Xtreme57

iTrader: (6)

Hey All,

It about time for new tires on my 2001 Ws6, and I really have never seen the need for 275's on all four corners. The C5 Vette seemed to do fine with 245's up front and 275's on the rear. It would seem that a smaller tire would help with unsprung weight as well as wandering on the highway due to the smaller contact patch. Not to mention that they are cheaper tires too. I would imagine I'd have to buy new rims to accommodate the smaller tires, but I can find cheap stock rims pretty easily.

Has anyone done this?

farmington

iTrader: (14)

I have actually been thinking about getting my front rims narrowed to 5". There's a place by me that does this type of job.

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

I believe you can safely put a 245 tire on a 9 inch wide rim, but I'm not 100% positive-but I have seen it done before. I would personally just get a second set of drag/race/skinny wheels for up front if you're just concerned about track performance.

mikey67

My car had 245-45-17's when I bought it. They're mounted on 17x9 wheels and I've had no problems. I'm pretty sure standard Trans Ams came with 245's on the 16" wheels?

chasgiv3

iTrader: (1)

Cheap stock rims are going to be significantly heavier than the stock WS-6 17" forged polished aluminum rims. So you won't be losing unsprung weight at all if I'm right.

bigj2717

iTrader: (15)

I ran a 255 tire on a 9.5" rim and it looked like crap. You could see how stretched the tire was.

Bad Blu Formula

iTrader: (3)

My roommate used to run a 255 on the front of his WS6. Makes for easier every day driving but I wouldn't go that route if you plan to do any high speed cornering.

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

Corvettes are also lighter, and have better weight distributions than a TA.

slow3hoe2

iTrader: (3)

i HATE 275's up front. on my trans am I have 17x10" rims on the rear and 17x7" rims on the front. it tracks SO much better. I just bought a camaro that has almost new 275's all around and i HATE it. I dont know why the oe wheel guys havent hit this market. these cars ride so much better with a narrower wheel up front.

Xtreme57

iTrader: (6)

This is kind of what I was getting at. I'm not drag racing the car, it's a daily driver, and I'm tired of it constantly wandering all over the road, not to mention the unnecessary strain on the PS pump. I don't want to just put **** rims on the front, I'd like similar rims to what I have, or just go with a used set of TT2's perhaps.

But again, the Vette has a staggered set up, and seems to do just fine. Yes it does have better weight distribution, but I think that's getting off topic. I'm asking if I were to do this, are there any negatives for the car? I never understood why the Ws6/SS packages included these size tires on all four corners.

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

The ws6 and ss packages probably included these tire sizes because they were supposed to be "handling/performance" packages. Bigger tires in the rear meant better traction, and bigger tires up front meant better steering responce and handling. The vettes probably didn't need 275's up front to handle good because they had great weight distribution, (most of the time) lighter curb weight, and a lower center of gravity. They're a completely different car and formula altogether, dont compare apples to oranges.

WSsick

iTrader: (13)

Friend of mine had his stock Z28 wheels narrowed down and he runs a 205 now, could even go down to a 195 he said. Obviously this is for straight line purposes, not corner carving.

slow3hoe2

iTrader: (3)

I cant see any negatives.

I run a 215/50-17 on the front and it makes it SO much nicer to drive. I cant tell any sacrifice in handling. I dont road race the car but I do like to take corners. I think it actually handles better. The steering is much smoother and more predictable. It just makes these cars so much better to drive.

It also depends on how the roads are where you live. by me there are many nice roads and many low quality roads. the worst is bumpy with cupping in the lanes...275's on the front make the car all over the road. I can see some of you guys that live in areas that the roads are nice not even knowing what we're talking about. on nice roads the 275's feel great.

I say go for some narrow front rims/tires.

bowlingtl

I'm running 255s on the front of my 01 ws6. Daily street manners are really good. I didnt like the 275s upfront either.

jtut90

iTrader: (5)

i have 245/45/17 on mine and it still feels like it wonders a bit

myk

iTrader: (4)

I just got a set of speedlines and new tires mounted on my T/A-the 275 all around just seems wrong. At first the shop installing the rims didn't believe the tires were the right size. 245 up front would've made better sense...

slow3hoe2

iTrader: (3)

what width rims are they on?

Coppertone

ss55539

ive got a set of 245/45/17s i was thinking about mounting up front but cant find any pictures of how they look on a 9 inch wheel.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

As many have mentioned above, you can put 245/45/17 on a 17X9" stock wheel but, IMO, this looks too stretched on a 9" wheel. That size would be fine on a 17x8" though.

The base TA/Z28 size of 245/50/16 does ride a bit smoother, not just due to being narrower but also the taller sidewall.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the big deal is about the 275s up front. I see some Chicago folks above had complained about this due to our poor roads. I've been driving 4th gens with 275mm front tires around this same region for nearly 20 years and I don't see any major problem. Yes, there is some pull/wander when stopping at intersections with significant lane cupping, but that's not really a big issue IMO. And I used to swap over to 225/55/16 snow tires on 16x7.5" wheels every winter, so I'm familiar with how they drive with a much narrower front tire on the same car....I still don't see the big deal.