rear are pretty cheap. though to lower the rear just a little, you may not need them. Only turning two nuts can make the rear back to normal.

Vintagevetter

I'm not sure about the earlier C5 wheels...but the later ones ..thin spokes or sometimes called Y2K wheels, will fit on the later C4's with no problem. I'm running the 18" on the rear and 17" on the front, with the rear tires being: 275/40Z/R18 and the fronts are: 255/45Z/R17. If you put the C5 wheels on , it really shows off your brakes...so may want to clean up the calipers and paint them

zaragoza

96 lt-4

the only pic i have is in my avatar.i ran the stock(255/45/17)up front with the c5 rear(275/40/18) and had no problems whatsoever.it did'nt give the car a higher stance in the rear.it actually filled up the fender more.you can run 275/35/18 to keep the tire height the same.

corvettedan22

I say go for them, But for just the rims i dont think i would pay more the $300.00 for them

I have the c6 chrome , 19 in the rear and 18 in the front, so i dont think size is a big issue.

When i was looking for my rims, I could have got the c6 plain silver rims for $300.00 to my door, so like 265.00 for the rims.

Thats Why i say 300 for thoose base model silver 5 spokes.

But then again you are in mexico ??

Fill out your profile completely

JOHN89

I am running those same wheels on my 89 coupe.
I don't like them on the C5's but I love them on my 89. They really look nice! You will have to change to a lower profile rear tire or change your speedo gear in the transmission.

I'll see if I can find a picture.

John

JOHN89

I took some photos prior to installing them that will give you an idea of how it looks. I purchased mine based on these photos but I havent taken any photos with them on the car.







Sorry that I don't have any with them installed.

Hope these help,
John

mrc24x

CentralCoaster

Are within driving distance of San Diego? If you are, I have a pair of 85 Z51 wheels with your name on them.

Curveit

I think they look good;better on a C4 than a C5, in my opinion.

mrc24x

Off subject but I have to say..... NICE Avatar CC

Corvette Kid

Okay, not to worry. Your '94 should currently have on it 285/40/17 rear tires with a diameter of right about 26". Your choices for a rear tire on the C5 wheel are the standard C5 size which is a 275/40/18 with a diameter 0f 26.7" or what I'd recommend the 275/35/18 with a diameter of 25.6".
Your current front tire should be a 255/45/17, diameter 26.1". If you use the C5 size of 245/45/17" with a diameter of 25.7" you will end up with the exact .1" differnce in front to rear tire sizes as you now have and/or your car was designed for. And all four will actually be just a fraction shorter than they are now, not taller.

For quick reference:
Your stock diameters
255/45/17 - 26.1"
285/40/17 - 26"
My recommendation for the standard C5 wheels
245/45/17 - 25.7"
275/35/18 - 25.6"
I hope this helps and clears things up.

JOHN89

Yes I am running 275/35/18 and the speedo is correct.
The profile is really low and you'll have to be careful around pot holes.
Damn I already blew 1 tire because of it.

Cheers,
John

Bullyj

I'm running 275/40/17's all the way around

Kinkajou

I want to thank all off you guys! All the info has been great to read so I can make an informed decision.

Special thanks to Central Coaster for the offering, unfortunately I am very far, in Mexico city, but it was really nice to have that offer.

I will keep you posted on what happens!
Curiously, I am driving the car with the fixed wheel for now, very temporary and handling is as usuall , no change. But I know that the wheel is a time bomb

It has been great to see the Vettes with the wheels I am being offered.
Thanks

Trog

C5 wheels work fine, I run C5 Z06 & C6 Z06 in several configurations. Just run a lower profile tire on the 18" rim (like a 30) and a taller profile, (like 45) on the front 17" for a pretty even tire diameter front to rear. I actually found that my speedo is more accurate with the 295/30/18 rear tires than with the stock 275/17 that came on it...

Cmanhome

I have used the thin spoke 18's rear and 17's front and they work fine. I also have a set of Wagon Wheels off a 99 and they also work fine. They all track good and handle very well on the road at higher speeds.
No modifications were done on my 95 for either of the 2 types of wheels installed.