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Wheels and TiresNeed help with wheels or tires? Got fitment issues? Have questions about tire performance and handling? Ask all of those questions here!
Thanks for all the information I think I have a better understand now. But with that being said could I go with a 255/45 tire so I get less “stretch” and more sidewall? I do like the tire to bludge out like you said a 275 would do? I can get a wider tire with more sidewall I guess...
A 255/45-17 tire is an option that most people probably haven't considered. It might even be the most appropriate size for a 17x9 wheel, given the fitment of 245/45 and 275/40 on 9" wide wheels, for which neither size is ideally designed. On a 9" wide wheel, a 255/45-17 would have the exact appearance of the 255/40-18 on a 9.5" wide wheel in my pic above--nearly flush sidewalls, negligibly taller than the 245/45-17 and 275/40-17, no sidewall bulge, and an easier fitment than the 275 tire. But with that tire, lowering the chassis could be important.
3rdgens were designed for 26" diameter tires, which the 255/45-17 and 255/40-18 are. Even the 255/50-16, which was intended to be used, is a 26" tire. But GM, instead, settled on the slightly shorter, slightly narrower, 245/50-16. The height difference between 26" and 25.7" tires, side-by-side, is hardly noticeable. But installed, fender gap and chassis height with the 26" tires might be more apparent than with the 25.7" tires, making lowering the chassis a realistic consideration; lowering tends to look better anyway, regardless of tire diameter. And lowering would be, at least, an inch, which should be more than enough to compensate for the difference in appearance between tire heights.
But if you haven't already lowered your car, and you don't want to consider doing so, then it might be best to stick with the "norm."
Last edited by LAFireboyd; Mar 5, 2019 at 02:03 AM.
I suggest that when shopping for tires for a set of wheels, go 1" smaller than the tire section width for the wheel to mount it on. An example is a 255 tire, which is 10.02" wide - it mounts perfectly on a 9" wheel - something BMW has been doing for over 15 years now. But there is always a range of suggested wheel widths for a given tire - an example may be a 275 tire calling for a 9" to 10.5" wheel, 10" being the optimal 1" smaller than the section width. GM should have used a 8.5" tire to mount the 245-50-16 tire on 3rd gens, but chose to use the 8".
and mid I’ll have to disagree with shorter tire and all that thurdgens look better with taller tire despite all else fills
fender a whole lot better
lower is good true but with these cars isn’t the most ideal especially if your not running stiffer springs
and I mean not no ebach crap or what other spring names they swap around
but nice wheels for the ones that posted
Update: I was planning on buying the 17 inch GOLD Iroc wheels when they became available. Ryan at Hawks emailed me today and said it would be a couple more months until they will be available for sale. Seven weeks ago I was told they would be ready in six weeks. That’s a little frustrating for the people waiting for them. Just thought I would let anyone know who was waiting on the gold.
Just thought I would let anyone know who was waiting on the gold.
Appreciate the update. ...I'm waiting too.
....I won't hesitate to buy once the wheels are available, but I admit I spent the tire money! Figures it's almost half the cost, right? ...anyhow, I've conceded I won't have these for this spring and summer season.
....I won't hesitate to buy once the wheels are available, but I admit I spent the tire money! Figures it's almost half the cost, right? ...anyhow, I've conceded I won't have these for this spring and summer season.
I'm figuring it's going to cost us a thousand for the wheels and a thousand for the tires. I guess you have time to save the money for the tires.
I didn't mind waiting the first six weeks that I was told. I could probably even wait the next two months they are now saying it will be. I just don't want to wait the two months and then have them move it back two MORE months. That would be very frustrating. If I get tired of waiting, I will just buy tires for my original 16 inch wheels so I can drive this thing. But if I do that, I won't be buying these wheels. On the bright side that would save me a thousand dollars. At least I know I'm not in the boat by myself. Misery does like company....
My 16" tires have plenty of tread but are out of date. 'Bout 10 years old. I'll drive on 'em another summer! I have found that being a little older and farther along in life allows for a little more disposable income, but a LOT more unecessary TOYS!!!!!!!!!! ....so yeah....I spent tire money on other toys, now I need to save. bleh.
Your Iroc is Blue, right? I think I remember you posting a few months ago. Man that'd look sharp with 17's! .....I'm with you on the frustration. It's the endless delays more than the actual time it takes. ...anyhow, your blue is pretty uncommon to begin with, but with the gold/beechwood, even my bright red car is pretty uncommon. The 17's would set them that much farther apart from the crowd!
17 and 18 are going to be the most common aftermarket sizes nowadays, and most people don't wanna go 18. Sure it's popular, but most prefer a 17, at least with these older cars. Opens you up to more tires options, but doesn't change the look TOO much. Lots of us want tire width, not more diameter, especially in a repop. ....and 9 or 9.5 width give you a 275 without causing fit issues.
