I have the 17" x 9.5" sawblades with 275/40/17 all 4 corners. And its time for new tires, it's for street driving, occasional track day.
looking for wider options specially at the rears:
Options:
1- 295/35/17 all around.
2- 295/35/17 Front & 315/35/17 Rear (if this fits a 9.5").
3- 285/35/17 Front & 305/35/17 Rear.

Any other options recommended? share your set up photos please

TIA

 

First of all, do not opt for any of those tire sizes. They are all too wide for your 17x9.5 wheels and will result in worse performance, not better. Luckily for you, there are basically no tires available in any of those sizes except the 315/35/17 (unless you want Hoosier R7s, which you don't), and there are precious few offerings in 315/35/17 either. If you want wider tires, you need wider wheels. And you may need to move to 18s to get any decent availability.

You should stick with 275/4017. Just get good tires. I frequently recommend Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires for people who want great dry grip and outstanding wet grip, but don't plan to use them in below-freezing temps (which I doubt is a problem in Dubai!). These are still legitimate street tires, but they can hold up to track use and are not very far off competition-oriented tires.

 

MatthewMiller
So the 285/40R17 on have on the rear of my base 94 would not fit properly on the 9.5" rims wide I have in front. They are on the 11" wide rims I have in the rear and was hoping a 315 would fit on the rears without any spacers.

 

If I recall correctly, anything over 275 front and you start running into potential rubbing issues at full lock. It's completely possible to run 315 square (11" wide wheels all around) and people have done it without spacers, but you sacrifice some steering angle. I have 275s on 9.5 up front and no issues.

But 285s will fit on a 9.5" wheel, if all you're concerned about is that fitment. But as Matthew said, there are far more choices for tires if you stick to 275. As someone running 315 rears...trust me on that. As for the spacer thing, you don't need spacers in the rear as long as the wheel's offset is correct (+50mm).

 

That's a horse of a different color. The OP has 17x9.5 wheels front and rear. Your car would have originally come with 17x8.5 front and 17x9.5 rear. If I'm understanding you correctly, you now have 17x9.5 wheels up front and 17x11 in back? If so, then the following is true:

If your 11" rear wheels have a 50mm offset, then you should be able to run 315/35/17 tires on them without trouble. That was the stock fitment for the rear of the 96 Grand Sport cars. You could fit the 285/40/17 (26.1" tall) tires up front, but they will be a little taller than the 315/35/17 (25.6" tall) in rear. That looks a little funny to have taller tires in front. The better match up front would be 275/40/17, which is the same height as the 315. That was also the stock fitment for the front of the 96 Grand Sport. If you want to move the 285s up front to use them up, it's not going to cause any problems, but then replace them with 275/40 when the time comes. Your biggest challenge will be finding decent 315/35/17 tires, since very few options are available anymore. Your options are probably down to Nitto 555 G2 (bad tires), the Goodyear F1 somethingorother (good but really expensive), or the Mickey Thompson Street Comp (probably what I would choose). This assumes you don't want a competition tire like a Hoosier A7, which you don't unless you aren't going to drive it on the street.

 

Note that the Goodyears are no longer in production, so while they can still be found, they won't be available for much longer. This may contribute to their astronomical price.

As for the M/Ts, some other users on the forum have mentioned they're incredibly slippery to the point of being dangerous when used as road tires and are not recommended unless you're actually going to be doing racing stuff constantly.

Options for 315 is basically just Nitto and Toyo as of 2020, which sucks.

 

The Mickey Street Comp's mentioned are a true street tire, 300 UTQG wear rating, not a race tire. Recently they've moved to the top of my list for a 275/315 combo for my GS wheels over the Nitto G2, based on what I've read about those. My square 17x9.5 setup has 275 Conti ECS. I've sent two emails to Conti urging them to consider adding the 315/35-17 to the ECS lineup.

Link to 315 Mickey Street Comp https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mtt-6278

edit: of course this is referring to summer performance tires, no consideration to all-seasons given

 

I am currently running the Nitto 555 G2 and they are ok for what I use them for. The 285's just seem to not look wide enough for the rims in back. It has the polished A Folds on it and the previous owner had 3 different widths. Hindsight now tells me I should have just gone with 9.5" all around to be able to rotate. The Nitto's only have about 3,000 miles on them. So the Micky Thompson's are actually a street type tire and not too soft? I noticed those when I was looking at the Discount Tire site. Being in Arizona an all season tire is not that big of a concern.

 

Grand Sport owner saying the M/T Street Comps are too slippery to the point of being dangerous when used as a true street tire: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1602433845

 

I can't provide comment on his experience. I was specifically addressing your comment about the Mickey's. This particular model isn't a race tire.

