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  • #1

    17" Wheels out back

    Am I wasting money if I get 17" WS6 wheels and drag radials for the rear of my car? Can I leave the stock 16" tires / wheels in the front? I am wondering if this would help me at the track (and be OK to drive to and from the track)
    Future mods are to include hot cam and 1.6 rr. Not my daily driver. Run on the weekends to vent frustrations of the work week. Thanks!
    2001 Sunset Orange Metallic w/Tan interior WS6 Trans Am, 33k, M6, Borla, SLP lid
    buttons in the ashtray and a bottle in the trunk Although I have yet to push it

    SOLD: '97 Trans Am, 85k, LT1, A4, 3.23's, 98+ Taillights, SLP CAI, SLP Loud Mouth
    Best of 13.810 @ 100.58 MPH. 2.093 60' See It Here
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: 17" Wheels out back

    Originally posted by tclelland
    Am I wasting money if I get 17" WS6 wheels and drag radials for the rear of my car? Can I leave the stock 16" tires / wheels in the front? I am wondering if this would help me at the track (and be OK to drive to and from the track)
    Future mods are to include hot cam and 1.6 rr. Not my daily driver. Run on the weekends to vent frustrations of the work week. Thanks!
    You are better off with 16" rims in the rear and drag radials. The taller the sidewall of a tire, the more forgiving it is when you launch. This results in better traction, and lower 60' times.

    A 17" tire has a shorter sidewall, resulting in less traction.

    Watch a car on slicks launch. The sidewalls of the tire actually ripple up and twist, allowing the tire to keep traction and rocket the car forward even faster.
    Tracy
    2002 C5 M6 Convertible
    1994 Z28 M6 Convertible
    Current Mods:
    SLP Ultra-Z functional ramair, SS Spoiler, STB, SFCs, Headers, Clutch, Bilstein Shocks, and TB Airfoil. 17x9 SS rims with Goodyear tires, 160F T-Stat, MSD Blaster Coil, Taylor wires, Hurst billet shifter, Borla catback with QTP e-cutout, Tuned PCM, 1LE Swaybars, 1LE driveshaft, ES bushings, White gauges, C5 front brakes, !CAGS, Bose/Soundstream audio, CST leather interior, synthetic fluids

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    • #3
      im selling some 16" rims, Rims for sale with tires that you can burn up and have a good time with!
      2006 GTO Impulse Blue Metallic, Blue Leather Interior
      Traded in: 1998 Z28
      http://www.cardomain.com/id/hotwhip9

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      • #4
        The selection of "drag radials" is sort of limited. The only ones you can seriously consider in 15's are the 275/50-15's. In 16", you can only get 245 or 255/50-16. In 17" you have the choice of 275/40-17 or 315/35-17. I can tell you that the 315 BFG drag radials can pull an impressive level of HP/torque on the street.
        Fred

        381ci all-forged stroker - 10.8:1 - CNC LT4 heads/intake - CC solid roller - MoTeC engine management - 8 LS1 coils - 58mm TB - 78# injectors - 300-shot dry nitrous - TH400 - Gear Vendor O/D - Strange 12-bolt - 4.11's - AS&M headers - duals - Corbeau seat - AutoMeter gauges - roll bar - Spohn suspension - QA1 shocks - a few other odds 'n ends. 800HP/800lb-ft at the flywheel, on a 300-shot. 11.5 @ 117MPH straight motor

        Comment

        • #5
          So....can I put 17" wheels and 315/35-17 and leave the stock 16" wheels and tires out front? Will it effect the handling (in a negative way?)
          2001 Sunset Orange Metallic w/Tan interior WS6 Trans Am, 33k, M6, Borla, SLP lid
          buttons in the ashtray and a bottle in the trunk Although I have yet to push it

          SOLD: '97 Trans Am, 85k, LT1, A4, 3.23's, 98+ Taillights, SLP CAI, SLP Loud Mouth
          Best of 13.810 @ 100.58 MPH. 2.093 60' See It Here

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by tclelland
            So....can I put 17" wheels and 315/35-17 and leave the stock 16" wheels and tires out front? Will it effect the handling (in a negative way?)
            as long as the brand/model of tire are the same front to rear handling will be fine. You run into problems when you mix and match tires. Handling becomes unpredictable.

            The question I have is if the ABS will freak out with different diameter wheels front to back? It will detect different speeds on the wheels from front to back because of the different diameters. It could interpret that as a skid.
            Tracy
            2002 C5 M6 Convertible
            1994 Z28 M6 Convertible
            Current Mods:
            SLP Ultra-Z functional ramair, SS Spoiler, STB, SFCs, Headers, Clutch, Bilstein Shocks, and TB Airfoil. 17x9 SS rims with Goodyear tires, 160F T-Stat, MSD Blaster Coil, Taylor wires, Hurst billet shifter, Borla catback with QTP e-cutout, Tuned PCM, 1LE Swaybars, 1LE driveshaft, ES bushings, White gauges, C5 front brakes, !CAGS, Bose/Soundstream audio, CST leather interior, synthetic fluids

            Comment

            • #7
              If you select your tires correctly, a 16", 17" or 18" wheel will turn at exactly the same speed as a stock 245/50-16 (25.65")

              275/40-17 = 25.66"

              315/35-17 = 25.68"

              275/35-18 = 25.58"

              Even significant differences in front to back tire rolling diameter will not confuse the ABS. ABS senses "lockup"... a wheel nearing "0" rotational speed when the others are still rolling. It's looking for significant differences, not a few %-age points.

              For the track, running 17" wheels with 315's on the back, and 16" wheels with stock tires, overinflated to 40psi will not be a problem. Just don't attempt to take the exit from the coastdown area at high speed - generally frowned upon anyway. You would not run into any problems with a mild drive to the track. Where you get into trouble is expecting the "mismatched" combination to provide the same degree of stability and predictability as a perfectly matched set of similar sized tires. You won't get the "ultimate" level of cornering capability, but as long as you remember you are set up for "drag" racing and not "road" racing, you should be OK.

              If you want a very good combination of balanced handling and a little extra "sticky" in the back, bite the bullet and get 4 wheels of the same diameter, and get a high performance front tire, and a drag radial rear tire from the same source, which narrows it down to Nitto and BFG.

              Recognize also:

              A "drag" radial will never give you the same cornering capability of a "standard" tire.

              A drag radial comes with very shallow tread - some are only 5 or 6/32's. As a result, the soft tread compound wears out rapidly, and the thinner the tread gets, the more prone the tire is to aquaplaining in the wet. They can get very dangerous.

              A drag radial's "sticky" tread will pick up every stone on the road, and hurl it into your shiney fender paint.
              Fred

              381ci all-forged stroker - 10.8:1 - CNC LT4 heads/intake - CC solid roller - MoTeC engine management - 8 LS1 coils - 58mm TB - 78# injectors - 300-shot dry nitrous - TH400 - Gear Vendor O/D - Strange 12-bolt - 4.11's - AS&M headers - duals - Corbeau seat - AutoMeter gauges - roll bar - Spohn suspension - QA1 shocks - a few other odds 'n ends. 800HP/800lb-ft at the flywheel, on a 300-shot. 11.5 @ 117MPH straight motor

              Comment

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