Hi i'm just tryin to get some advice on what size wheel and tire to go with....I have a 92 RED RS lowered with eibach sportline kit...i'm pretty sure i want the polished z06 wheels but not positive. Do you think i should go w/ 17's or 18's or please recommend another wheel if you wish too...THANK YOU

 

it depends on what u want , u want more show and better handling get the 18's. If u would rather go fast in a straigt line i think the 17's would be better, i know they make quite a few drag tires for 17's but i dont know about 18's. U could always go with 17's up front and 18's on the back . thats what i would do , but 18's are gonna give u less straiggt line traction b/c of the decreased sidewall size.

 

all a myth nowdays...the biggest reason to stay small is price and weight. the 18" knockoffs are heavy...you'll also need adapters and your tires are going to be expensive. bfg make a perfect drag radial for the 10.5" rear and it hooks great so straight line isn't a consideration anymore.

i say do 18x9.5 front and 18x10.5 rear if you can afford it and go chrome....i have yet to see polished though. if you do go 18" i have a set of adapters that will work perfect with the 9.5's in the front so they tuck nicely, let me know..

here is a pic of my old 18's. don't go with a 17/18 as it looks funny on thirdgens pick one size....you can go different widths though.

 

fronts up close..

 

Go 18", I already wish I had bigger;


Mine are 18x9.5, Camaro05 is selling his set which are EXACTLY the same as mine (brand, size, etc).

 

I got 17's on my car right now.....

Can't stand it.....selling them to get some 18's.....

17's are a good improvement, 18's are a great improvement......

 

i say 18's.

the car on the left (Roy's from 3rd gen resource) has 17's, and the car on the right is Jeff's (Kandied91z), and he has 18's.

its not much, but 1 inch IMO gives a car a more aggresive look.

 

What about rubbing....if i take a tight turn at about 65 i can hear light rubbing in the wheel wells. Also i can hear just a touch of rubbing if i cut the wheels all the way either way. Is that going to get a lot worse with the 18's will i have to do any modifications. By the way....right now i'm running 245 50zr16's

 

depends on so many factors. for one your offset of the rim and tire selection will make a huge factor as well as your cars height. assuming you go with the proper offset and right wheel tire combo you should have no problems. i didn't have any with my custom adapters and proper tire. my new 18's don't either.

 

I would really appreciate if u gave me the setup u were running when u had ur 18" zo6 wheels. Like tire and rim sizes and height of car. Also did u buy adapters or have them made, and to what specs?
thanks a lot, you've helped me a ton

 

my wheels were oem cast from a company called oem concepts the only ones to cast the actual gm wheel. the front 18.95 was a 65+ offset. i needed between a 2 1/4 -2.5" adapter that i purchased from skulte performance. i later had to have them machined to the closest amount so they were in the wheel wells.

the rears were a 58+ 10.5 18" and a 2" adapter worked well, could have shaved a bit off that as well.

i ran 275/35/18 front and 295/35/18 rear with toyos.

i paid roughly 350 for the adapters and it cost me almost 200 to machine the fronts to fit the wheels perfect.

i sold the rear adapters, i'm asking 150 for the fronts just to get rid of them. i loved the wheels but didn't like how they looked on my car.

 

i have been planning on getting Z06 wheels for my convertible but don't know if i want 17's or 18's, car is lowered about an inch up front and 1.5 in the back so it sits level, i would rather have the 18's and would put the stock springs back in if i had to but am not thrilled about the idea of having to machine the wheel adapters because i don't want a big hassle, at the same time, how easily did the 18's rub? and did they stick out of the wheel wells at all? i think the car being lowered with 17's might look better then 18s with stock springs...?

 

not a myth, sidewall construction and size have a substantual effect on performance.

what exactly are you looking for from these wheels? if you want are after the best performance, PM me, we will talk about sizing and how sidewalls, widths ect effect handling and grip. if we got into it in this forum this thread will get locked, people spent alot of money and think they are right will get their pride hurt and start a flame war ect. or you can move it into the suspension board and ask about performance.

if you are going for which looks better, 18's

 

speaking of 17" or 18"..can someone please post a side shot of a 17/18 combo??? i know i want 18's on the back but i think 18's on the front look too big.

 

do a search for a certain members ride with 00 skinny 5 star vette wheels. i wish i could find the picture but the 17/18 combo when rolling looks rediculous on our cars in my opinion but can be alot cheaper. our cars were designed with equal height tires/rims in mind. know your budget, pick your style and go for it!

it is true that the z06's look a little larger in the front with the 18's but it's because of the design of the rim...not all 18's look that way. my 18's look smaller now then my 18" z06 wheels did because they have a deep dish effect.

