Ride height change with bigger wheels/tire

**finkle745** · 07-25-2014, 08:16 AM

Would I expect a huge change in my ride height changing from the stock 16" to 18 or 19" wheels? I realize the rubber will be thinner, but I want better looking wheels without drasticlly changing the ride height. Is lowering the car the way to go? If so how much $$ we talking?

***SMWS6TA*** · 07-25-2014, 08:37 AM

Overall you can use 18's all around but depending on tire size. 19's forget it up front and in the back you're looking at doing some minitubs. Even then not sure if you can squeeze 19's plus tires in there, being the body frame rail will be the limiting factor, not to mention the wagon wheel look looks like ass . Also increasing the rotating mass (the wheel) will greatly effect the rear. The POS 10 bolt is easy to blow up so you need to consider that as well.

I know several members on here that run for 305's and even a few 315's.

I current have 17x9 Snowflake wills with 255/45/17's on the front & 275/45/17's on the rear. Even with 1" drop springs it only changed my ride height by a 1/2" Now that I have an 8.8 rear and some other suspension mods the rear is a full inch higher than the front.

I would serious look at the road conditions in MI before trying to lower it. Speed bumps are a task for me.

**finkle745** · 07-25-2014, 08:50 AM

Excellent, thanks for the insight. I'll be taking some serious consideration. It's not a daily driver for me, I just want it to look bad ass.

**98TransAmWs-6** · 07-25-2014, 10:28 AM

You can put 19s all around no problem I had 20s with no issues. The sidewall just needs to be smaller in order to not have rubbing unless you want to roll the fenders. I now have 18s now which I like better. A lot of what will fit comes down to having the proper offset.

**mrr23** · 07-29-2014, 04:13 PM

original tire size is 245/50-16 which is 25.7" tall. going to a 245/40-18 or 275/35-18 would be 25.6" tall. going to a 245/35-19 would be 25.7" tall. so no height change at all.

here's my 00 formula with C6 wheels.

C6 Silver Wheels
18" x 8.5" with 245/45-18
19" x 10" with 275/35-19

**zr1chris** · 02-01-2015, 08:02 PM

Definitely looks to have lifted the car a notch but not too bad. Must just be an illusion. Lowering it an inch to inch and a half would really look nice imo. Could also just be the angle of the picture though.

**hardtrailz** · 08-02-2016, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by mrr23

here's my 00 formula with C6 wheels.

C6 Silver Wheels
18" x 8.5" with 245/45-18
19" x 10" with 275/35-19

Any issue rubbing up front with the taller tires? I a looking at same rim n tire sizes

**hardtrailz** · 08-10-2016, 09:11 AM

For reference....245 45 18 on 18x8.5 had no rubbing issues anywhere for me so far.

**DADCRUISER** · 08-14-2016, 07:07 AM

98transamws6 and smws6ta. you both seem to be driving the same car. why the difference of opinion?

**raynor139** · 08-14-2016, 01:44 PM

These cars came with so many different suspension setups stock and then you start adding in the fact many of us are running aftermarket rears and suspension we all get different results with different setups. Hell then you add in TA vs Camaro setups and it makes it that much more fun. Even though they are the same platform a TA can fit wider wheels and tires easier.

**Naaman** · 08-15-2016, 04:06 AM

Another thing to consider would be that even if the ride height changes in relation to the ground, the wheel well clearance probably won't (or it will get smaller, not larger). This, I think, is one of the primary reasons people lower their cars: to reduce the wheel well gap. OP, if you're actually worried about the ride height (for suspension geometry reasons???), then it will only change appreciably if you use a similar profile of tire. The total height of the tire will dictate how far off the ground your axle is, regardless of the height of the wheel.

Last I checked, more ground clearance was only a good thing... or are you worried about center of gravity issues?

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-15-2016, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by DADCRUISER

98transamws6 and smws6ta. you both seem to be driving the same car. why the difference of opinion?

What Will is saying is you can go bigger, it just means the tire needs to be smaller. It is possible to have a larger wheel and smaller tire than stock and be at or below the OEM wheel/tire height.

For example...(these are not exact numbers just showing what I mean)

OEM 16" wheel with 245/R16/60 would be say 27" tall.
Now using a 17" wheel with 255/R17/45 would be say 26" tall.
Or in Will's case - 18" with 255R18/40 would be say 27.5" tall.

See what I mean?

Here is a quick way to figure the height of tires & wheels:

The first set of numbers are the width of the tire, the 2nd is the wheel size and the 3rd is the height of the tire from the inside edge to the top of the tread. It is a percentage of the width of the tire. 255mm*45% = 114.75mm Now convert that last number to in 4.5". Now take the (4.5"*2) + wheel size in this case 17" = 26" of height.

Here's another example: 290mm*40% = 116mm (4.55") (4.55"*2) + 18 = 27.1" tall wheel/tire

OEM - 245mm * 60% = 147 (5.7") (5.7*2) + 16 = 27.5" tall wheel/tire.

Wow I was very close in my hypothetical above.

**hardtrailz** · 08-15-2016, 06:58 AM

Direct example of what i did. Car came with 225 55 16 tires which are 25.74 inches tall
Seen here:

and here:

Went up to a 245 45 18 which is 26.68 inches tall. Nearly a full inch more diameter.
Seen Here

and here:

And here:

Definitely filled the wheel-wells more and the half inch more ground clearance is really not noticeable IMO. With stock suspension I have no rubbing issues and have good ground clearance and a fuller looking fender gap.

But had i gone with a 245-40-18 I would have kept the same ride height and the same fender gaps. since those are same diameter as stock

**DADCRUISER** · 08-15-2016, 07:15 AM

DOES tire height change speedometer accuracy. seem to remember my 73 mustang speedo was affected when i changed to keystone mags and ta 50's. when finished with current changes it will be time for new rims and tires. not much of a racer but do have a heavy foot.

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-15-2016, 07:29 AM

A little. But the speedo is now programmable in the ecm. When I switch to 4.1 gears my tuner was able to calibrate the speedo on the dyno. It is accurate to at least 100mph.

It even matches dead on with my gps.

Gears are the biggest factor in the speedo, tire height not so much as long as you are with in 1-2" of the OEM size.

**hardtrailz** · 08-15-2016, 07:33 AM

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc...0r16-245-45r18

Best place I have found for the difference when changing tire sizes. I know my difference in speed currently, but will be getting the speedo corrected with the tune.

My 1 inch change is certainly off enough to get me a ticket, so I would say it is important.

Also remember it effectively changes your diff ratio with the diameter change.

**DADCRUISER** · 08-15-2016, 11:54 AM

THANKS. didn't know about diff change.

**hardtrailz** · 08-15-2016, 11:59 AM

Neither gear or tire size is more important. It is getting them to dial in together. For example my offroad toy has 6 inch oversized tires but lower gears and is basically dead on with the factory effective ratios. It all works in concert and if you play around with a calculator like this you can find the optimal setup for what you want---whether mpg or off the line or a balanced middle ground.

Speed Potential Calculator For Ring Gear And Pinion Changes