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Car Forum / Pontiac / Pontiac Firebird / December 2006Going back to stock wheel - tire question
Hi All, My 1995 Z28 is being relegated to the street because I recently replaced it with a new car (A 2007 Volvo V70R which, before you start laughing, has 300HP, yet less torque than the Camaro, but offers me more utility value for almost the same performance so I am comfortable with the decision!). I'll be keeping the Camaro though as it's 12 years old, pretty weak in resale value and is definitely showing its age so I have no compelling reason to sell. The question I have is in regards to the wheels and tires. I replaced the stock wheels with Enkei Win wheels about 10-12 years ago and have put on nothing but Firestone Firehawk SZ50's until they stopped making them in the size that fits that wheel so I went to BF Goodrich KDWS and they are ok. Regardless, the wheels have pretty much lost their clearcoat and are showing lots of corrosion. I am probably ok with keeping these wheels as I don't drive recklessly and they are not likely to shatter any time soon due to the corrosion, but they really look bad and I need to replace them. Since I am now paying for a new car, I can't just go and buy a new set of wheels at the same size as the Enkei Win wheels but I DO still have the OEM wheels and can put them back on any time I want with a relatively cheap set of new tires. Granted it won't handle as well and will look a bit different (I have a set of Eibach springs so it's lowered) but this to me seems to be the most reasonable thing to do since it's not likely I'll be able to successfully refinish and save the now corroding Enkei wheels. So, do I HAVE to put on OEM sized tires on the OEM wheels or can I vary the size a bit and if so, what can I do with the stock wheels? Or is the realm of wheels/tires such that you can only put on the given original tire size. I know I can change aspect ratio a bit but I'd like to keep the original diameter so I am more concerned with width. Can I put on a slightly wider tire on the original rims and still have proper handling? I have a feeling I can only put on the original width tires but don't know for sure. Any thoughts? Thanks for the input, Bob P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on possibly saving the Enkeis, feel free to chime in! Keeping the stock tire diameter, right? Sure, you can put a wider tire on the stock rim. Don't think you'll see a recognizable difference in handling if properly inflated but braking might improve a little. Since you've got the lowered springs and the stock wheel backspacing, you shouldn't be able to fit an tire that's too big for the rim into the wheelwell. (If it'll fit in the wheelwell, it won't be too wide for the rim.) A 16" tire fits a 16" rim and that goes without saying. You sound concerned about width and I don't think you'll find too many options wider than 10" in a stock diameter which is okay for your stock rims ...so long as they fit the wheelwells:) Hope this helps. Best Regards, Drink > Hi All, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on possibly saving the Enkeis, feel > free to chime in! > Keeping the stock tire diameter, right? Yes, that's my intention. > You sound concerned about width and I don't think you'll find too many > options wider than 10" in a stock diameter which is okay for your stock > rims ...so long as they fit the wheelwells:) That's my concern, yes. The Enkei wheels are 9.5" wide and the tires on them are currently 275/40ZR17. The right rear just brushes the fender lip under hard bouncing or extremely hard cornering and to solve that, I just need to adjust the adjustable panhard rod ever so slightly but just haven't done so yet. The Enkei wheels are just not in good shape so they have to go and I want to "cheapen out" by using the old stock rims, which will have the stock diameter and tread depth, but I want to go just a bit wider than stock and wanted to know if I could. Sounds like, regardless of the actual width of the wheel, you can mount a range of tire widths on them and still be within the parameters of the wheel, huh? I don't want to put on the wrong size and have it pop off during a hard corner! Bob Sounds like you have a good grip on it. Now, mine's not necessarily a scientific approach but, IMHO, you can go with 2 inches of tire wider than the rim and I wouldn't be at all concerned. "Ten inch street tires" seem to be the limit to what manufacturers are making. Maybe it's got something to do with dragstrip rules and the popularity that follows, I don't know. Either way, assuming the stock rims are at least 8", I think you're good. Manufacturers aren't interested in making tires that are over the top 'cause we won't buy 'em or risk lawsuits:) Bottom line: I think you'll be good to go with most tires that fit in the wheelwells. Best Regards, Drink >> Keeping the stock tire diameter, right? > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Bob > Hi All, > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on possibly saving the Enkeis, feel > free to chime in! On the wheels you have a few options. I'm not sure if they are Aluminum or Magnesium. I never paid attention to Enkei wheels. If they are Aluminum you can have them cleaned, polished, and chrome plated. You could have them (puke) gold plated and sell them quickly! You can have the wheels media blasted and Clear Coated, or you could have them Powder Coated. With Powder coating you can get a selection of different colors. Red Wheels would give a Black car a nice look. Dark Grey or Silver could set off a Red or light colored car. If yours is Green, either Olive Drab or White. A lesser cost option is to clean the wheels up with a dermil and spray paint them with Wheel Paint(rattle can or from a paint gun). As for lower cost tires, look around on-line. At the tire rack (www.tirerack.com), I found 275/40/ZR17 Sumitorno HTR Z's for $88.00 Each. Not a bad price for that size and speed rating. Charles > On the wheels you have a few options. I'm not sure if they are Aluminum > or Magnesium. I never paid attention to Enkei wheels. Hi Charles. Yeah, these are aluminum with a clearcoat. The clearcoat is shot and there's plenty of corrosion and you can see lots of pitting all over, especially around the ring of "bolts" (they are three piece wheels that are, I believe, part welded and part bolted together) so they'd likely have to be shot peened or sand blasted. > If they are Aluminum you can have them cleaned, polished, and chrome > plated. You could have them (puke) gold plated and sell them quickly! Bleah! Puke is right. Chrome plating is an option, I suppose, though chrome is subject to flaking and scraping as well. > You can have the wheels media blasted and Clear Coated So I just need to look for an outfit who can do the work, huh? I'll do that. > As for lower cost tires, look around on-line. At the tire rack > (www.tirerack.com) Yeah, Tire Rack is one of the best resources out there. Actually, the tires are not the real issue as I can pretty much get whatever I want. I just want to make sure the wheels are safe and won't explode on me due to any hidden cracks or issues due to the corrosion. Thanks for the suggestions! Bob >> On the wheels you have a few options. I'm not sure if they are Aluminum >> or Magnesium. I never paid attention to Enkei wheels. [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Bob Like I said I'm not familiar with the wheels you have. I don't know if they are prone to cracking or breaking. My rule of thumb with multi-peace wheels: If the fasteners of the peaces break, the wheel becomes lot usage only. Most god sandblasting places offer at least some sort of paint, coating, or sealing process. Because some metals will start to rust with in one hour of blasting. My land lord has a large sand blasting operation (car bodies, heavy equipment, semi trailers) He has a paint booth on the property. I pay roughly $20 per wheel to have them blasted, that's whole wheel, not just front side. Even if the media blasters in your area don't offer paint services, any Auto Body Shop can clear coat them for you, at a reasonable cost. Charles |
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