 

Nitto NT05 is offered in a 315 also.

 

I have a 1985 Z51 with the same wheels and tire size. I just bought new tires for it and bought the Continental extreme contact sport. I highly recommend these tires as I have used them on my present and last 4 Vets. They are a little expensive but very worth the money. The combination of ride quality and grip are superior to any others I've used.

 

I was being charitable. If they aren't good for racing, then they aren't actually good for anything at all, it would appear.

 

Oops, you're right. I didn't realize that. That's at least going to be grippier than the 555, but it still sucks compared to even the Continental EC Sport or Michelin PS4, much less other tires that are only 200tw (which are aimed at competition and don't last very long on the street). And it will be a hot mess in the rain.

I took one autocross run in a C4 with the M/T Street Comps once, and they didn't seem that bad. But that's not enough of a data set to draw major conclusions.

There just aren't any good choices left in this size.

 

I am the guy that really dislikes the Mickey Thompson Street Comps.
The following is just my opinion and I have never raced on a track with the MT Street Comps but I do drive extremely aggressive at times. I consider myself a pretty good driver. Way back in the 80's I attended Bondurant driving school, a year ago I drove 8 laps at Las Vegas Speedway in a C6 ZO6, I have run in a few autocross events, I know my way around the dragstrip as well. So I know how to control a car and tires are very very important, but I can't recommend the MT Street Comps.
Comparing the MT Street Comps to the Goodyear GSC tires that were stock on my GrandSport and the Goodyear GSD3 F1 tires that I have currently. I can say that the MT's are not even in the same league as either of the discontinued Goodyear's for dry or wet traction (MT's are also significantly narrower).
Under hard acceleration the Goodyear's are predictable even when they lose grip, you can control the slide.
The MT's lose traction way sooner and in an unpredictable way.
I also lost it in the rain at low speed around a sharp bend, this spun me backwards and into a chain link fence which required a body shop for minor work. I wasn't happy.
Unfortunately when the Goodyear GSD3 F1's need replacing I have no idea what to choose.
Might look for new rims.

 

I just noticed the good reviews on this tire at Summit Racing Equipment...some mention that they used them on C4's too. :-)

 

If you never had good tires on the C4 or you are using worn out tires then the MT Street Comps might feel fine. But once you get use to the available traction good tires (like the Goodyear's) and a tight suspension give you. You will be sorry you installed the MT's!
Originally when the MT's were introduced they were being reviewed by owners with older generation Ford Mustangs. The Mustang guys liked them but the older FOX bodied cars didn't handle all that well from the factory.
But hey this is just my opinion I am sure some of you don't drive as hard as me and won't expect as much from the tires as me!
Just be careful out there.

 

how about 285/40/17 all around?

 

Until I had 6-7 performance driving schools behind me I didnt know jack about tires, or handling and even after 8 yrs of road racing I still dont necessarily have the expertise to understand good and bad tires (other than road noise and straight line rain driving). Ambient temp, road surface, tire temp, air pressure all play into evaluation of tires so unless one is in a controlled environment with an experienced driver I wouldnt make any judgement. If I lost it in the rain Id only be looking at myself as the culprit, not the equipment. I can tell you from many races in the rain that road surface is everything. So unless one ran both tires at the same location, rain, temperature, speed, tire pressure,and slip angle, and fuel load its impossible to make a judgement on tires. I know you will disagree because I can tell by your post but since this is a public comment Im adding in my 2 cents so someone doesnt make a decision based on only your thoughts on the tires.

The streets are no place to test limitations, find a parking lot and use cones if you want to do that. Less chance you will hurt someone or your car. Just watch out for light posts, they can sneak up on you. Calculate your drive time in autocrossing behind the wheel. Will likely be less than 20 minutes. That is why I stopped auto crossing, other than the social aspects it wasnt very good use of my time. Go kart racing was much more beneficial before I moved up to road courses.

 

The Pirelli Formula 1 tire team is in my hotel here in Bahrain. Maybe I can sway them to make some super sick tires for our C's.
Seriously. C4s looking at 315s in the 17 inch rim is much to be desired. I wont get to deep into it.
But, You need to just choose a tire to safely do what you want it to do. Drag racing, get a DR
Autocross, get tires for that. Street driving, we dont have any Awesome tires from High end manufactures like Pirelli, Good Year, Michelin etc in 315!
So, I am just going to get some NT05s. Its cheaper to buy now, get something decent for everyday driving. It wont handle my 396 with gears and stall at all, but they are safer than my BFG Kds from the early 2000s