new 18" wheels tire

**adham** · 12-03-2005, 02:02 PM

i am interested in getting new 18" rims
i havent decided exactly which ones i want but i know the size
i will have to lower the car probably because it will sit up too high wouldnt it?
so i was wondering if i need to do any mods after putting them in other than lowering it
i have heard that with bigger wheels your speedo is set off and somehow u lose torque?
is this true because if it is, i dont think i want any wheels

**00BlueTA** · 12-04-2005, 02:45 PM

Well your speedo will be off unless you match the rolling diam. of the original tires. as far as loosing tq I dont think so only thing I know is with bigger wheel = smaller sidewall on the tire which means less flex and less traction. Hope this helps.

-00BlueTA

**adham** · 12-04-2005, 03:37 PM

well as long as i dont lose power, its cool
i can probably have the speedo adjusted somewhere
thanks for the help!

**oneBADDz** · 12-04-2005, 04:16 PM

If you get bigger rims just get lower profile tires, for example stock 245 50/16s and SS 275 45/17s are the same height and don't knock the speedo off. It won't actually ride any higher either just like 00blueta said for the same reason, lower profile matches the rolling diameter of the original. Any decent wheel and tire place will know what you need.

**Corvettekid82** · 12-05-2005, 10:32 AM

18s will fit fine depending on the offset and width of the wheel and tire you go with. You can get your speedo recalibrated or just run a lower profile tire as stated before. I run my 18x9.5s with a 35mm offset and a 275-35-18 tire. No recalibration needed. Also you can program your speedo with a HPP3 if you have one.
Heres my car next to my friends LT1 for comparison:

Keep in mind mine are 18x9.5 and I run 35 series tires. He runs 17s with 275-45-17s on his. It does make a huge visual differance with whatever sidewall height you choose.
PS Mines not lowered, the 4X4 stance was always there, even with the stock wheels and tires.

**adham** · 12-05-2005, 10:52 AM

those are the wheels i was planning to get
nice cars!!
it looks good even w/out lowering
so the height of the car and the speedo will stay the same with the 275-35-18 tires
well, thanks again for the help