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Making some changes to my newly acquired 1998 Corvette and looking to get a new set of gloss black wheels & tires as I am not the biggest fan of the current chrome on the car (I am blacking everything out). I very much like the wider stanced look and was wondering if there were any issues to be aware of when going wider and looking for any suggestions as to how wide to go (front and back) as I am new to this. Current wheel size is 17x8.5 & 18x9.5. Also, would wider wheels bring the wheels wider than the body, or would I still need spacers to do something like that? And if anyone has any suggestions as to wheel & tire brands to stick with that would be great (car is my daily driver & not being raced)!
I hope this info helps: I worked directly with the sales rep at my local Discount Tire. He was very familiar with C5 Corvettes and all wheel / tire applications for them.
He also had an app on his computer that gave him the offsets etc, and a table too that showed how much wider the tire / wheel combo would be relative to the stock combo. I was adamant that I didn't want a lot of tire sticking out from the wheel wells.
My wheels are TSW Nurburbrings, and I went with 18 X 9.5 in the front, and 19 X 10.5 in the rear. They do not extend past the top of the wheel well. I also looked at photos of 19 front and 20 rear wheels, but the look was a little too extreme for me.
My tires are Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06's. They are quiet and handle well in dry or wet.
I did not notice any degrading of the ride with the larger wheels / tires.
I included the photo of the front of the car so you can get an idea where the tire extends relative to the fender well.
Some good thoughts and photos of different wheel/tire combinations and how the different sizes look within the wheel well.
I will echo Shark's comments about Discount Tire. I've used them for years and had great success and excellent customer service from them.
Some good thoughts and photos of different wheel/tire combinations and how the different sizes look within the wheel well.
I will echo Shark's comments about Discount Tire. I've used them for years and had great success and excellent customer service from them.
I have used Discount Tire for all of my cars over the years. I used Tire Rack for myC5 since they had aftermarket C6 GS wheels with the proper offset ( no spacers) for the C5. Ask for Luke at the Tire Rack
Wheel size: 18 x 9.5
Offset: +40mm
Tire Size: 275/35/18
Back Spacing: 6.82" (173.35mm)
Rear:
Wheel size: 19 x 12
Offset: +59mm
Tire Size: 325/30/19
Back Spacing: 8.82" (224.09mm)
I'm lucky with no rubbing but it is a TIGHT fit. I'm running stock sized rubber for that 09 as well. Michelin pilot super sports. I'm told by some others that they have needed spacers in some cases. It fills the well and is about even with the fender in rear. No issues up front at all.
Has anyone had any experience with XO Luxury Wheels & AudioCity Wheels & Tires? They are significantly less money than everywhere else online.
Also, will moving to 19 Fronts & 20 Rears cause rubbing (as its +2 inches over the current wheels), or is there no way to tell before actually putting them on?
Has anyone had any experience with XO Luxury Wheels & AudioCity Wheels & Tires? They are significantly less money than everywhere else online.
Also, will moving to 19 Fronts & 20 Rears cause rubbing (as its +2 inches over the current wheels), or is there no way to tell before actually putting them on?
A 20/19 combo the tire will not rub unless you have incorrect offsets/backspacing on your wheels or too large a tire.
Some times a wheel depending on how wide it is will hit your sway bar in front at full lock, and in the rear with lowering bolts the wheel hits the edge of the leaf spring.
If you know what you want post the wheel specs & tire sizes & someone will tell you if it works.
I have 19X10.5, 285/30
20X 13, 345/25 tubbed, no issues.
Cheap wheels usually means from China, and heavy. You get what you pay for! Also...if you think you might want to upgrade to BIG brakes in the future, you need wheels built with that in mind. You can’t MAKE them fit later.
frank
Originally Posted by vfortino
Has anyone had any experience with XO Luxury Wheels & AudioCity Wheels & Tires? They are significantly less money than everywhere else online.
Also, will moving to 19 Fronts & 20 Rears cause rubbing (as its +2 inches over the current wheels), or is there no way to tell before actually putting them on?
Has anyone had any experience with XO Luxury Wheels & AudioCity Wheels & Tires? They are significantly less money than everywhere else online.
Also, will moving to 19 Fronts & 20 Rears cause rubbing (as its +2 inches over the current wheels), or is there no way to tell before actually putting them on?
I just checked both of those places and they seem to be much higher for wheels I’ve seen elsewhere. Not try to be a wise guy, just my observation.
I hope this info helps: I worked directly with the sales rep at my local Discount Tire. He was very familiar with C5 Corvettes and all wheel / tire applications for them.
He also had an app on his computer that gave him the offsets etc, and a table too that showed how much wider the tire / wheel combo would be relative to the stock combo. I was adamant that I didn't want a lot of tire sticking out from the wheel wells.
My wheels are TSW Nurburbrings, and I went with 18 X 9.5 in the front, and 19 X 10.5 in the rear. They do not extend past the top of the wheel well. I also looked at photos of 19 front and 20 rear wheels, but the look was a little too extreme for me.
My tires are Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06's. They are quiet and handle well in dry or wet.
I did not notice any degrading of the ride with the larger wheels / tires.
I included the photo of the front of the car so you can get an idea where the tire extends relative to the fender well.
Shark, I have a pewter car as well and was curious about the look of those rims, and your pix answer my question. Looks great. What size tires you running?
I have 18x11's on all four corners with same offset and 295/35 michelin PSS's...11.1" of contact patch on each corner. Equal rubber for equal weight distribution...car has never handled better. Used to have a HUGELY misconfigured staggered setup and the car pushed horribly...275's up front and 345's out back...worst the car ever felt and turned in like mush. Don't follow the hype.
I have 18x11's on all four corners with same offset and 295/35 michelin PSS's...11.1" of contact patch on each corner. Equal rubber for equal weight distribution...car has never handled better. Used to have a HUGELY misconfigured staggered setup and the car pushed horribly...275's up front and 345's out back...worst the car ever felt and turned in like mush. Don't follow the hype.
Do you have any pictures of that setup?
What offset/backspacing did you use?
Do the wheels protrude from the sides of the car at all?
I've been wondering about using a non-staggered setup for track days.
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Wider Wheels?
