Koastie57

Okay, i've made about 5 threads already asking some questions over and over about this and i've gotten an idea of what i was going to do but i keep reconsidering if i want to do it.

I was planning on getting new rims (torque thrusters II's to be exact), but was debating whether to get all around 17x9.5 or the 17x11. I was told the 17x11 is the way to go since you can get 315 tires. Well after stressing over whether I would roll my fenders or not with 315 tires, i got a response from someone telling me that, you don't gain anything from a 315 tire because the extra weight counteracts the traction you gain which makes you come out the same either way.

So I guess what i'm asking is what is the real reason people get 315's? Is it the looks?

I keep going back and forth between the all around 17x9.5 setup or the 17x9.5 and 17x11 setup..

Does the 315 really look that much better? Its a big purchase for me considering i'm only 17 i can't just throw cash around so somebody help me decide! I live in texas so overall its a warm climate here, never snow...

copteezer496

iTrader: (1)

Most people get the 315's because of how they look, they fill out the back of the car better than the stock 275's. The guys (myself included) who do run 17X11's, keep a set of the 17X9.5's around with a set of slicks on the for the track.Some even run a set 16X8 wheels so they can run a taller, wrinkle-wall slick. But the 17X11's are just for looks more than anything else........that is unless you do road course racing on a regular bases, then you can mount some road race slicks on the 315's to put more rubber to the ground.

So my vote is for you to run the 17X9's up front and the 17X11's out back, you'll be in love with how it looks!!

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

pretty much what he said man... the 315 is for looks.. unless your trying to get some serious power to the ground you dont need anything bigger than a 295 really.. that should be more than enough, if you run the right tire.. that is at the track of course..

a friend of mine has 325 mickey radials and i have a set of 275 (i believe) mickey streets.. i pull 1.65 sixties dead hooking and he pulls 1.45s on nitrous dead hooking.. the guy that i bought my tires from was pulling 1.4s dead hooking..

as far as the looks.. honestly from the back there isnt gonna be that much of a diiference between a say 295 tire and a 315 tire.. the difference will be your sidewall appareance.. a 315/50 sidewall will obviously be thicker than a 295/50...

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Ultimately I don't think you can go wrong either way. It honestly boils down to do you want to do possible sheet metal mods, just to get a 315 tire . . .

Keep in mind to 315's are getting a little harder to find, sicne the demand is not there not too many companies make the tire . . . just look at Tirerack and Discount Tire websites.

Do you care about rotating your tires?

Yes the rotational mass does increase.

How much money do you want to spend on wheels and tires?

. . . ?

Koastie57

See thats the thing... I really don't want to have to do any other mods, i just want to be able to swap the wheels and be done with it... everyone says the rub the fender deal is a problem and i really don't want to do anything that puts me in a possible problem..


I have about $1200 dollars to spend for this.. a little less or more give or take...

I'm not a mechanic kind of guy so don't want to deal with anything an average person wouldn't be able or would want to do..

Bigchickenhawk

iTrader: (3)

well just a heads up....but tire rack has the sumitomo 315/35/17 for $99 a tire right now, kinda a crap tire, but damn if the price ain't right

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...=1&RunFlat=All

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

actually those are HORRIBLE!!!! friend of mine has them... same size.. he would fishtail at 55 mph.. it was bad... just a plain jane f13 cam 5.3 heads car.. N/A!

but that is a killer price. and for street tires, you can impress people easily with them.. then get you an extra set of rims/tires for racing..

jlrz28

iTrader: (7)

You can always run a 285 40 17. Thats whats on the rear of mine right now on a 17x11 Zr1 wheel.

UGOTWS6D

I kinda debated the same thing too but i ended up going with the TII's with the 17x11's in the back and I'm so glad I did. I have a WS6 too and the wider rims completely change the look and stance of the car. When u look at it from the front angle, the wheels are pretty much flush with the top edge of the fender and from the back it just looks mean as hell. For tires, I went with the 315 Nitto 555R drag radials only b/c they run a lil narrow so I wouldnt have to pound on my inner wheel well or roll the fenders. I am at stock height and they went right on...i'd say I still have about a 1/2" of space in the back and am not even close to touching the fender lip but alot of that depends on the tire u go with....for ur budget ur prolly looking at a 315 Nitto or Sumitomo. Nitto does make a 555 non drag radial now and it is just a hair wider than the 555R so i doubt you would have to do anything if u used it....but def go with the 11's man! I'll take killer looks anyday over worrying about losing a few hp, etc.

jj_z28

iTrader: (14)

go with the 11's. I used to run 17x11 Zr1's w/ 315 nitto's and 335 hoosiers then went to 17x9 GM zr1 wheels with 275 nitto's. Lets just say, I have a new set of 17x11s and 335 hoosiers again. The look is baddass and it doesnt take much to fit a 315 at all. Now 335's are a different story, takes a little more work haha. Go 11's and dont look back.

