Wanting to bump up to 18's.

**TransAmMan** · 01-03-2006, 11:24 PM

I have a 99 ws6 and I'm planning on buying some rims. I'm not sure if to go with 17's or 18's. I'm really leaning towards 18's. But would I have to do anything? Like get the speedmeter calibrated or anything like that? Would it be ok with my stock suspension?

I'm sorry. I ask a lot of questions. I'm just a worry wart lol.

Thanks for your time.

**01mmmz28** · 01-04-2006, 04:54 AM

I have the 18" Zo6 rims. I love the looks, but it did slow me down a little. Performance was hurt because of added weight and the fact that the tires have a much lower side wall because of the 18" rim and that gives me less traction at the track, and on the street. I am running 275/40/18 ZR tires, that is a decent amount of tire and I still cant hook up real well. If I could do it all over, I would go w/ a nice set of 17's, 17 x 9's for the front and 17 x 10 or 17 x 10 1/2 for the rear. That would be a great combo.

**TransAmMan** · 01-04-2006, 03:47 PM

Maybe i should just go with 17's then? Asseticly will i really even be able to tell the difference?

**chaman** · 01-04-2006, 04:43 PM

I got 19x9.5 all around. Car still pulls hard enough to chirp tires. From a distance 17 or 18 will look almost the same, depending on the wheel style.

**TransAmMan** · 01-04-2006, 05:23 PM

Yeah I was planning on going with smoothie II's. Do I have to get the speedmeter recalibrated or anything like that if I did move up to 18's?

**chaman** · 01-04-2006, 07:21 PM

Keep tires sive to 275/35/18 and no recalibration is needed. If you go bigger then you need to change the speedometer settings for the new overall diameter of your wheels.

**01 Red WS6** · 01-04-2006, 08:00 PM

If I had it to do all over again I would go with 18s

**TransAmMan** · 01-04-2006, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by 01 Red WS6

If I had it to do all over again I would go with 18s

why?

**Corvettekid82** · 01-05-2006, 09:21 AM

Only thing I dislike on the 18s is the price of tires. BIG differance from 17-18 inches price wise and aesthetically speaking. I'd do 18s over again if I had the choice to make over.

**01 Red WS6** · 01-05-2006, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by TransAmMan

why?

Because they look a lot better to me. I have a friend that has 18" Y2Ks on his TA and it looks great.

**TransAmMan** · 01-05-2006, 09:31 PM

Is there a big or noticeable performance difference?

**mrr23** · 01-06-2006, 04:05 AM

cornering, yes. you want a short sidewall. less movement means more control and less body roll through corners. in drag racing, you want a tall sidewall. it will absorb the shock from the launch.

**TransAmMan** · 01-06-2006, 04:18 AM

So on the street 18's will handle better but on the track there will be a noticable difference?

I'm thinking I could just use my old ws6 wheels and get a nice set of DR's for the rear and mount those when I go to the track.

**mrr23** · 01-06-2006, 04:28 AM

yes. it's harder to launch a car with short sidewalls because there is no flex or give. you can get 18" drag radials to help out. or get 17" for when you go to the track. will it be noticeable? depends on how you can control your car.

**TransAmMan** · 01-06-2006, 04:52 AM

It's not like I go street racing often. So I'm not to worried about racing it on the street. I think thats what I'm going to do though is go with 18's and get eagle f1's 275/35/18'. and then keep my ws6 rims and get some nittos.

**mrr23** · 01-06-2006, 05:10 AM

there you go.

**TransAmMan** · 01-06-2006, 08:21 AM

Thanks for your help man and your patience with my ignorance. i'm trying to learn and it really helps out when people take the time to explain things like you do.

**mrr23** · 01-06-2006, 04:41 PM

no problem.

**2k1ws6** · 01-12-2006, 07:58 AM

If you wanna lean more towards appearance then without a doubt go with the 18's. There is a big difference, in my opinion, between 17s and 18s. If you're leaning more on the affect it will have on your performance, then go with 17's. Take into consideration that your are driving a trans am so even if you have 18's you will still haul ass.

**crimking** · 01-15-2006, 02:43 PM

18"s are nothing but trouble if you live in a heavily populated area. You have lots of potholes to deal with which means eventually bending a rim. I have taken my 18"s off and gone back to my stock 16"s. And like a few others have pointed out, the cost for tires on these rims is substantial. This is not an area where you want to go cheap. I'm going to buy some of the new C6 17" rims. They should look awesome and still perform well. Just my 0.2c.