A dumb Question about wheels

[DWC]

I have a 1996 Corvette with seventeen inch wheels. I have recently acquired a set of 16 inch wheels that I am thinking about putting on my 1996. The widths of the 16s match the width of my seventeens. If I could keep overall tire diameter the same as the seventeens what would be my problems with such a conversion? I know everyone is interested in going the other way, i.e. bigger taller wheels! Assuming the 16s would clear my rotors what problems would I be wise to give thought to?

 

[BigRed]

As long as your rotors fit inside (They should) theres no problem at all. Mid 80's vettes which are close in design to yours had 16's stock then went to 17.

Oh and make sure the offset is the same as well.

 

[c4ever]

I would think your speedo would be off some. It's interesting you are leaning towards 16". any specific reasons?

Carlo

 

[rrubel]

As long as he uses the correct tire size, his speedo will be dead on. I just went the other way, from 16's to 17's, with zero speedo difference.

Why 16's? Cheaper tires, lighter wheels, and even though the car leans a bit more I'm told that it makes the handling a bit more forgiving (ie, more warning before the tires break away).

Issues? If you got wheels from an older C4, they more than likely will NOT clear the larger brakes (if you want to trade your larger ones for my smaller ones, drop me a line ). Also, the offset is different such that you would need to move the wheels IN towards the car to keep everything lined up (when I upgraded, I had to buy adapters to move the larger wheels OUT). This isn't a HUGE issue, but will affect steering some and may put more wear on your wheel bearings (and the wheels might stick out a bit further). If you got aftermarket 16's, then these issues may not affect you.

[RICHR]

 

[c4ever]

Interesting Rich. I would tend to think it would detract from performance. In addition, there is a limited choice in tires as the 17 is the size the manufacturers seem to be catering to these days. (take Goodyear for example)There is also an extremely limited choice of rims. I say this because I've been contemplating upgrading the 85 due to lack of choice with the 16's not to mention brake upgrades.
JMHO

Carlo

 

[DWC]

Thanks for your input. I have talked myself out of this change for a variety of reasons, but your input helped me make the decision. I thought about this change for only one or two reasons: I acquired the wheels for next to nothing, and after stripping them of their clearcoat, I acquired that older shine of aluminum wheels that I miss on the later wheels that are painted and clear coated. I also thought about tires costing less than the 17 inch sizes, but I agree that probably this change would have many more negatives than positives. I am going to try to sell the 16 inchers through my corvette car club. They originally were stock options on 1984 - 87 Corvettes and have cleaned up very nicely. But I would be wiser and happier to buy some 17 inch chromed wheels instead of trying this cheaper route. Thanks again for your help.

 

[rrubel]

C4ever, the 16's do ultimately detract from performance, but for the average to slightly above average weekend autocrosser, I am told they're better (there was a thread on Corvette Forum about it) because the tires are more forgiving. You'll only be able to drive 8/10ths of the 17's anyway, but more like 9/10ths of the 16's more safely.

Tire Rack had a number of 16" tires available in stock Vette sizes.

One of my big reasons for upgrading was, as you mentioned, the larger brakes available.

[RICHR]

 

[84Vette]

DWC,
If you want to sell them talk to geekinavette he is looking for some early C4 wheels

84