Sinister-one

Okay, I finally got my new C6 Z06 style wheels in 9.5 fronts and 10.5 rears... I purchases from another member some OEM C5 Z06 sized tires, 265 40 17's and 295 35 18's.

Well guess what, both front and reartires look like they're to small for the rims !! The tires look like they're bulging out to meet the wheel edge. They look like balloons !!

I may need to just find another set of tires !

I know the fronts will be 275-40-17's and the rears WILL have to be at least 315's (if I can find any street tires in that size).....


Okay my rant is done !


Anyone else come across this same problem ??

Dope

Yes, it's really annoying. A lot of it depends on the brand of tire to be honest though. The goodyears that come with the Z06 look just about right, IMO. The fronts are easy enough, you can easily find 275/40/17 or even 285/40/17 without any trouble. The rears are tougher though. There are a few 305/35/18s or 315/35/18s, but they are mainly (only?) racing-type tires. You can get 315/30/18 I believe but they are a little too short. 335/30/18 would be a good height but now you have the opposite problem, they're gonna be too wide for the wheel and will bulge the other way. It's a tough call. I just went aftermarket instead. Get at least an 18x11 or 11.5 and put 335/30/18s on it and call it a day

Dope

SteveDoten

I suspect the wheels are diff widths

what brand tires

another topic, those show wheels are most likely 4#'s/wheel heavier and made in china

Sinister-one

I went with Firestone Firehawks...... I figured you couldn't go wrong with OEM tire sizes.... WRONG !!

AverageVetteNut

I got Firestone wide ovals on the OEM Z wheels and while they don't look as good as teh OEM gooyears, they are a good tire and don't look all that bad. They DO look skinnier than the OEM tires.

But I use the wheels just to get me to the events and back, so I dont' care about the looks as much.

that negative bulge you see is really due to the curb guard those have. I don't think it's that bad.

Sinister-one

I understand about the curb guards..... but I still think they look like they are too skinny for the wheels.....

As much as I hate to, maybe I should look at the goodyears...

Wicked C5

A 295 is the correct size for a 18x10.5.

540 vette

I just went thru the same thing.

Sinister-one

From the way the tire looks on the wheel.... the 295 looks a little skinny for that size wheel.



So what did you do ? Change tire size ??

Wicked C5

Hard to argue with a car that pulled 1.0g's from the factory. The 265 on the front you can do a 275.

Most people do a which is fine on the stock Z06 wheels.

275/35/18 front
305/30/18 rear

Sinister-one

The problem with that size, is no one makes it in a "street tire". All of them are "competition" tires.

Sinister-one

Just looked at some pics of OE goodyears on Z wheels.... they do have a more boxier look than my balloon looking firehawks...

punz

I know the fronts will be 275-40-17's and the rears WILL have to be at least 315's (if I can find any street tires in that size).....


Tire rack, michelin ps2

striper

Despite the appearance the Firestones will outperform the Goodyears.

RBRBRNR

I know I should've checked Tirerack to make sure, but I believe that 315/30/18's are an exact match with a 25.7 inch diameter. That's the same as the 275/40/17's in front. I've been looking at these sizes as well and will go with Hankook's in the rear.

TEXHAWK0

All the Firestone tires I have seen on Z06s have looked like they did not fit the rim, and I have tried to warn people so they do not get surprised.

I would still stay with the stock Goodyear SC tires on a Z06.

TurboBerserker

Here is some tire size info from a resource I found when trying to find 335 or 345s for 20" rims for my truck. I'm not sure I can post the site -- I know they are not sponsors, but a sponsor can get these sizes.

Brand -- Model -- Size
Kumho -- Ecsta SPT -- 295/30R18
Falken -- FK 452 -- 295/30/R18
Pirelli -- PZero System Asimmetrico -- 295/30ZR18
Pirelli -- PZero Rosso Asimmetrico -- 295/30ZR18
Yokohama -- AVS Sport -- 295/30ZR18
Michelin -- Pilot Sport PS2 -- 295/30/XL18
Michelin -- Pilot Sport PS2 -- 295/35/XL18
Yokohama --Advan Neova -- 295/30/R18
Yokohama -- Advan Sport -- 295/30ZR18
Yokohama -- Advan Sport -- 295/35ZR18
Nitto -- NT 555R -- 305/35ZR18
Nitto -- NT 555R -- 305/45ZR18
Michelin -- Pilot Sport PS2 -- 315/30/XL18
Pirelli -- PZero Rosso Asimmetrico -- 315/30ZR18
Yokohama -- Advan Sport -- 315/30ZR18
Falken -- RT615 -- 315/30R18
Michelin -- Pilot Sport PS2 -- 335/30/XL18
Nitto -- NT 555R -- 335/30ZR18
Pirelli -- PZero System Asimmetrico -- 335/30ZR18
Pirelli -- PZero Rosso Asimmetrico -- 335/30ZR18

The 335 series tire is about 13.5" wide on a 12 inch wheel. Most of the manu's want at least an 11" wheel for 335s.

To give you an idea of the width, here are some Michelin PS2 335/30 ZR20s on a Silverado SS:


It has not been tubbed and is running rear leafs in the stock position. The tires clear the leafs by about .5" and as you can see, the stick out the tiniest bit (that pic is up in the air, but close enough to see). I can't image these will fit on a C5 without mini-tubs, but seems like people are posting they do?

Sinister-one

At $458 bucks a piece.... I don't think so !!!

Sinister-one

Looks like I'll be selling all the Firehawks and going wih a different brand of tires.

Looks like Hankook's will be on the rear.

Anyone want to buy a set of barely used Firehawks ?? They'll be in the For Sale section here pretty quick.

Dope

315/30/18 might be an exact match for the front tires, but they are short compared to the stock rear tires. C5s/C6s(?) have staggered tire sizes, both in width and in height. Stock rear on a C5 is 275/40/18 which is a 26.7" tall tire. C6 Z06 295/35/18 is 26.1" (but also has a 25.4" front tire). Running a 315/30/18 is another half-inch shorter at 25.7" as you mentioned. It all depends if you're willing to risk problems with your active handling/ABS due to having the same height tires front and rear. I'm not sure if that whole issue ever got sorted out, but I've always heard that the rear tires should be at least somewhat taller than the fronts to avoid problems.

If you ran a 315/30/18 (25.7") rear and wanted a slightly shorter front, a 265/40/17 (25.4") like the Z06 would be a good idea. But then you run right back into the issue with the tire looking too skinny. Plus, with a shorter rear tire than normal, it won't fill out the wheel well as nicely and/or make it look like you need to lower the car again. Yes, very annoying. No easy answer.

Edit: I just realized, 315/30/18 is 25.7" but only for the Hankook. If you look at the Kumhos or the Michelins, they are only 25.5" tall, which would actually make the rear tires shorter than the fronts. Hankook doesn't sell an appropriately-sized front tire for 17x9.5 either. If you got the Michelin PS2s you could go 265/40/17 (25.3") and 315/30/18 (25.5") but they cost ~$1500 for the set. I don't see any other brands that you can get matching front/rear tires in the right sizes.

One of the things I like about my Camaro, it runs 275/40/17 front and rear. No problems. If I wanted to switch to a larger rear tire on a 17x11, I'd run a 315/35/17 which is the exact same height. Easy decisions

Dope