i picked up a set of 02 10 spoke rims off of ebay and i was just wondering what size tire should i put on them, 275s or 285s?? pros and cons greatly appreciated!

tim

 

go with what they come with from the factory.......275/40/17

 

Are you calling me cheap?

If your going to run drag radials i would put the 245s up front and 275s or 285s in the back since you won't be able to rotate them anyways. 315 is too big for that rim and won't wear correctly.

I'm very happy i went with the narrower tire up front, it looks much better than the 275s did.

-brent

 

Before you start to buy tires... what is your intended purpose? Commute, drag, road race/cornering... makes a big difference. Why would you buy a tire because of looks? That doesn't make sense! If the wheel is a 17x9 then the largest you can go is 275. If it is a 17x9.5 then you can go up to a 285. However, there is a threshold there depending on the construction of the sidewall, you could get away with 285s on 17x9s but it has to stretch the bead to the lip of the rim... if there is too little stretch, you will feel like your car is "tight". That is not good.

Remember, larger tires weigh more and you are now in the ballgame of rotating mass. Narrower tires will have less rotating mass and will typically accelerate faster provided you are not exceding the grip. Once you overcome the grip, your narrow tires will lose there advantage.

I live in the canyons where I want 285s all around for grip in the corners. I don't want narrow tires up front. If you drag, then you probably want narrow tires up front.

I also got my tires at www.tirerack.com where they can offer a Heat Cycle on each tire which will help with grip and wear for $15 each. I'm running Goodyear F1-GS D3...

 

Kumhos are crappy tires, so are toyos and sumitomos...get michelins if you want a great tire.

 

first to answer your question 275s perfect size. u can get 285s dependong on rim size.

i need some info on this also! i want to get new wheels either the z06 chrome 18s or the zr1 crhome 17s. more than likely the 17s because i want the 17x19.5 for the fronts and 17x11s in the back. also i know what two tire sizes to get. 275/40-17 for the front and 315/35-17 for the back. i want these wheels and tires bad. but heres my question, on my rears, i want to get either et streets or drag radials. except i dont know many companies that sell drag radials and i dont know any companies that sell et streets. i know that tirerack has hoosier drag radials and bfgoodrich ones. are they any good? are nittos good? where can i get et streets and more selection on drag radials? my fronts i dont know what i will be getting but i cant decide ont he rear. i want pretty good treadwear as well as wet traction and excellent dry traction. or should i jsut go ahead and buy some 275s and 315s of the same tire. they dont make the 315s in many different tires cuz its a big size. but thats what i want. i dont mean to hijack your thread.

 

If you're going to drag, wouldn't you want narrower tires up front to reduce the rotating mass? 275s up front with 315s drag radials rear kinda defeats the cornering purpose of the 275s up front.

Regarding street tires, Goodyear F1-GS D3s are great tires!!!

Goodyear F1-GS D3

This is a street tire Max Performance. Good luck on your drag tire search.

 

well im not really intending to have the drag radials for drag racing only. i want them more for the street. thats why i asked about et streets. i want good handling and good launching on my tires on the street. i dont want skinnies or slicks on the back of my car because it is my daily driver and i race sometimes on the street. and the dr or et streets will greatly improve the launch whether it be on the street or on the track.

 

Sounds like you know what you want. I've got the same car as you... 1995 Z28 Polo Green Metallic Manual.

 

sweet! Except we are on oppppposite sides of the country, ca and ky. i used to live in ca. i miss that place. havent been back in about 5 years or so. i love my car, do you love yours!

 

Oh yeah, lots of Honda around here with wings and $5000 paint jobs. It's funny to see them get up to me. They hang pretty tight, but then they either have nitrous or a turbo on there.

About the tires, I recently purchased a set of 2000 SS 10-Spoke wheels like QuasarBlue. I just put on the 285s mentioned earlier and it handles very well! I was told to becareful of to little sidewall stretch, but I guess the sidewalls are so stiff that the car isn't "tight" at all. Runs very well and they are about $180 each at Tire Rack. A bit pricey but just what I'm looking for with grip.

 

sorry not to hijack your thread but i had a question if this would be a good setup.
wheels: 17x9.5 y2k vette in rear, 17x8.5 in front
Tires Goodyear f1 gs-d3's
Rear size 285/40/17
Front size 255/40/17

Main goal just a daily driver with a much bigger emphasis on drag racing than road course.

P.S. or should i go with 245's up front???
________
WEB SHOWS

 

The 245s will have less rotating mass, reduce your unsprung weight, and will have less frictional contact with the road/tire contact patch. It should be a good compromise for drag and good street driving. Cornering would create an under steer (very hard cornering) but you'd do better on the drags.

 

Your kinda giving us contradictory requirements. ET streets are a street tire in name only, and don't have the sidewall strength for any kind of real street handling. Drag radials can be driven on the street, but forget about treadlife and wet traction. Good drag traction precludes excellent cornering, as they are built with soft sidewalls, to help the launch, while handling tires tend to have short stiff sidewalls, which makes launching them hard. You gotta decide whether you want a great drag setup, a cornering setup, or some sort of compromise, like 245s up front and the same brand 315s in back. This would give you better straightline traction than 245s or 275s, yet still allow some street handling. However, the wider the tire, the less wet handling, given the same tire tread and compound.

 

If you want a high-grip tire for cornering then try these Yokohama

Remember, whether drag or autocross, the treadlife will be much less than a street tire. Heat cycling the tires will help with grip and treadwear.

You're not going to find better tires than these to grip the road.

The sidewalls on typical drag tires is weaker than a cornering tire. You want the sides to "wrinkle". However, I don't believe the ET streets are that thin on the side... but you will get very loose in any corner on ET streets.

If you hit water (even just a stripe from the sprinkers in the center island that runs on the highway) you'll slide.

Try the tires above if you want grip and cornering... if you want to drag, you'll have to adjust your rear suspension to so that it will "squat" on a launch... which also sucks for cornering.

I hope this helps a bit...