01Z28M6

I just bought a chrome ZR1 9.5 / 11 inch wheel package for less than $1300 shipped. I got the +56 and +50 offset package. The same seller has the wider stance +38 offset (for birds). The wheels are absolutely gorgeous but the tires are sumitomo. Lemons12 says these tires are horrible and could be right; I haven't driven them on the road yet. However, Tire Rack rates them well, comparing them to the Ecsta 712. Individual reviews by customers are generally in the excellent category with a consistent low noise comment. The HTRZ has a relatively stiff sidewall. This gives good turning response but a lower traction attribute. Soft sidewalls are what makes a tire into a digger suitable for drag racing. The sumitomo II has a great looking tread design is a better choice for more money. The III max is their top of the line summer tire.

The comments about filling out the fender well are true. The car looks positively awesome from the back with the 315s. Since my car is lowered, I must roll the fender lip. Not a difficult thing but everything costs and there's a slim chance for damage. To me, the additional expense and risk is worth it. The look of that 12.5 inch wide tire back there can't be described.

_916ls1z28_

im considering doing the same thing 17x11 but instead of rollin the fender can i have it cut off that lil lip or would that weakin the quarterpanel?

Saturn5

I'm also considering this as well, and my biggest concern is getting good 315 tires.
I'm more into the handling than just drag racing, so balance and handling are important to me. I don't want to run crap tires just because they look good.

I'm also debating between 17's and stepping up to 18's or 19's, but the downside there is tire prices go up dramatically when you go larger than 17" rims.

SKI

iTrader: (9)

you should not have to roll fender unless you are not at stock height.

01Z28M6

I've only known of one person who had ground the wheel well lip away. I wouldn't do it to my cars.

As for good tires, go to tire rack's web page and browse through the tires. They have an excellent system of ratings and technical information. I can tell you this about that; the sumitomos are the best bang for the buck unless the reviews are wrong.

Regarding wheel size; keep in mind that the larger the wheel the smaller the sidewall. Smaller sidewalls are stiffer and therefore give less linear traction. The sidewalls do not give much and the tire breaks traction more easily. That is why serious drag racers use 15 inch tires with a tall (greater) aspect. The sidewall can flex and reduce the suddenness of acceleration. A 19" wheel can look killer but the sidewalls are so tiny that tire spin happens more quickly. Lateral traction can be affected by a short sidewall too. You get better feedback with the low aspect but once again, the traction limit comes upon you quickly with the stiff sidewalls that come with the territory.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

you guys are getting keyboard happy! haha, damn stories in here i tell ya...

z-boy

iTrader: (2)

def go with 17/11, man u will love them, i just put some zr1's on my 98z..17-9.5and 17-11..i wouldnt have it any other way...i had to do a few mods to run them but not much, because i got her slammed down ....if i wouldve been at stock height, i wouldn't had to do nothing, just bolt and go...everybody else is telling you the cold hard facts, just do it man...go for the 11.....oh yeah running nittos in the back...

01Z28M6

Am I wrong He's asking for information on wheel size and tire width. These are the things he needs to understand. If Koastie57 just wants the look or to pull 1.65 second 60 foot launches, autox or a little of all. Understanding tire basics is part of owning a muscle car. He's 17 and doesn't want to waste his money; I'm recommending what I bought. He can get this same wheel package minus the chrome for $1034 shipped. I felt I typed enough to get him the information he needs,,no stories, no hype.

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

OP: I believe I was the one who posted about the weight gains vs. traction gain with 315/35/17. I know I've been posting that a lot lately...

Here are my PERSONAL experiences, not "I seen [SIC] a guy who had them and he ran a 1.6 60' and didn't have to roll the fenders or nothin [SIC]":

• Stock wheels and tires - Dyno'd 333rwhp after tune and some mods. However, they were pretty ugly.
• 315/35/17 - Dyno'd 320rwhp on the same dyno with NO changes to the setup other than the wheels and tires.
  • The good: They looked GREAT. Filled the fenders and had a very aggressive, mean look.
  • The bad: The aforementioned power loss, plus I had to roll the fender lips (I would not cut them off, as I'm pretty sure the lip is a weld/attachment point for the quarter panel), trim back the bump stop mounts, and be the hell out of my inner fender wells. Even after all that, when the axle skewed (i.e. taking a turn into a driveway), they rubbed. At over $300 per tire, I cringed every single time it happened. After a lot of hammering, I finally had enough and added some 1/8" spacers, which helped, but they still rubbed on occasion. When I got my 12-bolt, the rubbing got worse (I have a hunch my 12-bolt might be just a shade narrower than the stock 10-bolt). I had enough, so I bought a set of Fikse FM5s that were 17x9.5 all around.

While I won't argue that fat tires look really awesome, they were just too much of a pain in the *** for me. When I went from the FM5s to my current wheels (DPE R05-S variants), I got 18x9 fronts and 18x10 rears with 275/35/18 tires in the front and 295/35/18 out back. They fill the fender wells very nicely and don't come anywhere close to rubbing.

315s take work to fit, and it all depends on your particular car (tolerances aren't very tight car to car, so it might take less work for your car than it did for mine) and how much time, effort, and money you want to put into it.


-Mike

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

i was just joking around man!
i gave my info also!