Yesterday, something in the road irreparably damaged my right rear Firestone Wide Oval and cut a nice gouge into the rear corner panel as well. Since I'll be making an insurance claim to get the damage repaired, I thought maybe I should pay a little extra and upgrade my rear wheels to a pair of 19s, while keeping my front 17s because the tires are practically new with 80% tread left (fronts are 265/40/17s). Incidentally, I had the road hazard protection from TireRack but it expired on 11-10-10!

Anyway, I have a Diablo programmer and I know that one of it's features allows me to set different tire sizes so the active handling system doesn't get confused.

So here are my series of potentially dumb questions:

1 - Is $295 per wheel the best price for the 19" chrome C5 ZO6 rim?

2 - Will the 19 x 11s fit without trouble or should I opt for the 19 x 10s instead?

3 - What size tires do you guys recommend for the rear 19s?

4 - Since my front tires are the Firestone Wide Ovals, do the rears also have to be the Wide Ovals or can I go with a different tire maker if the Wide Ovals don't come in the size you recommend?

5 - Will having 19s in the rear and 17s in the front cause any type of handling problems?


6 - Should I just get another 18" tire and lower the car instead to save the headache?

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys give me!

 

It's likely that you will find a combo that works with the rear being 2" taller, but if you can, find a rear tire that's between .5" and 1.25" taller than your present fronts, and you should be OK. You might have to go to an aspect ratio of 25, for it to work, and it'll look like a rubber band, but it will function. I'd wait until I could buy an 18/19 combo, personally, because I hate the look of too little sidewall. I don't know how much flexibility the Wide Ovals sizes are, but lots of guys mix and match front/rear tires.

 

Thanks - I've heard that the side wall height difference throws off the active handling, but I wonder whether the Diablo will alleviate that problem since it allows me to set different tire sizes between rear and front. And I agree, the whole point of me getting the bigger rear wheels is to slap some meat on there.

 

I went up from the OEM setup to:F:275/35/18X9.5 and R:295/30/19X10.5 with no probs.I'm not sure about the 17/19 setup you mention.

I never liked running diff rubber front/rear unless the sidewall and UTOG were close and made by the same company.I'm pretty sure I would not mix two diff mfg tires...but thats just me.

Looking fwd to putting on my Vreds this week.

\db2
carolina

 

Call me wierd, but I have wide ovals on the front and a second set of BFG G force KDW on the back. Biggest thing I notice is the firestones follow every line within a mile of the car. Tramlining on them SUCKS!!!

That said, as soon as the budget allows I will likely go to the KDW all around.....


Ed