I currently have 16's the stock ta rims, i want something better so i was lookin at boyd coddington smoothies. I will either get them in 17x9.5 all around or 18x9.5 which ones will makes the car handle better. I plan on getting g force ta k/d , the tires would be 275/40/17 or with 18s 275/35/18 and 275/40/18 in the rear . I want the car to handle better , but i would really like 18's . Im allready set on these rims and tires so i dont wanna look at anything else.

 

Go with the 18's. The smaller sidewall tire will corner better. A side benefit will be that you can run bigger brakes in the future if you so choose.

 

17s

and believe it or not, there is such a thing as too little sidewall..

 

17 all the way. they will handle great and youll keep your ride comfort. not to mention you can get huge tires on 17s and they are MUCH cheaper then 18... i think 18s are ugly on 3rd gens anyhow

 

I have 18x9 centerline rims with 265/35's front & rear my iroc has stock suspension it handles good and the ride is good if the road is nice and smooth almost track like but anything else is almost like driving on a gravel road plus you have to watch out for even the smallest of potholes I wish I would have got 17's

Im looking to sell my rims actullay I would like to trade them for some 16" factory iroc rims plus a little $$$

get the 17s

 

from a purely performace standpoint, you usualy want to run the smallest diameter wheel you can get that comes in the width you need, and will clear you brakes. (assuming again you can get the tires you want for it).

smaller dia. wheels tend to weight less, that is less unsprung weight, and less rotating mass. also having a little extra sidewall is not entirly a bad thing, it will make the car easier to drive, and a little more forgiving.

 

ah poop, i wanted 18's , but if 17s will handle better , i guess thats what im gonna go with .

 

if you want 18's get 18's. i was just stating fact, there are 18's out there, that weight less than most 17's.

 

however potholes are definately a concern....

 

Well arent corvettes 18's (at least in the back)? all those corvette owners seem to do ok, and i'm sure a lot of them push their car a to the edge, and arent constantly looking out for potholes.

 

no but there are alot of factors. it's interesting you point that out though as vettes are now 18 front and 19 rear...with many factory cars using 18's as an option.

the main reason people have problems bending 18s are those with billet wheels. the billet bends easier then a cast wheel, especially with wide lips on them your just asking for it since there is no real support in the area needed most.

cast can be bent just as easy but to compare them both the cast will hold up better. it's just heavier though and the options on sizes aren't really there like they should be.



i'm definately happy with my choice to have 18's. however there was a large price difference in tires which for the budget oriented builder a set of 17's is the way to go.

 

yeah i did see a differnce in the price of tires, and about 200 bucks for the rims , but thats not the problem. I dont know if i can realistically see 17 on my car, 18s are bigger and cooler, but 17s will handle better. When i get these rims i plan to keep them for prolly even , so i want something ill be happy with . THis is a hard decision. I wish i was a millionaire so i could buy all the rims and tires i wanted.

 

its smart that your thinking about this decision rather then running out and just purchasing. you should go with what you want though so that your not upset down the road. i would just compare your reasons of likes/dislikes and go from there.

for me i do more shows/cruising then anything else as well as the typical sunday drives so performance is important but it's not the first thing i'm worried about since i can only take off ramps and michigan lefts so fast anyhow without getting a ticket. if i were to race for money i would definately go with 17's seeing as how tires are significantly cheaper and on average the rims are lighter as well as cheaper its a win/win situation.

when i purchased my 18" z06 wheels i noticed a slight performance drop but it was really only in bad weather. on street tires they spin alot more seeing as how the sidewalls are thinner with less flex and more give which didn't help. the fact they were cast made them significantly heavier then my 16's which also was a down side. i went from running 2.0 60's at the track to over 3.0 60's which is down right laughable.

when i purchased my new boze wheels i noticed an imediate upgrade in performance. they were direct bolt which not only felt better on the road then using adapters with the z06 but they were much much lighter which was less rotational weight and it made a huge difference. i was running the same street tires so now the rears lit up even easier with a lighter wheel but handling was just as good as when i had my 16's if not better since i didn't have the roll you get with a fatter sidewall. when i purchased my bfg dragradials my 60's got back into the 1.0's and was much more respectable. now i have the looks i want for cruising and shows but i can still play at the track without worrying to much.

in the end it all comes down to preference, if you want 18's you had better get them or you'll be sorry in the end. unless your truly out for competition where every point counts they will work just fine for you.

 

you will be happy with 17 inch wheels man, trust me. they look plenty big and still have rubber to spare. you cant go wrong with 17s

 

I was told this by some corvette autocrosser guys i know, and they are pretty knowledgeable, and makes sense....
When you have too little sidewall, it's like having a short-sidewall tire at the strip. They'll just break loose, instead of giving a little and sticking. The same seems to hold true in the twisties, but too tall a sidewall is bad too: they'll give too much and you'll lose a lot of control. NASCAR does fine at 200 MPH on sidewalls that aren't too short. A corvette can get away with 18s and 19s, it's balanced better and weighs less.

 

are you racing the car or is it a toy. be practicle. if its just a toy/street car it won't matter.

 

damn!
my L03 (with stock 16s and the terrible non performans ss20 firehawks) did a heck of alot better then that!

even the FWD VR6 jetta got better 60's then 3 seconds...



what was the diff in weight? did you measure them? gusstamate?

 

its really only a toy for when its nice, im 19 but i have another car . i only drive the ta when its nice out and then i dont always drive it. i dont drive it to school and very rarely to work . Mostly crusing and i will go to the drags but it will just have to get drag radails for the 18s then . I dont road race or anything , but i just think the 18 would look better.

