Is there really a much of a difference between 16 and 17 inch wheels?

[Minerva]

Just wanted to get some input.

I have 16 inch wheels on my 95 Trans-AM and I would like to upgrade to the 17 inch WS6 wheels. However, $$ being an issue (as it almost always is)....

What is the opinion on upgrading to a 17 inch wheel/tire combo, besides looks? (The WS6 is a great looking wheel, and I haven't seen the combo with a purple car like mine yet). Are the advantages worth the $1500-2000 (wheels and tires) when all is said and done?

My 16 inch Firestone tires are shot and I need to do something, but I wanted the pros and cons before getting new 16 inch tires as opposed to doing an upgrade to 17 inch.

[briantech]

1500-2000 is a little extreme if you ask me. 4 17" ws6 rims are going on ebay all the time for the ~500 range. And you can get some 275/40/17 Firehawks on tirerack.com for only $173 a peice.

But, do you like the 16's you have now? If so I'd say just stick with them and get new tires, especially since 16" tires are cheaper than 17".

[Injuneer]

The problem is that with 16's you are pretty much stuck with a tire no wider than a 255/50-16. There is a wider BFG available, but its not a high performance tire.

With the 17's you have the option of 275/40-17 or 285/40-17. With my "bolt-on" motor, I found a major traction increase when I upgraded from the stock 245/50-16's to a set of 275/40-17's on 17x9.5 wheels. Now with the stroker, high stall convertor and 4.11 gears, I've been able to go up to 315/35-17 Drag Radials in the back, on 17x11 wheels, and get some sort of traction on the street. Those options just aren't available with 16" wheels.

[fastTa]

Hey Fred you have a reverse pattern full manual valvebody in your th400 right? How often do you drive your car on the street? Just wondering cause the guy who built mine said that it was not a good idea at all for a reverse pattern full manual valvebody to see any street time at all. He said they are really set up that way for WOT and that's it! But I have talked to several guys who run these on the street with no problems? Curious?

[Injuneer]

In the past year it hasn't seen more than 200 miles on the street. But the guy who built the tranny knew it was going to be a street car (at least I thought it was, too) and didn't have any problems with the setup???? Buddy of mine put several thousand miles on his 900+HP 30th SS..... that's who I bought the shifter from. He switched to a Cheetah.

I have heard that it is not a good idea to let off on the throttle after a 2nd gear burnout. Roll out of it and downshift to 1st. Apparently there can be some sprag problems otherwise.

I really don't know much about auto trannies.... this is the first performance car I've had in 40 years that didn't have a manual trans.

[Joe 1320]

IMHO, there is a big time advantage to 17s. My 97 WS6 has 17x9.5 wheels with 285/40/17 SZ50s on all four corners. Those stick like glue compared to the 16" and 245/50/16s on my 94 Z28. Huge advantage in handling, appearance and getting the power to the ground. Now if all you want is dragstrip performance, a second pair of 16 wheels and drag radials/ ET streets for the track will be all you need.