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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 12:23 PM
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Default tire/wheel questions

I'm in the planning stages of a tire/wheel change this winter. The wheels will be 18/19" with the front being 9.5"/+54mm and the rear 10.5"/+58mm. Essentially, stock Z06 widths/offsets but in larger diameter wheels. If I've calculated correctly, the wheel weights will be very close to oem which is my goal.

Tires will be either MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport or MICHELIN Pilot Sport PS2. I'm trying to maintain at least a .05" difference between front/rear tires for the traction control. If I remember correctly, oem Z06 tires are .08" difference front/rear.

The sizes will be either 265/35x18" and 295/30x19" (MICHELIN doesn't make 295/35x19") w/ .07" difference or 275/35x18" and 305/30x19" w/ .06" difference (I think I have the differences correct). Does anyone see any issues with either combination? Other than appearance, any benefits of one over the other?

I don't want the tires sticking out beyond the fenders, rubbing on the inner fenders, traction control problems, having to remove rear brake ducts, etc. I don't want to use adapters or spacers. The car is already lowered 5/8" and 3/4" and I have no plans to go lower. Any issues there foreseen?

Thanks.

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 23, 2011 at 02:25 PM.
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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 04:08 PM
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Here is a nice wheel/tire sizer that allows you to enter wheels/tires for comparisons. Toque has a nice thread on wheel/tire sizing.
http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...ah-issues.html

Last edited by johnpowe; Oct 23, 2011 at 04:13 PM. Reason: added thread loc
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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 04:14 PM
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Thanks. I used this calculator to get the specs for the tire sizes above. I think both F/R sizes are commonly used, just want to make sure I don't run into unforeseen issues that the calculator can't account for...

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 09:59 PM
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I thought you wanted .5" and not .05"?
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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 11:11 PM
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I have 305/30/19 19x11.5 and 275/30/19 19x10 ccw 505a's on #1732.... Fitment is perfect!
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 11:38 AM
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Originally Posted by chevylad
I thought you wanted .5" and not .05"?
You're right. I just learned fractions, now it's damn metric math.

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 24, 2011 at 01:48 PM.
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 01:49 PM
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I made my choice with the advice of the wheel manufacturers rep...

CCW SP500 @ 23.9#

305/30-19" on 19x11" and 265/35-18" on 18x10" Y rated MICHELIN Super Sport

Front 26.2" diameter and 25.3" is a .9" difference

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 24, 2011 at 01:52 PM.
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 03:53 PM
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0.9" in delta tire size equates to nearly 3 inches of delta tire travel distance, with each tire revolution.

Are you sure that the ABS and Traction Control systems will tolerate that amount of differential?
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Quicksilver Vert 01
0.9" in delta tire size equates to nearly 3 inches of delta tire travel distance, with each tire revolution.

Are you sure that the ABS and Traction Control systems will tolerate that amount of differential?
It's +.1" difference in diameter and +.3" difference in circumference, if I computed it correctly.

Is the critical measurement for ABS and Traction Control based on the diameter difference front/rear?
Or is it the circumference difference front/rear?

I figured erring on the plus side of the oem diameter difference between front/rear would be better than lesser difference. Am I incorrect?

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I've read here to use no less than .5" difference between front/rear tires (assuming diameter) for the ABS and Traction Control.

The oem sizes for a Z06 are:
265/40-17”@ 25.3” diameter, 79.6” circumference
295/35-18”@ 26.1” diameter, 82.1” circumference
.8” difference in diameter
2.5” difference in circumference

The upgraded sizes I've chosen are:
265/35-18”@ 25.3” diameter, 79.5” circumference
305/30-19”@ 26.2” diameter, 82.3” circumference
.9” difference in diameter
2.8” difference in circumference

For what it's worth, CCW said they typically see:
275/35-18” @ 25.6” diameter, 80.4” circumference
305/30-19” @ 26.2” diameter, 82.3” circumference
.6” difference in diameter
1.9” difference in circumference

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 24, 2011 at 07:23 PM.
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Old Oct 25, 2011 | 08:32 AM
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Originally Posted by hotwheels57
It's +.1" difference in diameter and +.3" difference in circumference, if I computed it correctly.

Is the critical measurement for ABS and Traction Control based on the diameter difference front/rear?
Or is it the circumference difference front/rear?
OK that's better! .1" difference in F/R diameter is about as close as you can possibly get. You got me scared in post #8, where I saw .9" of F/R difference, in the last line of your post.

I've always thought the critical measurement for ABS and Traction Control is expressed as F/R tire diameter difference, and not total circumference difference.

You should be fine with your choice of tire sizes.
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Old Oct 25, 2011 | 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Quicksilver Vert 01
OK that's better! .1" difference in F/R diameter is about as close as you can possibly get. You got me scared in post #8, where I saw .9" of F/R difference, in the last line of your post.

I've always thought the critical measurement for ABS and Traction Control is expressed as F/R tire diameter difference, and not total circumference difference.

You should be fine with your choice of tire sizes.
Diameter is also what I thought was critical, but I wasn't certain.

The difference between the oem front/rear tires/wheels of a Z06 is .8" (R/26.1"-F/25.3"). The difference between the upgraded tires/wheels I've chosen is .9" (R/26.2-F/25.3"). That's the +.1" difference.

The new front tires are the same diameter as the oem. The new rear tires are +.1" different than the oem.

The alternate front 275/35-18" tires that CCW said is popular would present a +.6" difference between front/rear (F/26.2-R/25.6"). That's less than the oem front/rear tire difference. I thought that was cutting it to close to the suggested (?) no less than .5" difference front/rear.

Just to relieve my mind, I just confirmed with CCW that the tire combination I've chosen is within the limits of the ABS and TC systems. Dan said should there be any issues, just to call them. They'd take care of any problem. That says so much about CCW and their commitment to having satisfied customers.

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 25, 2011 at 12:05 PM.
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Old Oct 25, 2011 | 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by hotwheels57
Just to relieve my mind, I just confirmed with CCW that the tire combination I've chosen is within the limits of the ABS and TC systems. Dan said should there be any issues, just to call them. They'd take care of any problem. That says so much about CCW and their commitment to having satisfied customers.
Customer service like that is hard to find.
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Old Oct 27, 2011 | 11:53 AM
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The wheels/tires were ordered on 10/24. They said to expect them in two weeks. The wheels had to be manufactured and the tires ordered from another source. The five boxes were shipped on 10/27. They should be delivered on 11/1. When I started my research, I was expecting having to wait for months.

That's amazing customer service.

Last edited by hotwheels57; Oct 27, 2011 at 01:38 PM.
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