Tiger Shark

Hi,

Please excuse my ignorance, but I need some help with wheel/tire size selection. I want to put 18" wheels on the front and 19" wheels on the rear.

:confused:

1. I'm set on 18x9.5 for the front and I'm thinking about 19x11 for the rear. I've also seen some people do 19x10.5 in the rear. Why would you want 10.5 instead of 11?

2. Tires. Any recommendation for the above wheel sizes? (I don't really want EMTs.) I want to make sure everything is still within proportion to the original factory wheels/tires so that my active handling, traction control, speedometer, etc. won't be affected. I'm more after looks than handling, but I would hope to achieve better performance than the stock EMTs with whatever tires I get. Some have mentioned Pirelli PZero tires as the way to go.

3. Who is currently running the same wheel sizes I mentioned above and which brand/model/size tires did you go with? What are your experiences with the tires compared to stock... concerning both ride and handling?

Thanks a bunch for the help!

:cheers:

DreamZ06

I just ordered a set of HRE 547 wheels with 18X9.5 fronts and 19X11 rears. Since the 19X11's fit in the rear without clearance problems it was an easy choice. In order to keep the stock tire height and not throw off the speedo, etc., I will be running 265/35-18 in front and 295/30-19 in rear. The only problem is the very limited tire selection in these sizes. Currently the Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico is the only tire available in the 295/30-19 size.

Dave

Tiger Shark

Thanks for the information. In the meantime, I ran across thread by bparker concerning his new HRE wheels (19x10.5 rear)/tires and MattG had posted the following recommendation for tire sizes.

"295-30-19 Rear - 25.97" (0.16" Shorter Than Stock)
265-35-18 Front - 25.30" (0.38" Taller Than Stock)
----------------------------------------
Front/Rear Difference - 0.67" (0.22" Greater Than Stock)"

These are the same sizes you bought. :cool:

I read some information about those P-Zero Asimmetrico tires. They sound similar to the Goodyear F1 SC tires in that they're both asymmetric and lose a little wet traction in favor of superior dry traction. This is not my daily driver, so the loss in wet traction doesn't concern me that much. However, I did read that you can use their Direzionale tires on the front in combination with the Asimmetrico tires in the rear for high speed use in variable conditions of wet and dry.

Did you consider their directional tire for the front? I'm not sure if they offer it in a size that will work.


:cheers:

BTW, did you know that the Callaway C12 has 295/30ZR19 tires at the front and 335/25ZR19 at the rear. :eek: Wow!




[Modified by Tiger Shark, 5:39 PM 2/21/2002]

NVMYC5

I have exactly those sizes HRE 547's 18x9.5fr 19x11rears. They are currently out being high polished. For now I have the stocks back on and thinking of selling the HREs for mod money. The wheels are sweet but just a bit to much attention for me. My wheels have 275/35/18 fr 295/35/19 rears yokahama avs sports. Anybody interested email me-make me an offer, also willing to trade for mods :yesnod:


[Modified by NVMYC5, 5:42 PM 2/21/2002]

DreamZ06

Tiger Shark,

I'm like you, this is not my daily driver either. I chose the Asimmetrico all around, because I favor dry weather traction (I don't even drive the car in the rain!). According to Pirelli, the P-zero system can be used either way; asimmetrico front/rear or asimmetrico rear/direzionale front. The latter combination as you noted offers better wet traction at the expense of a little dry traction. I was on tirerack.com and they do not list the Direzionale in a 265/35-18, so I don't know if its available. Check out the tirerack, as they give you some information on these tires. Good luck on your choice! :) :cheers:

Dave

Tiger Shark

Did you have to reprogram your computer for the 295/35/19 rear? I heard that that makes it too tall compared to stock? Thanks for the info.

I'm primarily considering Kinesis K series wheels, but I'm also looking at HRE 545s. I used to really like the 547s (and I still do), but they're a little too busy for the look I'm trying to achieve.
:cheers:

NVMYC5

Also, I will add that when I purchased them HRE recomended 295/35/19 for the rears and the selection is much better. Pzero, avs sports, so3's, there were at least 4 choices I just can rember them all. Try tirerack
Hope this helps :chevy

NVMYC5

Tiger, NO problems what so ever not even with traction control..... I dont know the exact difference but it is close to stock diam.

DreamZ06

275/40-18 (stock size) = 26.66"
295/35-18 (Z06 stock) = 26.13"
295/30-19 = 25.97"
295/35-19 = 27.13"

On your car the 295/30-19 is .69" shorter than stock, and the 295/35-19 is .47" taller than stock. You could go either way.

Dave

Tiger Shark

So, if you didn't want to have to reprogram the computer, it's really just the non-Z06 C5 owner that would need to pick the 295/30-19 rear instead of the 295/35-19 rear when used in combination with the 265-35-18 front?

How many of you guys have actually had your computer reprogrammed for non-stock tire sizes? Can a dealer do this (since I don't think any aftermarket computer reprogrammers are available yet for the 2002 (or 2001)?

Thanks.

BKVIEW4U

heres my .02. i have 18x8.5 front 19x11 rear Racing Hart C5 wheels. ( same wheel as the MTI yellow ad car )
i have yokohama avs sport 295/35/19 rear and 265/35/18 front. absolutely the best tires i have ever owned.
but i have too little tire on the rear. with the 11" rim the 295 tire is pulled in too much and the front bulges too much for me.its very minor but i want a wider rear and narrower front tire. i also dont care for the tread patten too much either. the 305/25 pirelli is slighly shorter . the 295 35 yoko is almost an inch taller than stock

but i will be switching to the pirelli p-zeros very soon. 305/25/19 rear and 255/18 front . i hope they look better

Phantom1000

I have HRE 546 18x9.5 and 19x11 for my second set of rims. I have run both the 295/30-19 Pirelli and the 295/35-18 Michelin Pilot Sport on the rear. I think the Pirelli tire is pretty good. I think the Michelin is a little easier ride. In terms of the height, I was quite surprised to find the actual Michelin tire height to be quite close to the stock 26.13 when measured. We also put the Pirelli and the Michelin side by side and the Michelin was only slightly larger. There is a real shortage of Pirelli 295/30-19 tires. The Michelin is more readily available (not an issue until you need a replacement tire and then suddenly a big issue when Tire Rack tells you 2 months). Don't know what to tell you about the Yokohama tire.

I did not reprogram. On the dyno, we found a very small difference on the circumference of the tire. ABS and Active Handling all seem to be working well with both size rears. Hope this helps.

Tiger Shark

:eek: How'd you get that 18" Michelin to fit your 19" wheel!!!!???? :D
Just kiddin'. Typo, I'm assuming. Thanks for the info.

Phantom1000

It was quite a stretch! :D It's an altogether new tire sizing theory! In fact, I usually run a 19 on the rear right and an 18 on the rear left. Makes for some interesting auto crossing.............

MHLY01

18x10 and 19x 12 :D

Maverick

Here is mine HRE 18x9.5 and 19x10.5 with Mich. Sports. I love it.

Mav

Tiger Shark

What size tires?

AP

From my calculations... to be near perfect on size... you would need a 320/30/19 for a perfect fit... but I dont think anyone makes a tire in that size....

wottogo

When you look the different tires up @ the Tire Rack one of the numbers they give is the revolutions per mile. Just more good info.

Maverick

My set up for the front: 265x35 and 295x35 rear.

Mav