simplysix

iTrader: (1)

Hello all. I'm a little confused on front tire size. Seems like 275 is most popular but I don't understand why. Only advantage I could think of is increased Cornering ability, but a lot of people are pulling off the front sway bar so Cornering must not be the goal. Is it just a style thing? I would something like a 245 would be cheaper, lighter, and have less rolling resistance, so what's the advantage of a wider front tire?

TransAmWS.6

It really kind of depends, if you just want to go fast in a straight line, then I suppose it may be kind of pointless to run a 275+ tire up front unless you just want it for the looks. In the handling department however, I believe, theoretically the wider the tire you have the better traction you will get. Most of the seriously fast F-Bodies I see that are setup for road-racing always run huge tires up front, so I'm pretty sure there are some actual advantages to it.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

Most people are running 275's because that's the correct width for their stock rims. The most popular aftermarket rims for the 98-02 F-Bodies seem to be Corvette replicas because of their affordability and they themselves also come in at around the same rim width - thus requiring a 275 tire.

There are some people who are more straightline-oriented that opt for a thinner front wheel like the 17 x 7 street lights. I think the recommended size is 245 on those.

Basically, a large percentage of owners have a rim that requires a 275 width rim. It is dangerous to run a 245 width tire on a factory rim much like it is dangerous to run a 315 width tire on aforementioned rim.

carlos64030

iTrader: (5)

Your statement I bolded is very misleading considering how the Camaro Z28, Formula and Trans Am models comes with 245-50-16 tires on 16 x 8 wheels.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

Yea, I forgot about factory 16's. I meant it's dangerous to run a 245 width on a rim that requires 275's.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

02TransAm/Batmobile,

There's no danger in running a 245/45/17 tire on a 9" wide wheel, most if not all Manufactures recommended wheel width range is 7.5"-9", and with a 245/40/18 tire you can safely use a 9.5" wide wheel.

mikey67

I have 245's on my 9" wide front wheels, it's a non-issue they fit fine.

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

That, I did not know. Would a 245/40R18 tire look stretched on a 9.5"? I have 275/40R18's on my front 18x9.5's and I was afraid 265's alone would look stretched.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Yeah, it probably would, but that still depends somewhat on how wide the tire runs since the width varies from different brands.

Mtownls1

give it the hella flush look lol

mikey67

245 would probably be okay on a 9.5" wheel. 245mm translates to just over 9.5 ". That said, a 9" wheel is typically the widest recommended wheel width for a 245 so it might be pushing it a bit... 99Bluz28 has a valid point about tire widths not being consistent from brand to brand. A 265 would be fine on a 9.5" width wheel.