Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

From what I can pick up in the FAQ it seems I should be fine with a 17x10 all around with +50 offset. 315/35r17 in the back and 274/40r17 in front. Or would it be possible to just go 305/35r17 all around? Can the fronts turn that much tire width on a 17x10 with 50 offset without any issues? New Z28 runs those sizes and I love the look of that much tire at the front as well as the rear.

Can't wait to go pick up the new car next weekend. First RWD sports car in my 20 years of driving. Have driven some very powerful FWD and AWD cars in that time, never a RWD V8.

Looks like no one makes a 305/35r17. So, will 315/35r17 fit all around on 10"?

Or I can just go with 295/35r17 all around. Do 295 fit on 9.5"?

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

A 17x9 is ideal for a 275/40 tire, and a 17x11 is ideal for a 310/35.

What are your goals and plans for the car?

The 4th-gen chassis is reasonably well balanced. If you run wider tires in the rear than the front, the car will tend to understeer at the limit as a result of more traction in the rear than the front. This only matters if you’re interested in autocross or road race. If you want to go drag racing or just drive on the street, running different tire widths is fine.

Remember that more mass is always worse, and that wider wheels are generally heavier. Worse yet, wheels are rotating, unsprung mass — the worst kind of mass! There's no reason to put a 275/40 on a 10" wheel.

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

315s will fit front and rear, with some caveats: you won’t be able to turn the steering wheel all the way in either direction, and you'll want to roll your fender lips. 275s on 17x9 wheels were the stock size on the SS and WS6 and will fit your car perfectly. I’m running WS6 17x9” wheels all around on my Z28.

Note that 315 tires are quite a bit more expensive than 275s.

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

Wow, would love to see 315s at all 4 corners. Didn't know an 11 could fit up front. What offset would those need to be?

99% of the time it will just be cruising the street. Have been known to autocross in my older cars. Have not had one to play with in 7 years though. Have not really had a fun drag capable car in a while either. Seems there are not many options in 17x9.5 - 17x11 wheels besides the ZR1 replicas. 315 Sumitomos are some cheap as dirt tires. Even if not the best, cheap enough to not worry about burning off.

Car has Texas Speed heads. Long tube headers and exhaust. Also has Texas Speed Tuning. Stage 3 clutch. 4.10s in the rear as well.

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

The auto-X guys run 17x11 w/ 315's on all 4 corners. I think they take a ZR1/Grand Sport offset wheel and use a spacer in the front. There's no way the 7.94" backspace will fit in the front without a spacer. This will obviously put the tire outside the fender, which is fine for the track, but not to good for the street. Actually illegal in some states. Then there's the grit and gravel that will get thrown up from the tires, sandblasting the side of your car.

And the tramlining with 315's in the front is going to be a significant problem on the street.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=47

Maybe do a search on Sam Strano's posts, or check his website to see if he has any info on running 17x11's in the front.

Strano Performance Parts - Parts Catalog

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

More than likely not running 11s all around for the reasons you mentioned. Very familiar with tramlining. Just a byproduct of having performance tires. Think I am just going with the standard zr1 staggreed setup. Tried and tested. Just wish there were more style options for 17x11 wheels that are not super expensive forge lines and such.

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

FWIW, I have found that tramlining varies significantly depending on the specific tire model. When I went from cheap BFGoodrich all-season 245/50R16 to Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 275/40R17, tramlining decreased noticeably. When I wore out the GS-D3s I got Continental ContiExtremeContact DW in the same size, and I can't remember the last time I experienced any tramlining.

Re: Picking up a 2001 SS in a week have read a lot of wheel and tire threads
 

Probably going to get the DW for the front in 275/40r17 with a few extra PSI to help responsiveness. Guess I will probably settle for the HTRz in back. At least they are cheap enough to not worry too much about burning them off. :)