what is the largest tire that will not rub since 255/r50-16 are not readily available?

 

On my '86, I run 17x9.5s from a '90 with 275/40s with a 1 inch spacer. My originals were 16x8.5. No clearance issues as a daily or in AutoX/tracks. It's not a prefect answer but should give you a little bit of an idea. I would assume most widths that are safe to be installed on the factory rim would work.

What year is the car? I thought the stock wheels were mostly 16x8.5 on 1988 and under or 17x9.5 on 1989 and up. I could be wrong though. There's a ton of sites with contradicting info.

 

I don't really understand the question. Are you talking diameter or section width? Also, what size of tire do you have in mind? There really isn't much in a wider tire for a 16 that's anywhere close the correct diameter. OTOH, the taller tires are a lot taller, and they are not performance oriented by any means. So clue us in to what you're contemplating, and we can discuss it.

I've posted many times on here that the Toyo Proxes RA1 is available in 255/50/16. While ostensibly a track tire, it's not a super-hard-core one, so it will hold up for some street miles. And it has legit tread at 8/32" and is good in the rain, the point that some racers use it as a rain tire (because it's honestly not a very fast dry tire these days). I would recommend it for any early C4 owner who isn't putting 15k miles on his car every year. Also, you can safely mount 245/50/16 on either 16x8.5 or 16x9.5. It's just that tire manufacturers don't recommend a 9.5" rim width for that size tire, but you can still do it.

Tyler, from 84-87, the base C4s all had 16x8.5. The first Z51s had 9.5 in back, and then from 85-87 they had 9.5 front and rear. I don't think they sold tons of Z51s in the early years because they had a reputation of having a way-too-stiff ride, so most early C4s have 8.5s.

 

Gotcha, makes sense that the Z51s had the 9.5s. That'll probably prevent a lot of confusion on my part from now on.

 

I am wanting to stick with my 16x9.5. It is a 30,000 mile car with the original Gatorbacks that I will keep on it until after I get it Top Flight Judged. You loose all the points for different size and different brand. I dont want to invest in 17" and spacers. I was looking for something in a size that is readily available without breaking the bank. It seems like 245/50 is the most economical route. I dont drive hard and only drive my vettes to local cruise-ins ( less than 100 miles/month) so my tires will age way before they wear out. I put $68 Phantoms on my 73 and I guess I will go with $95 Falkens on my 1985.

 

I just put on FALKEN ZIEX ZE960 A/S 245/50-R16 from Discount tire on my 1986 and they fit and drive well. They are all season and beat the summer tires that I tried that break down in the winter. About $650 including mounting. Using my stock wheels.

 

I just bought those same tires just under $500 mounted and balanced. The only thing I found cheaper that size was the ZE950 but I was afraid of how old they would be since they have been out of production for a while. Thanks!