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I have custom made 17" C6 rims, 9.5 wide, and I was thinking about selling them for a set of 35th anniversary SS rims... with the only difference in size between the two being that the SS rims are only 9" wide. Will you be able to see a difference_visually? I mean as far as the SS rims being slightly skinnier... I like having wider wheels, but I have an eye for perfection, and if I can see the difference then I might not make the trade...
I've gone back and forth between 9" and 9.5" wide wheels on several of my 4th gens. Here are some of my observations:
- When the same exact tire (not just the same size, as two different tires of the same size sometimes run a slightly different actual width) is mounted on each, you can see more sidewall bulge on the 9" wide wheel. The 9.5" wheel stretches the tire more, so from behind it should technically look wider, but the small difference there is harder to see IMO. What's more noticeable is the reduced sidewall bulge on the wider 9.5" wheel IMO.
- Wheel offset/backspacing makes a difference as well. The stock 9" wheel has a 50mm offset, which tucks the wheel/tire into the wheel well more than many aftermarket wheels. You mentioned that yours are custom, so I have no idea what sort of offset you have. Wheels with a deeper lip tend to give the illusion of additional width (and sidewall bulge) to the same tire. I think any change in offset/backspace will be more noticeable to you than the loss of 0.50" of rim width.
Thanks for the input. Here are some pics of my rims.
All of what you said makes perfect sense. So let me ask you this, will the 9" wheel tuck up inside the fender more? What I'm more concerned with is which of the two will stick out a little more and look better. Have a wider stance. Given that I do understand we are only talking a half inch difference, but still.
So let me ask you this, will the 9" wheel tuck up inside the fender more? What I'm more concerned with is which of the two will stick out a little more and look better. Have a wider stance.
Based on the above pictures, it looks to me like your current wheels have a high positive offset (meaning they tuck in pretty well), so I don't think you'll notice much difference in this regard. As a point of reference, here is what stock 17x9", 50mm offset wheels sit like on my '98 car. Although this is the ZR1 style, it has exactly the same offset and width as the 10-spoke 35th wheels you're interested in, so they would sit in exactly the same spot within the wheel wells:
As a point of further reference, here is my '02 car with 17x9.5", 56mm offset reproduction ZR1 wheels. As you can see, even though they are 0.5" wider, the additional 6mm of positive offset basically makes up the difference (meaning the outside of the wheel basically sits in the same spot within the wheel well as a stock 17x9", 50mm offset wheel):
I totally just had an orgasm looking at your ride. lol very sexy car. Any mods?
Haha, thank you very much.
The silver '98 has only a few minor bolt-ons. It's a mostly original show vehicle that has only 17k miles.
The pewter '02 was my daily driver for many years. I sold it back in 2014 when it had about 110k miles. It saw quite a bit of weathering by the end, but it still looked fresh when that picture was taken back in ~2007.
Very nice. Mine is a 98 too. I bought it with 87k miles on it after I lost my 400hp WS6 when I got hit by my opponent racing. lol The Z was that ugly *** seaweed green when I bought it, I painted it Aqua Blue Metallic, didn't like it, then painted it Electron Blue. She's got headers, comp cam, slp cai, LS6 intake and dyno tuned.
Very nice. Mine is a 98 too. I bought it with 87k miles on it after I lost my 400hp WS6 when I got hit by my opponent racing. lol The Z was that ugly *** seaweed green when I bought it, I painted it Aqua Blue Metallic, didn't like it, then painted it Electron Blue. She's got headers, comp cam, slp cai, LS6 intake and dyno tuned.
I had a WS6 as well, a 2000 that I bought brand new. It was my street/strip car for several years and had typical internal and external modifications (cam/headers/stall/etc/etc) for the time. I learned factory PCM tuning on that car with LS1Edit. That was many years ago.
I like the electron blue color change on yours; wish that color had been a factory option on these cars.
That's badass. Trans Ams are definitely rare beauties. I appreciate the compliment on the color, my original choice was Viper GTS Blue, but I was advised to go with a metallic paint here in Texas, because the heat would eat up that pearl coat. Electron Blue was my 2nd choice. I'm actually considering painting it Viper Blue anyway, but I want it in a matte finish. No clear coat.
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Visual difference between 9" wide rim vs 9.5" 
