corvetteterry

I am thinking about going with 17" rims on my 1978 whats the max width i can get away with and also what size tire i dont want to have any issues
thanks
Terry

spookytooth

It is not easy, I have been trying to make a selection as well.
I have not yet found a tire combination that I like. The problem is with the tire height. The car's wheel well is designed for a stock tire height of 27". If you are looking to put a larger/wider tire on the rear, you may have to do what GordonM did and use an 18" wheel on the rear. My problem is the wheel that I want to use is not made in an 18". If you are using the same width on all four there may be one on the market that does the job for you. Look at the "Tire Rack" web site and you can find all of the tire dimensions and wheel size they are disigned to fit.
Good Luck.

fauxrs2

in 17's your looking at somehting along the lines of the 255-50/17...which is what i run on the rear of my car - i run a staggered size 245-45 up fgront but in retrospect i should stayed with the single size.

jb78L-82

The car looks great with those tires! On my 78 L-82 4spd, I would like to change to a more performance Z rated tire with my OEM rims than my current 255/60/15 S-Rated tires but no one makes a Z rated tire in that size. The only option currently is aftermarket rims like you have. Are your tires Z-rated, what size tire did you switch from, and how big a change did you experience in the ride and handling going to the 17's? Even if I considered your 17 in rims, I would think that I would have to stagger the sizes like you did since with 3.70 rear gears, I cannot afford to go to a shorter tire in the rear. I am assuming that you cannot run 255/50/17 in the front due to clearance issues even though I would prefer the 245/45/17 in the back but back to the gear issue. What I am really interested in is someone who would make the OEM original aluminum 70's-82 rim in the 17 inch size. Anyone know of someone who may be thinking of doing that rim?

mrvette

I have '92 vette rims on there with 2.5 inch wheel ADAPTORS from VBP, for some 14 years now.....one of the very first things done to the car.....90% of your car is in the rubber on the road....

the tires in the rear are 275/50/17 and 255 up front....

NOW in the rear, I long ago moved the ebrake cable bracket from inside the tire to inside the rotor.....and so no problem with tire fitting.....the 8" rim went to 9.5 inch, and so 3/4 inch to the inside, and 3/4 inch to the outside, keeping the wheel/tire centerline identical....

ntrlhi

Terry, do a thread search on the subject and you will literally be overwhelmed with what's been posted...however for my 71 I have staggered wheels, 17x8 up front and 18x10 at the rear...9.5" is probably the widest you can get up front without any issues...I have no problems with the deep dish 10" out back (I mean serious lip)...my wheels of choice are the Torque Thrusters ll...polished aluminum...very retro in my opinion but is consitent with the full bumber years...

good hunting!!!

fauxrs2

These tires are Z-rated, I ran the ubiquitos 255/60-15 on this car before, the difference between then and now is night and day, despite the shorter sidewall these tires ride smoother and stick like crazy on the corners.

I assume i can run the same tire up front as I have in teh back as i had no issues with the 255-60's up front and my rears are essentially the same dimensionally.

the 245's are frankly too small so i wouldnt reccomend them in any position - i will go to 255's up front when these tires are due to be removed, either that or i need to drop the nose an inch.

jb78L-82

Thanx for your comments. I guess if I want to change rims, the 255/50/17's all around is the way to go. I feel that all the changes I have made to my car are wasted with the 255/60/15's S-rated since I have poly upper and lower control arm bushings, new 550 lb coil springs, the oem 1 1/8" front bar with poly mounting and end link bushngs, and Bilstein Heavy duty shocks in the front. In the rear, I have competition strut rods with the sypherical end links, a 360 lb composite spring mounted with poly cushions, 3/4 " OEM style rear sway bar with Poly mounting bushings, and Bilstein Sport shocks. The tires are one of the most important components of the cars handling and I need Z-rated low profile tires to optimize my setup. I may just have to bite the bullet and make the change to 17 inch rims! Who makes those rims and exactly what would I need to ask for (part #). I am assuming that I would need to make no modifications for them to fit on my 78, correct?

vettenoir

You can go with 255/45R17's and get more performance tire options. Check my signature picture for what they look like. They will be 1" smaller in diameter than 255/60R15's.

jb78L-82

I would go with the 245/45/17's in the front and 255/60/17's in the rear since with 3.70 rear gears I cannot afford having a smaller diameter tire in the rear which will numerically raise my gear ratio with the 4 spd. i also like the look of tat staggered tires give the 78/79's since it lowers the front end relative to the rear. Still waiting for someone to offer the OEM aluminum rims in 17's since I could retain the stock look with modern tires. Would be people be interested in the stock OEM aluminum rim for 70-82's in a 17 in your opinion?

fauxrs2

Made by SLP and sold by mid america, corvette america and most of the corvette suppliers

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-1-296-6408.html

Steve439

I've been thinking about getting those wheels.
Did you happen to weigh them?

yel76low

What finish are they available in? Are they chrome or just polished aluminum?

Also, I see they have 4.5" BS - I thought the stock rims were 4"? Am I mistaken?

And yes... did you weight them?

swissc3

Hi Corvetteterry

I have 17 x 8" wheels (4" back space) and 245-45 ZR17 tires at front and rear.

Today I would probably go a little wider at the rear, up to about 8.5 or 9 inch, as I still have some space to the edge of the wheel arch.

By the way, thanks to the 17" wheels the car handles a lot better.

I hope this helps.

Best regards from Switzerland

swissc3

Sorry I'm not able to ad a picture of the car. But If you click on my name on the left you'll see a pic with the rims.

swissC3

71rdster

You can also order directly from SLP

http://www.slponline.com/view_product.asp?P=81003

corvetteterry

these are the wheels i was thinking of www.wheelsnext.com/images/wheels/large/helo sorry guys i am not to goog with puter
terry
by the way they are suggesting series 235 tires

fauxrs2

I did not.

you can purchase them direct from SLP - i found it was cheaper actually at mid america

crf311

Boyd's here.

Steve439

Yeah, you did the right thing. It's a tossup for me between the SLPs and the (really, really) common TTIIs. The TTIIs are pretty light but I like the looks of the SLPs way more. I might just buy them the next time Mid America has free shipping or some sale.

Thanks for the reply!

Edit: I'm gonna start a thread and see if we can get a weight.