Same size on all four corners?

[CELT4RAGTOP]

It's time to lay out some cash for some new rubber for the car. I know that OEM on my 96 is 255/45-17 on the front and 285/40-17 on the back. When I purchased the car is had 275/40-17 all the way around.

I know the benefit of having all four the same size is that I can move them front to back and hopefully even our the wear, but is there any significant disadvantage to putting the larger tires on the front?

How many people run all four the same vs having the front and rear different?

 

[dburgjohn]

Tire sizes

My 92 came with the same at all four corners. I think unless someone changed your rims, your front rims should be a different size that the rear. If they still are the factory size rims I would go with the factory size tires.

 

[Tuna]

Are you sure your 96 isn't a Z51 car?
Are the 275 mounted on 8.5" wheels?

The smaller tires on the front make the car a little more stable and cuts down on the desire to wander in ruts and follow cracks. The wider front tires tend to want to wander more and the stock toe in settings.

'92 was the last year that the standard Corvette had same size tires all around.

In 93, the standard Vette got the 255 tires mounted on 8.5" wheels on the front and 285 tires on 9.5 wheels on the rear. The Z07/Z51 cars got 275's on 9.5 wheels all around in 93-96.

If you have 2 - 8.5 wheels and 2 - 9.5 wheels, it might be better if you return to 255 tires on the front on the narrow wheels.

Later,

 

[CELT4RAGTOP]

Thanks for the input guys.

The wheels are the stock wheels. I checked the RPOs, I have 8.5s on the front and 9.5s on the back. Interestingly enough though I thought the tires had been rotated front to back. Is that possible, would they even fit back there? Could my 8.5s be on the back or would they have taken the tires off the rims to rotate...Hmmm?

I'm thinking the 275/40s that were put on the car before I got it were a compromise to get all four the same size.

Would a 285/40 be too wide for the front if OEM was an 8.5 wheel and a 255/45 tire?

Unfortunately, not Z51.

 

[Tuna]

Without taking the wheels off the car (the size is stamped on the back some place and the sawblades are marked left and right), you can tell the skinner wheels from the wider ones by measuring the depth of the rim between the spokes and where the wheel weights are. This should be a 1/4 inch of difference.

I've seen other Vettes that had 275's mounted and had both 8.5 on one side of the car and the 9.5 on the other. With the sawblades, this looks funny! I've also seen them in every position possible. The owners didn't know any better and neither did the tire dealer that mounted them.

If the wheels are not in the right place on the car, this would be a good time to get them back where they belong.

As far as mounting 285 on the 8.5, it depends on the recommended rim width for the tire you are going to buy. Check out tirerack.com and check the specs for the tires you are considering and see if 8.5 lies within the recommended rim width.

I should have paid closer attention - you have a CE which has the 5 spoke wheels and the vert can't be a Z51 car. The size is on the back of one of the spokes and there is no right or left difference between them.

 

[vms4evr]

Tire 255/45-17, rim 8-9.5, typical 8.5
Tire 275/40-17, rim 9-11, typical 9.5
Tire 285/40-17, rim 9.5-11, typical 10.0
Tire 315/35-17, rim 10.5-12.5, typical 11.0

As you'll notice the typical size is usually .5" over the minimum. This appears to be true of any major brand tire I have looked at. Going under the minimum is dangerous. ie, your 275/40-17 tires on 8.5 rims. It doesn't mean you can't get away with it. As long as you understand that is just what you are doing.

If it were me, I would go back to factory setup of staggered tire sizes or buy 2 x 9.5 rims and then go 275/40-17.

Graham

 

[CELT4RAGTOP]

Thanks again,

Looks like I'll go back to the factory setup.