allen624

Got my new tires installed today and I wanted to share my experience going as wide as I could in the back on stock wheels.

I am in LOVE! I had a new set of Falken Azenis RT615K+ installed today on my 2003 Z06 Corvette. My car is at stock ride height and has stock wheels. Below are the sizes I choose after weeks of research on the forum:

Fronts: 255/40/17
Rears: 315/30/18

These are the tire sizes that should have come from the factory, they fit absolutely perfect! No rubbing issues at all in the rear, I have 1/2 inch clearance from the inside fender well and brake cooling duct.

I went with the 255 in the front to keep the front tire diameter shorter than the rear since I went with the 30 series rear tire. In this configuration the front tire is 0.5 inches shorter than the rear. I am happy to report no issues with the traction control in this configuration.

My previous tires were the Bridgestones Potenza RE760 in the stock Z06 sizes. The new rears are 1 inch wider.



Let me tell you, the Falken's make my corvette feel like an entirely different machine. I couldn't get grip with the Bridgstones beyond 1/2 throttle in first and second. The handling is absolutely amazing as well, huge improvement!

After I got the new tires installed, I did a launch today at 2500 rpm, traction control off, and the tires didn't even chirp. They just gripped and launched! It literally feels like I added 30hp to the car due to the increased traction off the line.

Lets talk about the speedometer readings with the new tires with a smaller diameter than stock. On my way to get new tires today, I tracked my speed with GPS. At 75 mph with stock tire sizes my GPS speed was actually 77. After installing the new set of tires in the sizes above with the smaller diameter, my speedometer was actually more accurate, reading exactly the same reading as my GPS. Both showing 75 mph on the dot.

Below are some pics:

Front 255/40/17





Rear 315/30/18





Absolutely no tire bulge. They fit the 10.5 inch wheels perfectly!

02BlownZ06

Those look fantastic! How is road noise?

allen624

Less road noise than my previous Bridgestones.

Excessv

Do you have a rear shot to see how wide they look on the ground?

allen624

Sorry, I don't have a rear shot yet. The next time I have the car outside I will get a good shot from the back.

02BlownZ06

Nice! I had a similar experience replacing some old firestones on my ride with Hankooks. The traction was night and day, spinning through 3 gears to hardly any spin at all, just a little power shifting from first to second. It makes a huge difference and is a lot safer than any tires 5+ years old.

silverbird

WOW....Nice!
Looking forward to seeing some full side view and 3/4 view photos of these mounted on your car.
Silverbird

nickb45502

I have the same tires only in 275/35/18 front and 315/30/18 rear. I only use them for autocross. No probs with the AH/TC.
They are 200 TW...I would be interested to find out how long they last you.

allen624

Nice!

I only drive her around 3,000 miles a year, so I'm looking forward to many years with these tires. Hopefully 10,000 - 12,000 miles of life but we shall see!

professorjim

Are your 18's a 10.5 width?
I am considering going to a square setup with 18's for autocrossing but they are C5 wheels which are only 9.5 I believe.
Thanks for your response.

allen624

Yes they are 10.5 inch wide. Unfortunatly the 315/30/18 tires are too wide for the 9.5 inch wheel.

02BlownZ06

Not to change the subject, but what percentage tint do you have on side windows? That is one nice lookin' red Z!

allen624

Thank you very much!! Tint is 15%.

its not my daily driver so I went as dark as I could without it being limo tint. I love the look!

02BlownZ06

I thought it looked darker. I have 20% on mine and in same boat as you. Looks sweet. Love it that dark

zeevette

I'm surprised 315s fit so well on a 10.5" rim. They look great!

04silverZ06

Just goes to show it depends on the manufacturer. When I had Toyo 888's in 305 size they were wider than those.

These sure do look great though!

nickb45502

9.5 wide fronts and 10.5 rear. Have to have those widths for AS.

professorjim

I'm BS (base C5) but the same rules would apply so I thank you your response.

Quickshift_C5

Yeah, those have to the narrowest 315's I've ever seen! They fit and look like a 295...

i have the 305 Toyo R888's on my OEM 10.5 Z wheel and they are so wide the bulge out from the wheel a bit.

zeevette

Too bad they don't make them in 19s.