Ok I just purchased new wheels for my 86 camaro, (17" x 7" front, and 17x9.5" rear). Now I've heard that I can go as wide as p320 on the rear, with 17x9.5, but will wheels this wide fit safely on the back of my 3rd gen.....can they even fit?? I dont want to deal with the hassle of mini-tubbing the rear, so if anyone knows the best (and widest) amount of tread that can be reached on the back, let me know please. I guess my only worries are the tires rubbing anywhere on the fenders.

 

what is the purpose for the car? if you are looking for handling performance, i would not go larger than 275 on a 9.5" wheel.

 

You can run 285 on the back wheel but I would recoment a 275 instead. I would run a 245 up front for your front.

 

Why are those the largest you would use?

Shouldn't you always go for the biggest contact patch?

Or is there a rubbing issue?

Are there websites of the guys that run their Camaros vs. the Firebirds and Mustangs in the SCCA road racing series? I figure they would know the most about all this.

 

thank you for the quick replies....one other quick thing, I've looked everywhere for the offset/backspacing specs for 3rd gen camaros and I cant find them anywhere...(cragar wheels fit gm cars but Im just wondering for future reference). I know the bolt pattern is 5x4.75 but other than that I've heard different offsets and backspacing. any info would be much appreciated.

 

Check out this website: http://www.skulte.com/adapterfaq.html They have a chart on their site.

Neat huh.

 

The main thing with sizing is to have a nice balance for straight on traction as well as lateral traction. If you go to wide you can have clearnace problems. That is the biggest reason not to go too big. A 275 tire is plenty big for a 9" wide wheel. Going wider will help with straight line traction but will perform about the same leteraly as a 275.

 

aha I just re-read his first post.... they have to fit those wheels that he already has.

You're right, I thought he was going from scratch.

yeah I know that for max cornering force you want the sidewall pretty much square or a little less than square to the lip.

 

Rembrandt -- if you are interested in road-racing info, check out frrax.com

 

hey thanks!

 

I just ordered Boyd Coddington Blaster 5's for my car. 17x8 front, 17x11 rear. I'm going to run 245/45 fronts, and 315/35 rears. - I'm going for all around performance. I drag race, but I want to be able to through it around curves on back roads and such.

later, justin...

 

You could probably fit some odd size on there between 275 and 305 on a 9.5" rim (im not sure what that would be?), but a 275 is going to give you a lot more tire options and be cheaper. My 17x9s came with Yokohoma 285/40/17s on them, and they sure look cool, but too expensive to replace.