new c5 rims

[slomaro]

well first I wanna say, I hope everyone is having a pleasand indi day, because I am, ( iam having a pig roast in my back yard in a couple of hours)

Ok, well this is my dilema!

I just received my new y2k c5 rims and the sizes are 18*10.5 for the rear and 17*9.5 for the fromt.
Now from anybodys past experiance, do you know what is the size I should go with. I know that my original overall diameter is 25.7 in. so therfore I thing my front tire needs to be someting like 275-40r17, but is it going to fit or do I have to go 245-40r17
and for the rear I wanted 295-30r18 but tirerack told me to go with 275-35r18... what is your suggestion ....

thank you for all the responses.

PS... I just wanna say that this is the only f-body forum that I visist... I have used different names in the past such as 1994_lt1, or igor_lt1 and such. I also wanna mention thet I don't have a lot of time on the pc.. since I do go on the road 2 to 3 weeks at a time. ( I drive a truck ) thank you again.

[Injuneer]

Whether the tires fit in the wheel openings depends not only on the tire and wheel size, but the wheel offset.

FRONT:

Since the stock wheel on the WS6/SS is 17x9 w/ 55mm offset, and a 275/40-17 tire, you should have absolutley no problems with the 17x9.5 C5 wheels, as long as the offset is correct. I have run 17x9.5's with 49mm and 56mm offset, and 275's with no problems. I think the TT-II wheels are 45mm offset, and they are fine, so as long as the offset is in that range, 275/40-17 is the way to go.

I have a table of wheel data from VETTE magazine, and they indicate the following 17x9.5 C5 wheels:

2000: 17x9.5 56mm (not a stock size, but a "repro" size. Stock was 17x8.5 58mm)

So you should be OK

[Injuneer]

REAR:

Data shows:

2000: 18x10.5 58mm (also shows the 18x10.5 was not a stock size, but was only avaialble as a "repro" wheel. The stock wheels were 18x9.5 65mm).

If you actually have a 65mm offset wheel, you might find the inner edge of the tire is too close to the sheet metal inner fender liner, and you may need some hammering or a small spacer (not recommended).

A 295 will only make the problems with a 65mm wheel worse, so you need to see what wheels you actually have. If you have the correct offset, a 295 will fit fine. The only issue is the outside diameter.... 275/35 (25.58) is a shade smaller than stock (25.65), 285/35 (25.85) is about 0.8% larger than stock, and the 295/35 (26.13) will be 1.9% larger than stock. That small a difference shouldn't be a problem. The max speedo error with the 295s would only be reading 59MPH at an actual 60MPH, and the odometer would only rack up 982 miles in a true 1000, unless you made a minor correction with an HPP or an editing program. The small loss in "equivalent" rear axle ratio shouldn't be noticable... you are probably already giving up some straight line traction with the thin sidewall, and giving up a few HP by moving the center of mass further from the axle with the 18" wheel.

[slomaro]

how do you check the offset on the wheel?

[slomaro]

ok I have just checked the offset and the front is 56mm and rear is 58mm... so therefore i can run 275-40r17 in front and
285-35r18 in the rear, or at least I should be able to .....

now I forgot to mention this is going on a 94 z

thanks for your response

[00 Ragtop Z]

My question is whetehr these were aftermarket wheels or orig equip Corvette wheels? I have been looking for the same wheels you got, but in aftermarket can only find 17x8.5 wheels--can you proivide a bit more info?

Also, would love to see pix if you are able to post. It has been my opinion for a long time that the 2000 c-5 thin spoke wheels "make" the 4th gen f-bodies.

Planning to get teh same wheels so any furtehr info about where how much would alson be appreciated.

[slomaro]

well there is a story behind how I got these...like I said I drive a truck and about 2 weeks ago I had a load of Zinik wheels that I took from LA to Richmond VA. I took them to the custom wheel wherhouse. there I met the owner and he gave me an awsome deal because I helped his guys unload my truck..

Thing about custom wheels is that they are only wholesale, but he made me a deal and when I came home I had to send him money order and 2 days later I had my rims.

These were made by i think replica wheels. custom wheels carry hundreds of styles. Here is the phone number and a name of a person I talked to and just tell him, the truck driver Igor, that bought c5 wheels gave you the number and he might be able to do something for you. The guy is great.
Also I will post picks as soon as I get them on the car. I just came from Chicago this mourning.

ben lathrop 804-550-9910 888-765-4100 www.customwheelsunlimited.com