Rim Size Question '01 TA WS6

[Xzael]

Hey guys,

I've got a stock (as far as I know - bought it used) 01 Trans Am WS6. I'm getting some new rims/tires/exhaust this summer. I'm curious, as I've been hearing mixed comments on the subject, but are 18 inch rims bad for this car? I'm not spending top dollar for them so they will probably be pretty heavy to begin with. The car is street driven as an every day car (not specifically designed for race/drag), but I want it to perform if some clown pulls up in a 'stang wanting to play ball.

I'm also pretty set on getting SLP Loudmouth exhaust (catback only). Has anyone had a bad experience with this exhaust? Or can anyone vouch for it being a good exhaust?

[ConElite]

Hey guys,

I've got a stock (as far as I know - bought it used) 01 Trans Am WS6. I'm getting some new rims/tires/exhaust this summer. I'm curious, as I've been hearing mixed comments on the subject, but are 18 inch rims bad for this car? I'm not spending top dollar for them so they will probably be pretty heavy to begin with. The car is street driven as an every day car (not specifically designed for race/drag), but I want it to perform if some clown pulls up in a 'stang wanting to play ball.

I'm also pretty set on getting SLP Loudmouth exhaust (catback only). Has anyone had a bad experience with this exhaust? Or can anyone vouch for it being a good exhaust?

Hey Buddy, Welcome to the Forum. Im running the SLP loudmouth II on my car. I would not recommend the old style Loudmouth considering you have the LS1. Its a very nice exhaust system. The best I would say is Borla, but its twice the price. As for the rims, Im sure you will be fine with some 18's. I would recommend some 17 but if your not going to be doing any kind of racing then you'll be fine. Your going to have to get the speedo adjusted if im not mistaken. ITs going to mark a couple miles lower than the actual speed. You have a great car, Treat it well and it will make you proud. Invest in some Re-Location Brackets. Good Mod, and some Lower control arms and PanHard Bar and you'll be set.

[Xzael]

Hey Buddy, Welcome to the Forum. Im running the SLP loudmouth II on my car. I would not recommend the old style Loudmouth considering you have the LS1. Its a very nice exhaust system. The best I would say is Borla, but its twice the price. As for the rims, Im sure you will be fine with some 18's. I would recommend some 17 but if your not going to be doing any kind of racing then you'll be fine. Your going to have to get the speedo adjusted if im not mistaken. ITs going to mark a couple miles lower than the actual speed. You have a great car, Treat it well and it will make you proud. Invest in some Re-Location Brackets. Good Mod, and some Lower control arms and PanHard Bar and you'll be set.

Hey, thanks for the welcome! Yeah, I love the car so far - have had it for one summer. I will only have to get the speedo changed if I have an overall tire+rim diameter right? So like, if I have low profile tires to keep that diameter, I should be ok?

Why do you not recommend the old style loudmouth? Also, I don't really know that much about cars in general, so sorry to be ignorant, but what are "Re-Location Brackets" and "Lower control arms and PanHard Bar"?

[ConElite]

Yeah the LS1 has a little Euro sound. The LT1 which in my opinion is better sounding goes good with the Old Loudmouth. The LMII gives it a nice tone and good performance. You should do some searches on this Forum. Everyone is very helpful but just make sure u use the search b4 posting. Re-location brackets and all those other things i mentioned are all suspension mods.

[Injuneer]

As long as you keep the outside diameter of the tires the same as the stockers, it doesn't matter what diameter the wheels are.... no PCM correction required. Your WS6 left the factory with 275/40-17's so you need to keep the diamter close to 25.66" With an 18" wheel, you will be looking at 275/35-18 (25.58") or 285/35-18 (25.85").

Make sure you get the wheels with the correct offset, to keep them from sticking too far outside the fenders, or being too close to the inner fender and rubbing.

The short sidewall on the 18" tires will typically hurt straight line traction, and moving the center of mass of the wheel/tire outward with a large diameter wheels will cost a bit of acceleration. Ride quality will become harsher, the rims will be more susceptible to damage from potholes, and you brakes will look a bit smaller with the larger wheels.

[Xzael]

As long as you keep the outside diameter of the tires the same as the stockers, it doesn't matter what diameter the wheels are.... no PCM correction required. Your WS6 left the factory with 275/40-17's so you need to keep the diamter close to 25.66" With an 18" wheel, you will be looking at 275/35-18 (25.58") or 285/35-18 (25.85").

Make sure you get the wheels with the correct offset, to keep them from sticking too far outside the fenders, or being too close to the inner fender and rubbing.

