96 LT4 Coupe Tire Question

[mcich7781]

Hello CAC,

I have a 96 LT4 Coupe with 11" Chrome "A" Molds on all four corners. Tires are 255-45-17 front, 285-40-17 rear.

I have two questions my first question, should the 255's on the front ever have been installed there? It appears to me they are a bit stretched to fit on the 11" rim.

The second question is I really like the look of the 315 35 17s on the back of my sons Z28 (his Chrome "A" Molds are the same size). Could I move my rear 285's to the front and put a set of 315's on the rear? Does anyone think I have any interference in either case and would the car wander too much for the limited driving it normally sees?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

MCC

 

[Schrade]

I had 315's on the rear of mine (11"), and 285 (or 275?) up front (9.5"). No problems, even had a plus side - you can get lots of tools on a 285, even if the tires are backwards uh huh.

 

[C5sarge]

LOL!!! That was a great reply!!!

 

[Tuna]

The 255/45/17 probably should not be mounted on an 11" wide wheel. Goodyear's recommended max wheel width for their 255/45/17 is 9.5 inches. I'm sure they look a bit stretched. Goodyears' 285/40/17 is okay on an 11" rim.

For a regular '96 coupe with the base suspension, the 255/45/17 and 285/40/17 tire combination was standard. They would have been mounted on 8.5" front wheels and 9.5" rear wheels. Sounds like someone wanted new wheels but didn't want to spend the money buying new tires to match the new wheels.

Btw, the '96 GS with 11" rear wheels used 9.5" front wheels and had 275/40/17 front tires and 315/35/17 rear tires.

 

[mcich7781]

Update: The 285 40 17's on 11" "A" Molds fit just fine in the front of my 96, and as expected the 315's on rear fit, and don't really stick out at all.

Steering effort with the wider fronts is a wee bit harder, but I can use the exercise.

Thanks for the responses.

MCC