...and most of us don't want to run a staggered set up. Both for tire rotation and handling reasons.
For Hawk's, it's all about what they will sell the most of. -understandably.
I like a staggered. Run it on my other car. Just curious where you read most here dont want to run a staggered wheel setup?Its very common setup on alot of street cars.
I'm figuring it's going to cost us a thousand for the wheels and a thousand for the tires. I guess you have time to save the money for the tires.
Depends on your tire selection. I got my 17" GTAs on a 4th of July sale for $771 shipped. BFG G-Force Comp 2s in 275/40/17 were about $600 shipped with a $50 mail in rebate, so about $550 total.
That sale price was so good that if they do it again, another set of GTAs (this time in gold) might show up...
The hidden cost on the GTA wheels, though, is this: they don't ship with the center caps, medallions, or lug nut covers. I would have bought it all from Hawks as a package, but interestingly they didn't offer the Camaro medallions, and the stuff they did have was much more expensive than some other options. I think I spent about $120 on that stuff.
Just curious where you read most here dont want to run a staggered wheel setup
I have a very basic understanding so pardon my lack of in depth explanation. Bottom line is (with a heavy front engine car) if you're driving to the grocery store, wider rear tires provide more traction and it's probably not an issue at all. ....but in performance situations, you want under/oversteer to be as balanced as possible. That extra traction actually unbalances the car causing understeer and makes the car less predictable.
LOTS of people across many platforms run staggered, but for most of us, it's an appearance mod more than performance mod. ....and of course for drag racing, obviously big old fat rear tires provide better launches. For the record, I like square for the rotate-ability. I don't track my car, and don't look down on anyone who wants to stagger for the look.
I have a very basic understanding so pardon my lack of in depth explanation. Bottom line is (with a heavy front engine car) if you're driving to the grocery store, wider rear tires provide more traction and it's probably not an issue at all. ....but in performance situations, you want under/oversteer to be as balanced as possible. That extra traction actually unbalances the car causing understeer and makes the car less predictable.
LOTS of people across many platforms run staggered, but for most of us, it's an appearance mod more than performance mod. ....and of course for drag racing, obviously big old fat rear tires provide better launches. For the record, I like square for the rotate-ability. I don't track my car, and don't look down on anyone who wants to stagger for the look.
Correct.
You get more front push with the weight bias to the front using a staggered setup - some car push even with the same size on all 4 corners, but not as bad of course.. For most cars, a square (or equal size on all 4 corners) works best in terms of balance. Even BMW, which still uses a stagger setup on sport models handle better with a square setup and those cars are right at 50:50.
Also - if you run a say 245/275 stagger - the difference might not be all that noticeable. And if you go extreme like some of the old school cars had - say a 205 in front and a 305 in back, expect a handful in the turns.
My 16" tires have plenty of tread but are out of date. 'Bout 10 years old. I'll drive on 'em another summer! I have found that being a little older and farther along in life allows for a little more disposable income, but a LOT more unecessary TOYS!!!!!!!!!! ....so yeah....I spent tire money on other toys, now I need to save. bleh.
Your Iroc is Blue, right? I think I remember you posting a few months ago. Man that'd look sharp with 17's! .....I'm with you on the frustration. It's the endless delays more than the actual time it takes. ...anyhow, your blue is pretty uncommon to begin with, but with the gold/beechwood, even my bright red car is pretty uncommon. The 17's would set them that much farther apart from the crowd!
Yes, my Iroc is blue with the beechwood. Good memory! You're right about being uncommon. I was looking for blue with gray interior and almost didn't even go look at this car. I had never seen one in this combination before. I'm glad I did because I like the uncommon.
Originally Posted by Abubaca
17 and 18 are going to be the most common aftermarket sizes nowadays, and most people don't wanna go 18. Sure it's popular, but most prefer a 17, at least with these older cars. Opens you up to more tires options, but doesn't change the look TOO much. Lots of us want tire width, not more diameter, especially in a repop. ....and 9 or 9.5 width give you a 275 without causing fit issues.
...and most of us don't want to run a staggered set up. Both for tire rotation and handling reasons.
For Hawk's, it's all about what they will sell the most of. -understandably.
I agree. I'm personally not a fan of the staggered look.
Originally Posted by KMK454
Depends on your tire selection. I got my 17" GTAs on a 4th of July sale for $771 shipped. BFG G-Force Comp 2s in 275/40/17 were about $600 shipped with a $50 mail in rebate, so about $550 total.
That sale price was so good that if they do it again, another set of GTAs (this time in gold) might show up...
The hidden cost on the GTA wheels, though, is this: they don't ship with the center caps, medallions, or lug nut covers. I would have bought it all from Hawks as a package, but interestingly they didn't offer the Camaro medallions, and the stuff they did have was much more expensive than some other options. I think I spent about $120 on that stuff.
