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Tire Size C4?

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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 04:13 PM
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Default Tire Size C4?

Hi, I, have 92 contv. getting new tires, possibly tomorrow, have a price of $856.00, for the Firehawks, out the door tax incld., for 285/40/17, I, can get the 275's about $100.00 less, suggestions? should I, put a little bigger tire or go with the 275's, pro/cons. I, bought this car with 23,000 org miles & org tires, car was well taken care of. Being that the car is 11 yrs old, is should I, look to change plugs ,wires etc? Just bought the car for a daily driver, nor running it hard,simple mods for better performance? Thanks, Jim
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 04:21 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

Welcome to the forum.

Did you check out http://www.tirerack.com for tire pricing? Firehawks are supposedly good tires though, but I got my G-force KDS's for about the same price from tirerack. But it sounds like a good price for the 285's

Also, take it from me, if you have a low mile '92 you're most likely going to have Optispark and waterpump problems. Keep an eye on any coolant leaks, and you probably want to check your weep hole under your water pump.
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 04:23 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

Do the 275s all around. I did on my 86 and couldnt be happier.

You could do 275 in front and 285 in rear, but with it being a daily, you wouldnt notice the handling difference from having 2 sizes front and rear, especially with them being so close in size and you wouldnt really need the extra traction of 285s in the rear.
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 04:31 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (vvv90)

thanks, I, made a post about my car stalling, sometimes at 60 mph it has just shut off, the tech said, it didn't throw a code, most times when it does it it starts right back up, any ideas? optispark? Icm,ecm.?
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 05:24 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

I got the 285's on all corners and I take the car to the road course as much as I can.......Simply Amazing. If its not a SUV, go Firestone. In the end, you'll think the extra $100 was worth it.

Make sure you have the 9.5" rims on all four corners.
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 05:49 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

Opti is hard to troubleshoot. But I guarantee you WILL have to replace the opti and waterpump at some time.

I would start with the basics, (you'll want to do anyway) Plugs, wires, Fuel filter, clean Throttlebody (not that that's causing your stalling) but I would think if it was your ecm you'd be throwing codes.

Also, what condition is the battery in? Just curious.

If you're at all interested in replacing the opti and waterpump to make it a top notch reliable daily driver, IM me your email address and I'll send you my opti replacement guide. That will give you an idea of what's involved. It's daunting, but can be done in a weekend.
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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 10:30 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

275 is stock. It is also prefered. That size is the correct size for the rim. In '93 they went to 8.5 front and 9.5 rear with 255 and 285 tires. They did this to stop the car tracking truck ruts as much. But it hurt the handling. The 285 puckers a little on the rim but has an identical overall diameter to the 255 so that was why they swapped to it. But on the Z07 cars '93 and up they kept the 275 because it handled better. Stick with the 275. If you want bigger, do what I did and get 11" rear rims with 315s. My rims were $700 on ebay from the maker. They were blems and had 1/8" scratches. I added my own scratches within the first 1,000 miles so I saved $900 vs. getting the cosmetic perfect ones. They are lighter and will allow C5 brakes also. Check http://www.tirerack.com for complete tire info.

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Old Sep 5, 2003 | 10:50 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (harley2)

I put 275 Firehawks on my car when I got it, the tread on them was a good bit narrower then the stock 275 Goodyears, diameter was the same I guess, didn't pay much attention to that. I think either should work fine for you as long as your rims are all the same size. For the $100 difference in price, I doubt you'd notice the difference in tread width in normal driving. Autocrossing may be different.
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Old Sep 6, 2003 | 11:37 AM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (shotchkiss)

285s may look a little 'beefier' on the rear. Either way the sidewall is bigger than the 275s so theres more of a softer ride if you keep the air pressures fairly moderate. thats why the 285 is standard on the 93s (w/base suspension).

:cheers:
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Old Sep 8, 2003 | 12:16 PM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (DieL)

285's have only 6.5 mm of tread and 1.75 mm of sidewall over 275's by my calculation. I don't know if it's really noticeable, but if it's not that much more expensive, get the bigger tire. :cheers:
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Old Sep 13, 2003 | 01:05 AM
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Default Re: Tire Size C4? (vvv90)

Uh, they are 285mm wide? This is 10 mm more than a 275 tire? This is about half an inch. The angle of the sidewall is slightly different, so the tires slosh side to side on them a little more, basically rolling sideways. This is what hurts the handling.
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