I'm currently planning on running a wheel combo with 17" in front and 18" in back. My reasoning was for handling performance and looks (larger wheel in back for the "fat" rear end). Anybody see a problem with this combo? I know the 18" tires are more expensive, but any other problems/ideas come to mind?

 

i wanted to do the samething too but i thought about, what if i want to rotate them. i couldnt cause the front would have the 18 and the back would have the 17.. i just like to rotate my tires for even wear.

 

You won't have a problem. Most people run different size tires in the rear even if they stay with the same wheel size all around. Plus, many tires are unidirectional which eliminates one aspect of tire rotation.

 

Ïn most cases people would have wider tires in the rear, so they won't be rotatable anyways.....

I haven't seen 17" and 18" But I think it looks sharp with big'n'little on some cars, not all. Can't say how a thirdgen would look though.

 

Rotation is a problem no matter what size rims I pick. I'm going with 245's up front and 275's in back, so I can't do a normal rotation. I was looking at assymetric tires so I can at least do a left-to-right rotation, there just aren't as many tires to choose from if I do that. I guess there are ups and downs to everything, I'll just have to think about it.

 

I've got 17s in front and 18s in back ('97-99 C5 wide-spoke style), and they look great. A lot of people say these cars aren't designed for a bigger rim diameter in the back, but its hardly noticeable and looks good.

The problem with having a bigger rim in the back (if you want to stick with stock-height tires) is that you'll have less sidewall, which means less straight line traction and more wheelhop if you don't have the proper suspension setup. There's no way I'd go with anything less than a 40-profile tire in teh back.

I run 245/45R17 and 275/40R18. My rear tires are a bit taller than stock. Don't go with a 275/35R18. If you want a stock-height tire, go with a 275/40R17 (17" rim then).

If you're getting aftermarket rims, just make them all 17s. Only go the 17/18 route if you're getting C5 rims or something.

 

I'm running the Corvette wheels also.
I'm using 275-40-17's front and 275-40-18's in the rear.
Tires are less expensive than I expected.
My car's lowered and they fit fine (with 2" adapters).
-Rich-

 

There are 2 virtually identical copies of this post today already. Enough is enough.

A quick click of the button would have brought up this thread from just a couple of days ago; probably on the same page you put your new postings.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=290297

Try to ignore the bickering, and the stubbornness guy that's determined to make his car look like an Escalade; he got pretty offended when reality reared its ugly head and interfered with his fantasy. He REALLY didn't want to hear that what he wanted to do was a bad idea. But apart from all that, there's a couple of pics of cars in there to give you an idea.

 

just get 17s or 18s , dont starrar the sizes , the dont look good, i saw one in person and you can tell the rear is larger and doesnt look right to me. but its your car , so do with it what you want.

 

a10,why are you getting such skinny tires?

 

Those aren't skinny at all and a 275 tire is typically the width used on 17x9 or 18x9.5 wheels.

 

true,but what size wheels uyou running in the front to use a 245?

 

The ones he's going to use are 17x8.5, just like the ones I have. 245/45R17 came stock on Vettes for the front tires with this rim size.

EDIT: That's assuming he's using C5 wheels. Either way, they came with 8.5" wide rims up front wrapped with 245/45R17s.

 

I run a 245 up front on a 9" wide wheel. It looks perfect. I didn't want to go quite as wide as a 275 because I was afraid i would have some rubbing issues.

 

I am planning on a 8.5 wheel up front, I currently run 245's and I don't see a need for anything bigger than that (anything bigger would be too tight anyway). I'll be getting 9.5's in back, I just have to decide the diameter.

DuronClocker, if you like your set-up, why don't you recommend those sizes if they're aftermarket wheels?

 

Cuz I feel if you're getting aftermarket rims you might as well get them the same diameter. I don't think it looks cool to have different sized rims on these cars. Its just not very noriceable with my setup, so it doesn't look bad. You may as well go all 17s or all 18s if you have the choice. I love the look of my rims, but I got them as a set for next to nothing in a triangle trade. If I had the choice when getting them, they all would've been the same diameter.

 

18" wheels in the rear either make the dire diameter too large (275-40-18), or if you use a lower profile tire, the ride and handling are hurt.

I would suggest a 17x 9.5" (or 9") wheel all around with a 275-40-17 tire. Best of all worlds, just not the visual impact of an 18".

 

whatever you think looks good and works right without probs is a good thing

 

anything in a 275 with 35 profile or higher really isn't noticeable. you would be fine with a 275/35/18.

 

thanks guys

 

i seen a 17/18 inch wheel combo on a thirdgen from the side profile and it was obvious one wheel was bigger. didnt look good. do 18's all around or 17's if you want.

 

I have the 17 front 18 rear set up, and it looks just fine. I went with the incorrect tires though. If you match your sidewall heights (not just the profile size), the difference in size is not noticable. Unfortunatly I bought front tires 4 months before my rears...and my rears have very low sidwalls (275/35) and the fronts are a little to tall (245/45). Next time around I will look for a 30 series up front if I can find them. Overall performance has not suffered with the short sidwall in back either.

 

if you take the right picture it isn't noticeable... otherwise it's very noticeable.

 

245/45R17 is a stock height tire on a 17" wheel. Ends up being 25.66" tall, which is the same as the 245/50R16 tires stock. 275/40R18 is a 26.66" tall tire, and 275/35R18 is 25.58" tall. Granted, these will all change a bit as they wear down. I'm probably going to buy the same 245/45R17 tire size next time but might increase the rear to something like a 295/35R18 if it will fit on a 9.5" rim. I wouldn't go with a 30 profile tire up front with 245 width....it'd make it look funny with too small of a tire up front. That's only 22.8" tall and it'd look incredibly funny.

 

I will see what I can do about putting a picture up...the difference in sidwall height is huge with the standard front and 275/35 rear.

 

Yea, a 45 in front and 35 in back is a big difference. I'm planning on 45 in front with 40 in back, that's the stock C5 set-up and it looks/drives good.

 

245/45R17 and 315/35R17 have the exact same sidewall height...

A 275/40R17 also has the exact same sidewall height..

 

just use a tire calculator and try to get close to your factory specs. if you get it within a .25" you'll be fine, everything else you'll notice. play with widths and sidewall sizes til you get it right.

works everytime..

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