Rocket22

1994

Tire Rack says 285 40 17,

Currently on car is 275 40 17, and the tires from another forum member for sale are 275 40 17.

My corvette is getting ready to be sold and need some newer (not new) tires for the rear but if the correct size is 285, then I will keep looking.

jimmymack

Pretty sure stock rear tires were 285-40-17 from the factory.

Jerry L

I just had a new set of Continental Tires installed on my 1994 which are 255/45/17 front & 285/40/17 rear per door sticker indication. I have the stock saw blades and believe they're 8.5 width front & 9.5 width on the rear.

Sky Vette

Factory was 255/45 front and 285/40 rear.

Mounting 275/40s instead on the back (which you already have) will be hardly noticeable and won't hurt anything.

crzydrumer14

yep 255/45/17 on the front and 285/40/17 on the back

Eakster

It varied a bit across the years of the C4..
Personally I wouldn't put anything less than 285 on the rear of these cars. Ideally mine would be 295, but no-one sells a 17 inch tire that size. If anyone does let me know

Z-07 freak

Unless it's a Z07. Anyway just look at the sticker on the drivers door.

PLRX

As long we have these threads there will always be something for us to read.

ship4043

tire kingdom

Aurora40

Open the driver's door and there will be a label that lists the tire sizes and proper inflation pressures. This is the best way to determine the size from the factory.

Or look at the "dish" on your front and rear wheels. If the dish is the same, you probably want 275's all around. If the fronts have slightly less dish than the rears, you want 255/285's.

Does your car have the original wheels?

Desert LT1 Vette

jon1all

it all depends on whether your car has 17x9.5 wheels all around (in which case the correct factory size is 275/40/17) or if it has 17x8.5 up front & 17x9.5 out back (in which case the correct factory sizes are 255/45/17 up front & 285/40/17 out back).

if you do have 17x9.5 all around though 285/40/17 all around works (& looks) good too! That's what I run & love 'em! But it is not 'factory'.

jon1all

oh yeah & btw... If you have 255/45/17 up front I would not put 275/40/17 out back... The 255/45 is about half an inch taller than the 275/40 & would probably be noticeable & weird looking to have taller front tires.

the 285/40 & 255/45 match up almost perfectly...that is why the factory chose those sizes for the base suspension cars (ie, the ones with 8.5 front wheels).

uptown193

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...94/94prod.html

Jimbo 89

285 40 17 is the "correct " size, but 275 40 17 is the "preferred" size. 275 is a little bit wider, and a little bit smaller in diameter.Wider is usually preferred, especially by the new buyer.

RollaMo-LT4

Want to give a little more information than that?

Eakster wanted to know if anyone sells a 295 series in a 17" that would fit.
Tire Kingdom does not have any 295 series tires listed in a 17" size.


Why would 275/40-17 be the "preferred" size on a car that came with 285/40-17?
And a 275 is not wider than the 285 either. At least not in any tire specs I have looked at.

Goodyear Eagle GS-D3
285/40-17: Section Width = 11.3" , Tread Width = 9.9", OD = 26.1"
275/40-17: Section Width = 10.8" , Tread Width = 9.4", OD = 25.7"

anciano

There is no magic formula for tire sizes as long as they are in ballpark and fit the rim correctly. A 275/40 tire converted to inches is 10.8 in. wide and has a sidewall height of 4.3 in. A 285/40 has a tread width of 11.2 in. and sidewall height of 4.49 in. So you are talking about a difference of less than half an inch in tread width and less than a fifth of an inch sidewall height. Those are differences in contact patch and overall height that varying tire pressures can cause, and how many can tell us their actual tire pressure right now to within 4-5 pounds (no fair peeking)? Not to mention the fact that centrifugal force at high speeds can increase a tire's circumference significantly (a lot more than 1/5 in) so in that case the 275 might be optimum.

The engineer that decided a 285/40 was the "correct" size was sitting in a cubicle next to the engineer that said you should tighten your oil filter to 22 lb/in (or something) -- just a number somewhere close to the middle of the allowable range, and in full awareness that real-world tire conditions such as temperature, load, speed and a host of other factors have an influence on the "perfect" number.

It's a Chevy for cryin' out loud -- not the space shuttle.

Jimbo 89

So sorry....Generally speaking, 275's are a wee bit wider than 285's.
Tire manufacturers differ.

RED-85-Z51

Isnt this like saying that sometimes 9 inches is a little longer than 9.5 inches?

Those numbers are a measurment, in Millimeters, of the width of the tire...

jon1all

In every form of math I am aware of 285mm is wider than 275mm... Think you have your math backwards....