Newbie question - ZO6 tire sizes

[NEZO6]

I have an '02 EB ZO6 lowered on the bolts with chrome wheels. Although it looks good I'm thinking about CCWs and am confused about optional wheel sizes. If I do get larger wheels is there a reason to stay with larger rear and smaller front? How large can I go; 19 or 20? My car is strickly street driven. Any and all opinions would be appreciated and pictures would be great. Thanks John

[Vette_Fan]

This has GOT to be the most amazing thread I've seen. 147 people read it, and no reply ....

I think 19 - 20 inch is the largest that I've seen people go for. But then you'd be wearing rubber bands, instead of tires.. something to think about..

[NEZO6]

Thanks for the REPLY!

I kept thinking the same thing. I spend a lot of time on the C5 forums and members are considerably more responsive.

[aggie88]

Originally Posted by NEZO6

I have an '02 EB ZO6 lowered on the bolts with chrome wheels. Although it looks good I'm thinking about CCWs and am confused about optional wheel sizes.

If I do get larger wheels is there a reason to stay with larger rear and smaller front?

How large can I go; 19 or 20? My car is strickly street driven.

Any and all opinions would be appreciated and pictures would be great.

Thanks

John

If you are interested in 19/20 you may have already read this thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...957&forum_id=6
20s are tough to get in the right size.
Before one can answer your questions, one needs more information.
What do you mean "larger" rear "smaller" front? Diameter or width?
I assume diameter, a larger front diameter wheel will lower your tire profile and make the steering more responsive. A larger rear diameter wheel would not change the steering feel but certainly would be noticeable in any transition driving like slaloms or sudden lane changes. I would recommend that you stay with similar aspect ratios for the "looks" dept. as well as performance reasons. In other words, don't use 17s with 40 profiles in front and 19s with 30 profiles in rear.

Also when you say your car is strictly street driven, does that mean you don't accelerate hard and hot dog corners? Or do you want tires that give a good combo of street mileage/comfort and grip?

My advice is to stay away from the 20s because of the lack of tire choices. Remember, no matter how good your wheels look, you still have to drive on the tires...not the wheels! Hope this helps.

[Luke@tirerack]

the rear tire needs to be .6" -1" taller than the front to keep the computer happy ......

to keep the car handling correctly you need similar sidewall height and deflection rates so, it is best to keep the rear wheel 1" larger than the front

[NEZO6]

Originally Posted by aggie88

If you are interested in 19/20 you may have already read this thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...957&forum_id=6
20s are tough to get in the right size.
Before one can answer your questions, one needs more information.
What do you mean "larger" rear "smaller" front? Diameter or width?
I assume diameter, a larger front diameter wheel will lower your tire profile and make the steering more responsive. A larger rear diameter wheel would not change the steering feel but certainly would be noticeable in any transition driving like slaloms or sudden lane changes. I would recommend that you stay with similar aspect ratios for the "looks" dept. as well as performance reasons. In other words, don't use 17s with 40 profiles in front and 19s with 30 profiles in rear.

Also when you say your car is strictly street driven, does that mean you don't accelerate hard and hot dog corners? Or do you want tires that give a good combo of street mileage/comfort and grip?

My advice is to stay away from the 20s because of the lack of tire choices. Remember, no matter how good your wheels look, you still have to drive on the tires...not the wheels! Hope this helps.

When I refer to "larger rear" and "smaller front" I mean my stock ZO6 tires are different sizes; 17" front/18" rear.

I'll stay away from the 20s but can you get "nineteens all the way around" as I see in many pictures with different tire sizes so as to maintain the tire height mentioned by Luke or do you necessarily have to have 1" different wheel sizes?

My definition of "street driven" is fairly tame at my age (58) and doesn't include "accelerate hard and hot dog corners".

Finally, getting different tires and CCW's is a significant investment so I want to make sure I go forward with enough information to make a good decision.

Thanks for the input.

John

[aggie88]

Yes, I think 19s all the way around would be neat for a Z06. I got a set of 18 inch Fikse on my C6 that were on a Z06, so equal diameter wheels is no problem. The next thing to answer after you settle on the 19s is the wheel widths. You probably want to go a bit wider than the factory 9.5 and 10.5, just because most 19 inch tires are wider than the 17s and 18s for the same heights. My 18s are 10 in front and 11 in rear. Anything wider than that and you have to make sure you have enough offset to prevent tire rub - but yet keep them within the wheel wells. For "normal" street driving 10s and 11s should get enough 19 inch tire sizes...and more importantly brands and styles... to choose from. I have seen 19X11s and 19X12s on C5s too. Check the tirerack.com website for tire availability. And remember, like Luke said, make sure the front and rear tire heights are equivalent to the factory ones.

Thats 25.3 inch front and 26.2 inch rear, right Luke?

...and BTW....CCWs will make you happy - HAVE FUN!!!!

[Pio]

Just got my set of HRE 541 R's, 19's f and 20's rear for my 2003 Z06. The tire size for the front is 265/30/19 and the rear size is 305/25/20. This is the basic set up I have (with 841's) on my C6, check out "my corvette pictures". Good luck!