The short sidewall on the 18" tires will typically hurt straight line traction, and moving the center of mass of the wheel/tire outward with a large diameter wheels will cost a bit of acceleration. Ride quality will become harsher, the rims will be more susceptible to damage from potholes, and you brakes will look a bit smaller with the larger wheels.

Yeah, I'm pretty set on a staggered setup so my rear tires have more ground surface. I'll make sure I get the right width so it doesn't mash the inside or outside fender - thanks for the heads up.

How much of a difference will it be really with the 18's? Are we talking about adding like .2 seconds on a quarter mile decrease in acceleration, or more than that? I was thinking that my car would have enough HP and torque to make the difference negligible. I'm not planning on racing it, but if some yuppy pulls up in a 'stang or a riced out STI at a red light, I definitely want to feed him some true muscle car love. Is there any benefit to lower profile tires? Will my turning be crisper or anything?

[ConElite]

I'm not planning on racing it, but if some yuppy pulls up in a 'stang or a riced out STI at a red light, I definitely want to feed him some true muscle car love. Is there any benefit to lower profile tires? Will my turning be crisper or anything?

ha ha ha I love my car but If you ever race an STi, hope your on the freeway. I got my Butt Whoooped off the line by a Simple WRX. I was going to get a WRX before the T/A. Remember, those things are AWD. Launching at 6k RPM, you wont touch it for at least a couple hundred feet.

[Injuneer]

You won't lose 0.2 seconds.... its more like a fraction of 0.1 seconds. The more powerful your car is, the faster the wheels will accelerate, and the more power that is absorbed bringing the rotating mass of the wheels and tires up to speed.

[Xzael]

Ok cool thanks! How much (aproximately) would all those suspension mods cost?

Also, I was told a couple of things about exhausts. One is to not bother (right now) with anything beyond the catback (headers, lid, etc) for two reasons. 1 is that unless I want to spend alot of money, I probably won't pass emmisions testing. 2 is that unless I'm running like 400 or more HP then those mods wont make much of a difference anyways. Now that's just one guys oppinion (which seems credible since he was a salesman that told me NOT to buy something...). What do you guys think?

Oh, and how much gain would I get from swapping my ram air for a cold air intake with K&N air filter?

[ConElite]

I just bought alot of the recommended suspension which includes:
Weld on relocation brackets
tubular control arms with sigle sides sphyrical ends
None-adjustable panhard.
Eibach Prokit progressive lowering Springs
New 1LE Front Sway bar.

All this for just over $500
I bought everything From UMI performance. They even threw in a short shirter lever for free. ha ha ha
Im pretty much stock and all this stuff will come into play when you Mash on it. I would recommend the Relocation brackets at least. Those are onlt about $60 shipped for weld ons. Also some Subframe Connectors would help stiffen the car up.

[Dave M]

Ok cool thanks! How much (aproximately) would all those suspension mods cost?

Also, I was told a couple of things about exhausts. One is to not bother (right now) with anything beyond the catback (headers, lid, etc) for two reasons. 1 is that unless I want to spend alot of money, I probably won't pass emmisions testing. 2 is that unless I'm running like 400 or more HP then those mods wont make much of a difference anyways. Now that's just one guys oppinion (which seems credible since he was a salesman that told me NOT to buy something...). What do you guys think?

Oh, and how much gain would I get from swapping my ram air for a cold air intake with K&N air filter?

Check out our sponsors for prices, but you're looking at about $100-$120 per item for the usual suspension pieces like panhard rod, lower control arms, reloaction brackets, etc. Price varies with quality, generally.

For a stock car, a cat-back exhaust should be sufficient. The salesman was right in that headers aren't really neccessary until you're flowing more air. Headers will help, but probably not enough to make them worth the price. Wait until you've got more mods.

Your ram air system is a cold-air intake. Just throw a K&N filter into your stock air box and you'll eb good to go. There are companies that make high-flow lids and airboxes if you wish, but there's no reason to scrap the whole system for a cold-air intake.

[ConElite]

1 is that unless I want to spend alot of money, I probably won't pass emmisions testing. ?

If you put a lid, your car will still pass emmisions. Even in the smog Nazi of the US, California, The lid is alright. You can Add headers if you want, as long as they dont relocate the Cats, and they have a Carb #.

2 is that unless I'm running like 400 or more HP then those mods wont make much of a difference anyways. Now that's just one guys oppinion (which seems credible since he was a salesman that told me NOT to buy something...). What do you guys think?

Salesman must not own an F-BOdy. The things I listed above are recommended if your planning on using it for a little more than just your get around bucket.