Do the IROCs come with with the right hardware?
Don't forget to add the expense of mounting and balancing to your total cost of the wheels and tires.
I believe you can buy a set of wheels and center caps from Hawks for $949 or you can buy the kit for $1199 which includes center caps and lug nuts and lug nut covers. Which, now that you mention it, $250 seems like an awful lot for lug nuts and lug nut covers. Especially when you can use your old ones.
Ryan at Hawks also said the samples turned out great and are just waiting on the first run. It seems if the gold color is now correct, it shouldn't take two months to paint the wheels gold and box them up and get them in the warehouse. The optimistic side of me is hoping they are ready sooner than later.
Hawk's didn't give me numbers, but they told me they had TONS go out, once Hawk's had received them in stock and began shippnig. Now, I understand that's certainly a relative term, but I can't believe on all the social media I've searched, I've only seen this ONE set installed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had a decent rain here that washed a lot of the salt off the roads. As long as we don't get anymore snow/freezing rain, it's time to take the toys out when we get nice days. I just have no motivation when it's in the 30's and 40's-lol I've seen a few sets installed on the FB thirdgen pages.
One member put a set of 315's (Nitto 555r's) on the rears of his Hawk's 17" rims. It actually didn't look bad and didn't bulge horribly because the Nitto's run thin compared to others. He was able to install them and not do any hammering. I think I'm going to give that a try.
Last edited by IROCThe5.7L; Apr 9, 2019 at 04:10 PM.
We had a decent rain here that washed a lot of the salt off the roads. As long as we don't get anymore snow/freezing rain, it's time to take the toys out when we get nice days. I just have no motivation when it's in the 30's and 40's-lol I've seen a few sets installed on the FB thirdgen pages.
One member put a set of 315's (Nitto 555r's) on the rears of his Hawk's 17" rims. It actually didn't look bad and didn't bulge horribly because the Nitto's run thin compared to others. He was able to install them and not do any hammering. I think I'm going to give that a try.
I would be interested in seeing do you know who it was? I'm on the fence of buying these are waiting on the 18" ronals. I'm mainly curious about brake clearance.
Hawk's didn't give me numbers, but they told me they had TONS go out, once Hawk's had received them in stock and began shippnig. Now, I understand that's certainly a relative term, but I can't believe on all the social media I've searched, I've only seen this ONE set installed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did stop by Hawks and see the wheels in person, actually the car in the picture. They look phenomenal. They are spot on! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as the car was buried in the shop. I'm planning on ordering a set. If you're thinking of getting a set you wont be disappointed.
I did stop by Hawks and see the wheels in person, actually the car in the picture. They look phenomenal. They are spot on! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as the car was buried in the shop. I'm planning on ordering a set. If you're thinking of getting a set you wont be disappointed.
Did you happen to hear anything about the gold Iroc wheels while you were there? Or when they might be ready to purchase?
Don't quote me but if I remember correctly I think he said they finally got the color right but I didn't ask about when they ship as I was interested in silver color. Sorry, that's probably not much help.
Don't quote me but if I remember correctly I think he said they finally got the color right but I didn't ask about when they ship as I was interested in silver color. Sorry, that's probably not much help.
Yes, I was told they finally had the gold color right last month. I was hoping they might have mentioned they were getting ready to ship them out now or maybe they were building a big display of them in the store (or something equally exciting). How long can it take to paint them gold, right? Thanks for your response any way.
Yes, I was told they finally had the gold color right last month. I was hoping they might have mentioned they were getting ready to ship them out now or maybe they were building a big display of them in the store (or something equally exciting). How long can it take to paint them gold, right? Thanks for your response any way.
sweet. ....not a huge fan of the polish, but I mean, it still looks great! ......my hope, with a factory painted wheel, is that it won't LOOK aftermarket. Cool as polish/chrome is, it looks aftermarket.
sweet. ....not a huge fan of the polish, but I mean, it still looks great! ......my hope, with a factory painted wheel, is that it won't LOOK aftermarket. Cool as polish/chrome is, it looks aftermarket.
Thanks for posting that pic
These are my exact thoughts as well. That’s why I am waiting for the 17 inch gold Iroc wheels. They will look original. You would have to be a real third gen connoisseur to recognize the difference.
Now, hurry up with the gold! Lol
C5 brakes and C6 Standard brakes are the same size: 12.8" front and 12" rear. It's the calipers that differ. The C6 caliper is better than the C5 caliper, but they're physically interchangeable, and either caliper is a direct swap for the other. So if the C6 Standard fits inside the 17" front wheel, then the C5 will fit too. But it's always best to contact Scott at BBU before ordering anything.
How dare you say such a thing! 