Dewey316, you have got to be kidding me. everyone is entitled to their opinon, but your something else... everywhere i post you have some negative thing to put in the thread and money is always thrown into the situation. why don't you just admit your jealous and be done with it. although i'm sure none of which was referenced to me, i hope we run into each other some day!!


half of you guys out there are building street cars. if you were truly worried about the technical aspects of building a race car you wouldn't be here. most just want to know if it's really going to effect your cars performance on the street with such decisions and i'm sure you don't want to do something that will be a mistake...we've all been there at one time or another. if your deciding between the 17 or 18 cast z06 obviously the 18" will be heavier. more rotating mass obviously slows you down. anyone that tells you 18" wheels won't handle good on the street or there aren't tire options that will allow a quick accel doesn't know any better. but don't listen to me....afterall it's not like i've actually had the different options on my car to talk about it.

 

here is his car...sorry for not having the pic. i'm sure he doesn't mind me showing it though...these wheels also look very nice!

 

With a face mounted design such as the Z06 I would go 18s, with a deep dished rim I would go 17s. I would just go with 17s to save money on the rubber. I don't do burnouts, peelouts, or donuts, which I imagine you would do so doing that with 18s will cost you alot more than for 17s.


If the car was for show purposes, Id go with the larger rims, for street, a 17s are perfect.

 

there is alot more to consider just like devianb is stating. beyond the cost factor and wether or not it will have any effect on your cars performance are real world issues to deal with.

17" tires are much more common now days so the prices have dropped dramatically over the years. with that said your options are alot greater over the 18's in every possible way. not only do you have to worry about tires, cost and performance but you should take into account the roads you will encounter. an 18" rim with the proper tire and sidewall height to keep as close to stock specs as possible can be bent very easily. having to replace a rim or even tire because you didn't see something in the road isn't fun. while all of this can happen with 17's the chances of it happening with 18's are 100% greater if you drive the car alot.

if it's a daily driver it's very important.

 

Oh I highly agree with that. I have encountered some dips, cracks, and potholes where I was glad that I had 16" rims and tires to protect my rims. 17" rims seem to be the perfect compromise for street use and for shows. I know a few people with 20s on thier rides and they have to come to almost a stop at every railroad crossing, and they can't even go on some roads for fear of bending the rims like Kandied said.

 

come on, you are the one who posted that sidewall size doesn't have any effect on performance, and that it is a myth. i was correcting you. being the apperance forum i didn't go into more that that. i have nothing against you, if anyone else who had said something so blatantly wrong, i would have replied in the same manner. IMHO if you are saying something so untrue, you are obviously trying to justify the descision you made on wheel size. because i can't for the life of me, figure out how else you would come up with that idea.

 

I talked to my co-worker and he said he'd sell me his stock Z06 wheels and tires for $1100. He's looking to get some aftermarket wheels, but not sure what brand yet. The Z06 wheels are 17 front, 18 rear. Might take a while though, he cant decide what wheels he wants. I plan to put them on my IROC I just got, so whenever he sells them to me I'll find this post and put up some pics of a 17/18 combo.

 

no Dewey316, if you read what was posted prior to me it was stated that

all i was saying is that it's all myth now days because of the newer improved tires....mainly refering to drag radial 18's that can give excellent straight line acceleration with a very low profile. the thinner sidewalls help in cornering which is proven and now with the new technology used on these tires straight line acceleration doesn't have to be a consideration like the past....

everyone is entitled to their opinion just like yourself, however regardless of what i am using or how much money something costs on my car wasn't and shouldn't be a consideration in this thread so there was no need to bring it up.....i've played around with different sizes, i've owned the product in question, so i gave my opinion. something you should think about in the future.

CrazyHawaiian, do you know what year z06 wheels they are as that makes a big difference in the weight of them. do they still have the stock tires on them too?....either way that's a decent price for actual oem wheels with tires. i'm sure the would look great on your iroc too.

 

Its the 2001 stockers with the Eagle F1 tires (also stock). Wheels and tires (and the Z06) have just under 9,000 original miles. He ended up going with the Chrome Z06 Motorsports wheels (18 front, 19x11 rear).

 

very nice....if you can swing it you should do it. they would look great on the car and for that price its a decent deal.