License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

Pictures i've seen of 18 and bigger seem to show plenty of gap off the ground.....is it possibly the tire combonations in the pics?
Or is this a constant?
The more I look at 17's the better Fbody's look in relation to the ground. This is of course F bods without body kits.

The staggered set of wheels like the 19/18 or even 18/17 seem to make the effect look worst.
I understand the obvious reasons.

Just wanting to see if there are pics maybe or tires combos that make 18in and up not lift the car so far off the ground.

my bandit

iTrader: (10)

it mostly depends on the tire used. some people go with a larger sidewall with the 17's compared to the 18's so it equals out. once i get my fikse's on i will answer this question since im going from an 18" to 17" using the same tires (just for 17's) hopefully

License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

Yea it def looks like a trade off when you go bigger than 17....like you can drop the spring height for example but that will only shorten the wheel gap making it closer to the tires but it seems like the vehicle gets lifted plenty regardless of that the minute you choose 18 or more.
Its like ur riding on dubs....wether ur dropped or not. Im sure being dropped helps lower the dramatics...

Camaro396

iTrader: (14)

In most cases, no. Usually the over all tire diameter stays relatively the same, or close to. The only thing that usually changes is the sidewall or "profile" of the tire. A bigger wheel (18" versus 17") will use a lower profile tire, but at the same time keeping the over all diameter of the tire between 25"-26" in height.

Metal Muscle

My 18s with 275/35/18 tires is almost exactly the same as the stock 16s with 245/45/16 tires. If you go up in rim size, gotta go down in tire profile. If you want to try plugging numbers, try this site, http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...foTireMath.jsp

carlos64030

iTrader: (5)

I actually appreciate the slight lift I got when I switched from my stock 17 inch WS.6 wheels to my current 19 inchers. My headers used to scrape quit often, but now they don't at all, PLUS my car still has a nice stance.

Before:





After:

License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

Gorgeous trans am...the thing about it is that you guys have a rocker panel so it hides it better than say a Camaro without kits. But I see what metal M is saying and am gonna try that calculator in the AM....

Metal Muscle

Yeah, the bumper, how it hangs down more than the Camaro, helps too. That's a really nice car, with great wheels.

Here's mine,

Old wheels


ZR1 wheels




18x9.5 wheels, 40 offset, with 275/35/18 Nitto Invo tires

Edit: And stock suspension in all those pics, I'm gonna be doing some Strano springs soon

License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

MM thats a night and day difference. Perfect choice. I like not too flashy myself.

My car is slightly dropped from stock but enough that it sits exactly where I want it.

So I guess I need to find something that matches the current height of my stock wheels and 245/50's together like you were saying.

That may very well place me back in the 17's zone as i've been suspecting.

For a Camaro just imagine your bandit rides without those rocker panels. it would be a huge gap from floor to bottom of sides. Not that Im some low rider freak. Just like knowing what im trading off before I do so.

I'd like to score 4 front 17's C6 wheels the split 5 spoke design in their OEM colors no chrome....to help keep me from staggering and jacking up the **** of the car. The sucky part to this is the width in the back won't be much but will be more than stock all the way around.

Lizard King

Yeah it's all about choosing the right tire. My front 275/35/18's and rear 315/30/18's are pretty much the exact same diameter as my old 16"'s.

License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

Yea I just found out the 4 front corvette wheels split 5 spokes are 18's. Those are what I really want.

How much did those sets of tires cost you if u remember?

Blk98Vert

iTrader: (2)

As stated optical illusion because of the smaller sidewall

Metal Muscle

Thanks, I like the look myself. I'll try to remember to take a pic of the wheels off the car next to the stock ones tomorrow, to give you an idea of the size difference. My newer ones are the slightest bit larger in diameter. The nice thing is, with the different offset, spokes on the far outside, and wider wheel, I have excellent clearance inside the wheel for big brakes. So I'm gonna upgrade them to the CTS-V or Z06 brakes soon.

The front wheels on Corvettes are 18s, rears are 19s. Any ideas on the width? I know the offset is like a 56, so you'll probably be running wheel spacers or they won't fit right. My tires were somewhere between 800 and a 1000. Wheels, about the same.

I did a calculation with the wheels you have, vs 275/35/18, and it's only a difference of 0.07" in diameter, practically nothing.

Metal Muscle

Well, I'd post the wheel comps, but my computers having difficulties uploading the pics.

Anyways, go with numerically low offset wheels, wide enough for 275s, 18s, and a 35 profile tire, and I'm sure it'll fit great and won't change ride height much if at all.

License2Ill

iTrader: (1)

Thanks all....looks like a win win.

I definitely think I will be doing the 18's as suggested I also want the brake clearences it offers should bigger endeavors show up later.
A friend of mine also knows how to do the calculations...u guys are dead on with his....especially with that size tire Metal....275/35/18...it really is a perfect match to the old.

Altho it seems tire prices go up considerably....so does the return on the looks as all of u show with your pics.

The only cramp in all this is that the set I wanted were Corvette and they come staggered 19r 18front....I was going to go with trying to find 2 pairs of 18x9.5 fronts knowing it might take some time on ebay to do so.
But then came across a complete set of replicas....flaunting 18x9.5 in the front with a 56mm offset..AND 18x10.5 rear.....(offset not posted so I will email to confirm).....looks like a fuggin miracle find?!!!! but none the less they are replicas....and I haven't heard great things about replicas....(not running true)..I am glad that this set exists because I did not want the Corvette 19 rear it was also 12 in width that would of needed hammering out back for proper fit...and im not interested in doing more than flattening the rear fender flares which I have already done.
The question really is to buy replica or score 2 pairs of OEM fronts?

The tread on my current set of tires is far from gone as well...and I doubt I could get them sold off for a fair price without not losing more instead...but i may have to since I can't wait to try another set of wheels.

meine96ws6

iTrader: (4)

I have have 17" replica ZR1's, had c5 z06 17/18", and 19" axis super hiro's, and 19" ruff racing 278s... they all had almost the same tire diameter! The speedo stayed the same and was still correct. If you want to see the way they looked check out my album.

These cars tend to sit low anyway, and longtubes make it worse..I seriously have about 4 or 5 inches to the bottom of my y-pipe