I am considering upgrading to 17 in. wheels and tires from my stock 16 in. setup. I was thinking about American Racing 200s 17 X 9.5 with 275/40/17 tires.

The wider tires and bigger rims will really look sharp on my car. But before I spend the money, I was wondering about the practical aspect of upgrading to a 17 in. wheel and tire setup.

Is the increase in traction and handling great enough to offset the expense? What about the increase in weight? Will it slow the car down dramatically?

I appreciate all of your replies

 

You will get better traction yes, but it depends on the tire you get. Weighing more, it might, but that also depends on what its composed of. Should you decide to upgrade your wheels, make sure you get your speedometer calibrated, as it will be affected.

 

If you go with a 275/40/17 tire your speedo will be unaffected.

You will see a big improvement in handling and steering response.

Traction may not be better because of the short sidewall (depends on the tire) and they will be heavier and the weight will be further out on the wheel, with will slow you a tiny bit (enough to show up on the dyno).

But it will look and handle great. Go for it.

DaveH

 

If you get the right tires your speedo will be unaffected. I had 17's on my 94 and I have 18's on my 99 Z, There is a big difference (with me anyway) in handling and steering. You will love that. My traction is still great, get good tires.

 

I got 17" SS takeoff's on my Z28 from SLP and love em...

Now, if I was really serious about traction, I'd ponder about getting something like 17x10.5 and mounting 275's on that.. The tire/sidewall should be perfectly "square".. If you get the right offset, should leave just enough clearance in most stock wheelwells. or get 17x11's and try to carefuly fit 315's all around.....

IMHO, the OEM 17x9 (or is it 9.5?) with 275's are perfect for the street.

Don't forget, you'll probably notice the difference between worn out tires verses fresh new tires too..

 

I talked to an American Racing rep a few weeks ago. He said that American Racing does not make a 16" rim, at least in what your looking at, that fits the 4th gen f-body. I found that hard to believe, but he should know. Those rims would look nice on a Camaro in 17s. Speedo should be ok if you keep the overall tire height the same.

 

I have not stepped up to a 17 tire yet. I took an intermediate path and found an agressive 16" tire and kept the oem rims and have been satisfied so far. Running the 16 allows me to stay in a less modified class for autocrossing and there is a huge difference in price. The tires I have handle 100 times better than the oem tires and I would have to say after driving a number of 17" tire cars that there isnt a huge difference.

Traction is definitely down due to the stiff side wall, but handling has improved many times over. Some day I probably will step up to a 17 when the mods on the rest of my car can match me being pushed up a class or two in the autocross events, but not for a while.

 

Thanks for all of your replies and opinions. I want my car to stay flat through the curves, and provide a great ride. I don't drag race or spin the tires much, so absolute traction is not a major issue. I already have SFC so staying in the stock class for autox is also not an issue. I have noticed the tires seem to give a little when I take off/on ramps aggressively. I can also feel the tires giving when I take gradual curves on the highway at speed. I currently have 245/50/16 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDWs.

I want to be able to drive more aggressively while maintaining control i.e. keep it flat. This would imply replacing suspension components, but I feel an upgrade in a wheel and tire combo would produce the most significant results. I am guessing the upgrade will cost me between $2000-$2500. This is money I can spend elsewhere. So if the upgrade to a 275/40/17 (thanks ACARNUT) will not produce noticable handling performance gains, I may just pass on it. Hey, I know it will improve the appearance but thats just a perk (oh, but what a perk!)

On a slightly different topic. Has anyone found a tire/wheel combination to fit 315s on the back, WITHOUT modifying the wheel well. I like the look of wide tread in the back, don't we all. But I don't want to go to extreme measures to put the wide tires on.
Back in highschool we would put wide tires on the back and install pneumatic shocks. This way we could lift the car's body clear of the wide rubber. I wouldn't do that today.

Thanks for all the help. Most of my auto work is in print or conceptual. Its nice to hear from people who have been there and done that.

Will

 

With 17s you will:
Break even on traction
Have a little extra unsprung weight
Look a 1000 times better
Have much better steering and cornering
Need no recalibrating if you use a 275/40/17 tire (285/40/17s are also acceptable)
See no noticable loss in speed

Now for my opinion:
To get the best handling and looks out of a 17" rim/tire combo, lower the car 1.5". You wouldn't believe the further improvement in looks and handling. It will 'ride on rails'!
Pics on website in sig.
Good luck
Dave

 

I am about to sell my stock 17" SS rims and go to 15 or 16" rims because of traction and weight issues. no one makes a good sticky 17" tire(full slick) for the strip and smaller wheels means less rotating mass to move off the line. though for auto crossing 17" would be much better for handling than 16"

 

17" tires and wheels on stock suspension still work great, but you need to be smooth so as not to upset the suspension; you won't be dissapointed.

I considered 315's but they do not fit up inside the wheelwell. I have seen people cut or roll the fender lip, put spacers in to reduce suspension travel, or simply hope that they don't bottom out and cut the tires.

DaveH
http://member.newsguy.com/~acarnut/

 

315s will fit in the back but if you make a sharp turn they rub on the inside of the fender well other than that they work great everyone i have seen just shows the fender soem tlc with a rubber mallet works great and you cant see it anyway