 

I've been watching this thread and thought I would put in my 2 cents.

The lower profile of an 18" wheel may look better and may not seem like a big difference from a 17", but it is. Between the heavier weight and the lower profile, unsprung weight and the amount of air cushion is going to be going in the wrong direction, which in a car like a thirdgen is not a good thing. I'm not talking about a 1987 camaro with base suspension, but a 3rd gen with all the suspension bells and whistles - one that doesn't ride all that well on 16" factory sized rubber. With an 18" wheel, its gonna be too choppy and skip all over the road on bumps.

The sidewall of a 16" factory wheel is good - 245-50-16, but more width is better, but you can't get anything wider than a 255-50-16 these days. Although BFG did make a 305-40-16 for Vettes back in the 1980's (for a 10.5" wheel) - which put a base suspension vette into the 1.00g range without any other mods. So you need to go to a wide 17" wheel and tire and deal with a little drop in ride quality (275-40-17). The 275-40-18 tire on the new vettes has exactly the same sidewall as the 17", but is 1" larger in diameter - so the ride is about the same.

 

paul_huryk i respect your opinion but i have to ask if you own a set of 18's on your thirdgen or have ever driven them?

i agree that i wouldn't go out and expect to compete on an auto-x with my 18's because i know there are 17" options that would fit me better but my car has every possible suspension upgrade i can put on it and i don't notice any of the problems you state. my car doesn't ride as "plush" as 16's did with a thicker sidewall but this is for good reason. however the car is not unbearable, nor does it hop, skip, etc all over the road. it rides terrific and i myself am glad in everyway possible....sometimes i wish i went with 19's.

i'm not arguing with anything your saying, i just think that you can't truly base anything on the subject though until you have experienced. which in this case if you have driven or own them then that's good. i'm sorry they didn't ride that well for you, maybe it was the tire option or the design of the wheel as it all makes a difference. i really like how mine handles and rides though.

 

so kandied maybe i can get away with 18s then . I worried about how the car will launch and handle with them . Im gonna get all the suspension stuff i can get , so u think il be ok

 

well like i said it all depends on what your plans for the car are. if your going into true competition where money is at stake then every bit counts and i'd go with 17's. if your building a street/strip car that you just want to have fun the 18's will be fine. it's true you would go faster with 16's unless you get a lightweight 18 but the tires they have today coupled with good suspension and proper driving allow for some really impressive 60' times.

you just have to ask yourself whats more important and fits your needs. if you like the looks of the 18's and can afford what you want you shouldn't be disappointed. however do remember that a cast 18 is a heavy wheel and will slow you down more then a lighter billet or even racing wheel. so many factors come into play. if you are truly worried about performance make it easy and go 17's but i love my 18's and they work great.

 

yeah , they are gonna be cast 18s , i cnat afford billet ones. im looking at about 1400 for rims.

 

thats 1400 you can put into the engine. id rather get a supercharger with that kinda cash....plus tires for 18s? thats not cheap. good luck with blowouts, bubbles and flats. not to mention the thinner the sidewall the more of a beating the wheel is going to take

 

i wish i could do engine work for that much , i would def put a supercharger on it i could for that price but i cant. or a turbo would be cool .

 

ohhhh your TPI. yeah its deff cheaper for carbs honestly though, if your spending big bucks id go motor 1st appearence last. whats the point of having those big wheels to show off if you dont have much under the hood? plus they will slow you up a bit

if you do decide to get wheels, id say get the 17inch firehawk wheels. those are some nice wheels and are cheaper then 1400 by far

 

14 for rims and tires or just rims? as that's plenty to work with. you could get a set of boyd 18's for around that but then of course you would still need tires.

 

yeah 1400 for just rims , then tires are gonna be about a grand.

 

you have plenty to work with for the most part then. boyd, billet specialties and possibly even some budnik and boze styles can all be had around there. if something you really like is slightly more just save up a bit. you'll be glad you did, but for that range you should find what you want no problem.

 

I have the same problem. I had 18 Z06 wheels but sold them becasue I really like the ROH RTs better. So after a lot of debating weither to go with 17s or 18, I bought 17s I now have 17x9s just sitting in my basement and I want to sell them and get 18x9s for the back and 18x8s for the front. and run a 275/40/18 in back and 245/40/18 in front. I don't want a 9 in the front now becasue there are bad roads here and I would just be wrestling with the steering wheel all the time if I did. I should have stuck wit my origional plan of getting 18s! money is tight so I can't just got out and buy 18s. I have to sell the 17s first.

 

similar to the same lessons i learned. if you don't mind cutting your bumpstops and some slight hammering in a small section of the inner fender 10's will fit in the rear with out any issues and you will be right in line with the stock dimensions with the proper backspacing. otherwise run 9-9.5s and you shouldn't have to cut anything at all.

as far as the fronts 8 are ideal with 8.5 being the widest...the rest just isn't worth it.

 

ok , now your gonna hate me for asking this, will a 16 x 9.5 handle better than a 17x 9.5. Im contemplating the idea of having the rims widened, or buying a set of 16s . I am set on 9.5 all around so . But you guys say more sidewall is better. I guess i would have to run a 275/50/16 . correct .

 

i cant seem to find a tire for a 16 x 9.5 rim either.

 

throw an et street up there!




as far as handling how so........on the street. eh depends on the rim. i'm telling you unless your competing for money you'll be fine. as much as your asking about performance i'd stick to 17's if its that important.