got a question on changing wheels from stock 16" wheels on an 84-Z51
to the ZR1 style 17" wheels for this aplication. how much stiffer (new word?) can the ride get? i don't mind it right now, but what is it like on the 17's? love the Zr1 look. red car with black centers! any feedback would be appreciated. thanks
Bob
ps my wife thinks one wheel is bent so I have permission
that doesn't happen everyday

 

If you do it I think you should plan on an even stiffer ride because you will lose some sidewall.

 

I put ZR-1 rims on my 86' (from AFS wheels). The ride is stiffer, significantly stiffer in fact. I notice it most over bumps (as opposed to pot holes). It took me a while to get used to it and new seats (foam and leather) helped (the old foam was seriously shot). I also lost 5 RWHP on the dyno due to the heavier rotating mass (I went with the 315/35-17 rear tires).

Given all that I would not go back to stock. The car looks much better from the side and much meaner from the rear.

 

I also went with the AFS wheels with the correct backspacing for my '85. I was replacing my original Gatorbacks (with 8,000 miles) as they were hard as rocks and had very little traction.

Because my originals were so hard, I actually found the ride to be smoother, although with the Z-51 suspension it is plenty stiff. I used GS-D3's with 255's on front and 285's on the rear.

Good luck with your decision... GUSTO

 

Check your rear wheel bearings for the vibration.

And stiff is a relative term.

I guess it is a weak spot that goes south way too often.

 

You should not see any real difference in ride quality by going to a 17" tire. Keep the tires inflated to the same 35 psi recommendation that the 16" tires have and you will be fine. You could experiment with a lower pressure like 30-32 psi but certainly no lower than that.

You can find AFS Wheels on eBay as they sell their wheels there. Go to eBay and do a search of "AFS Corvette Wheels". They have the ZR-1 style wheels with the specific 38mm offset for the 84-87 cars. The wheels are available in chrome, polished finish, silver powdercoat and black powercoat.

Be on the lookout for sales they have on eBay for their "blemished" wheels. I saved a couple hundred bucks on a set of their blems in black and the only mark I found was a very small piece of dust under the powercoat finish on one of the set of four and that speck was in one of the lug nut recesses. Got free shipping and a discount on the price.

Some of the wheels come with tires already mounted and you could save even more that way unless you want a specific set of tires. I bought a set of Kumho Escta MX tires in 275/40-17 for my 87 for summer use and track days. Great tires for the money especially with the solid grip they offer in high speed driving. I went with the same size all around (17x9.5" wheels) so I could rotate the tires front to back.

 

I also bought a set of 17" wheels with 275/40 ZR 17 and 315/35 ZR 17 Vredestein tires from AFS for my 85. I removed the stock 9.5" wheels and the old Michelin 315/40-16 tires.
The new wheels/tires fit perfect and my ride definitely improved.
I would recommend a better quality lug nut than the ones they supply.

 

sguare how did you know that i ordered new seats?

c4cruiser i agree with you on the Khumo. great tires as I have experienced them in a former Porsche life

VitoA. any particular brand of lug nuts float your boat?


again thanks for the replies and I'll see you on ebay

Bob

 

did you use different size tires on 9" wheels all around or are those 11"s in the rear? thats the look i need!

thanks again
Bob

 

Yes, I used different sized tires on the 9" rims. I went with the sizes listed for the '96... 255/45ZR17 front and 285/40ZR17 rear.

The fronts look a bit undersized on the rims, while the rears look a bit over sized. Handling is superb however.

GUSTO