I recently bought a set of 18/19 polished C6 Vette wheels for my 97 camaro vert. What's a recomended tire size for these wheels on an f-body? I did search, but didn't really see anything for tires. I did learn now though that I need spacers for the rear. TIA.

Shawn

 

The "sticky" at the top of the Wheels and Tire forum topic listing has information regarding tire sizes.

 

255/35/18 front, 275/30/19 or 285/30/19 rear.

 

The 255/35-18 is only a 25.0". You want something in the range of 25.7 - 26.1" for a 4th Gen.

 

True, but it looks MUCH better than a 245/40/18, falls within the 1" overall diameter to keep the ABS happy (if you run a 275/30 or 285/30/19 rear), and is a little wider than the 245/40/18 as well, and is the max size you want to go on a C6 front 18x8.5" rim. IMO, I don't like staggered at all on the F-Body, but if you're going to run staggered 18/19 set-up, then it's the best looking size for the front that will keep the ABS happy.

 

Why create a larger gap between the fender and the top of the tire?

 

IMO, 18/19 combo or even 19's all the way around don't look good at all on stock height cars, but you can always lower it to fix the fender gaps to where you want them, but with the 245/40/18 that a lot of folks try and run, there's nothing you can do to fix the look of the MUCH taller sidewall on the front tire vs. the rear tire when you're running a 40 series on the front and a 30 series on the rear IF you're trying to keep your speedometer accurate. Doesn't the speedomoter work of the rear wheels? And if so, aren't they the one's you really need to keep around the 25.6" stock diameter?

When I ran my C6's, I did A LOT of research and looked at pics before I bought my tires. The 255/35/18's on the front and 275/30/19's on the rear had the best "look"...however, in the end, I couldn't stand being staggered and went 19's all the way around, and then that was such a rough ride with 275/30/19's all the way around, I'm now on 18x9.5 C5 Z06 rims with 275/35/18's all the way around.

Yes, there are several different options on tire sizes when running stock sized C6 rims and the 255/35/18 & 275/30/19 combo just worked best for me when I was staggered. My advice to anyone is do your research and LOOK at pictures of F-Bodies with the sizes of tire you're looking at buying before you purchase.

 

"Looks" are subjective.... to each his own. I agree, a wide sidewall in the front and a narrow sidewall in the rear looks bad, and works againast the 18/19 (or 17/18) combination. That's why it probably makes more sense to raise the rear tire diameter, and hold the front in the 25.7" - 26.1" factory range. Bite the bullet and have the PCM programmed for the larger rear diameter, to keep the speedo accurate. And, the narrow sidewall makes the ride harsher, and exposes the wheel to pothole damage.

I also think a tiny front tire gives it the look that they seem to get with the low riders with the wide wire wheels and a "too small" diameter (and too narrow width) front tire. Looks like a rubber band stretched around the wheel rather than a tire.

The speedo is driven off the VSS sensor on the tailshaft of the tranny housing, so its the rear wheels that affect it.

Lowering the car with a 25.0" front tire may cause more issues. The 25" tire has already dropped the undercarriage of the car by almost 3/8". Then you lower it another 3/8" to close up the gap in the fender, and you've reduced the ground clearance by almost 3/4". If you then attempt to reduce the fender gap to even less than stock, you're really going to have a problem with mods like long tube headers and chassis mounted torque arms.