blac94Z

So i was wondering bc i came across a set of salad shooters
what tire options do i have that will be still good with my rear end

Injuneer

Salad shooters are 16" x 8.0". Stock tires were either 235/55-16 (26.1"/26.2") on the base Z28 or 245/50-16 (25.7") with the RPO "QLC" Z-rated tire option.

You want to get a tire that matches your stock tire size (check the tire info label on the driver's door). That keeps your speedometer/odometer accurate (assuming the PCM has already been corrected for your 3.42:1 gears).

Not a lot of good tire choices for the 16" x 8.0" wide wheels. The best thing is to go to aftermarkets, like 17" x 9.0" or 17" x 9.5" with a 275/40-17 tire (stock on the SS and WS6 coupes).

blac94Z

ok so will a 245/40 be good ? bc my car has the rpo code so z rated tires but i know the series is 50 instead of 40 will there be a real difference between the two ?

Injuneer

The "50" (or "40") is the (aspect) ratio of the sidewall height to the section width (widest point on the sidewalls). A 245/50-16 tire is theoretically 245 / 25.4 = 9.65" wide. The sidewall on a 245/50 would be 0.50 X 9.65" = 4.82".

Wheel diameter + 2 sidewalls = outside tire diameter:

16 + (2 x 4.82) = 25.65"

For a fixed wheel diameter, a larger aspect ratio gets you a larger diameter tire. So, when you go to a 17" wheel, and a wider tire, to keep the outside diameter of the tire the same, you have so go for a thinner sidewall.

275/40-17:

275 / 25.4 = 10.83" (you have gained 1.18" wider tire)

17 + (2 x 4.33) = 25.66"

So... the "50" had to go down to "40" to hold the tire diameter when going from 245/50-16 to 275/40-17.

Not "better" or "worse".... just required to keep the correct tire diameter. In my opinion, the gain here is the extra tire width, giving you a bit more rubber on the road, plus the more aggressive appearance. On the other hand, you now have a thinner sidewall, so the ride may be slightly harsher, and the tire isn't going to tolerate bumps as well, particularly with a solid rear axle.

Note also that very wide tires can "tramline".... the tires will tend to wander side-to-side in rutted asphalt pavement.

blac94Z

so i will be sticking with 50's than thanks fred