Midland_GTA

The wheels I want for my GTA/TA apparently only come in 15x9; I think the stock wheels are 15x7. What kind of work am I looking at to make them fit, or is 2 inches on either side not big enough a deal to worry about?

thanks.

Scott_92RS

9 inch wheels will fit without any probelms, front and rear. 15 is TINY though, there are thousands of different wheels out there, I'm sure there's got to be one that makes the wheels similar to the ones you want in 16 or 17.

Dewey316

is there something wrong with 15" wheels? if you can give me ONE good reason why 15's are a bad choice for a wheel size, or why 17's are that much better. personaly i would rather have 15x9's on my car, than 16x8.

Scott_92RS

Cause all the cool kids dont have 15" wheels... Ever heard of personal opinion I'm just saying, that out of all the bad azz Camaro's I've ever seen, I dont think any of them had 15" wheels. But my opinion on what makes a "bad azz" Camaro is just that, an opinion, and we all know what they are like....

Dewey316

i have seen alot of bad azz camaros with 15x10 or larger pro-lights, or drag lights on them.

please note, he said "The wheels I want for my GTA/TA " he wants 15's, he was asking if they would work.

Scott_92RS

Well, yea, 15's for slicks are a whole different story, who knows, maybe thats what he wants. And I told him that they would work, I've got 17"x9" and I've got no problemns, so I'm sure 15"x9" will fit without even having to worry about anything. Midland_GTA, what kind of wheels are you looking at getting?

Scott

Midland_GTA

Damn, didn't mean to start an arguement.

The wheels I want are Progressive Wheels Pro 83s. I'm not even sure they're made anymore. The one place I found only has the 15x9 size listed. If anyone knows of any other source, I'd appreciate knowing it. The ones I found were here:

http://salesco.com/wheels/pro/rear_w...old_styles.htm

thanks.

BretD 88GTA

Well, the biggest difference between a 15" wheel and 17" wheel will be in the tire side wall height. A 15" wheel typically will require a tire with a taller side wall. This increases tire flex in handling situations and can reduce cornering ability.

Conversely, a 17" wheel will utilize a shorter side wall, creating a stiffer tire and better handling. Cosmetically, it also gives the car a more aggressive look.

It's all a matter of preference and how you plan to drive the car.

DJP87Z28

The height of the sidewall on 15" tires will be the factor if they will fit. More performance wheel & tire combinations are available now for 16/17 sizes then for the 15's. Unless you want drag slicks which are not for a street car.

Dewey316

do you have any data to back this up? after driving MANY high performace cars, i can say that in applications with very stiff suspensions, that little bit of sidewall actualy helps. with a very tight suspension, and a tire with very small sidewall, the car becomes so unforgiving, that the driver can't drive at the limits very easy. i am sure you will start flaming, it happens everytime the sidewall subject comes up. but look at the fastest cars in the world, i'll use F1 cars for the example here, they have VERY VERY stiff suspensions, but look at the size of the sidewall. it is very large. so are you goona tell me, that you guys have some top secret data on tire tech. that F1 teams don't have?

Scott_92RS

How can you possibly compare a formula car to a street vehicle? First of all, a formula car weighs ~1500 lbs, and makes massive amounts of downforce, and the tires they use are totally different than a street tire. Try comparing apples to apples and maybe you'll have a point. I dont remember the last time I worried about how much of a tire patch I was putting down going around that turn to the corner store, or merging onto the freeway. Low-pro tires may not work out on the race track for NASCAR, F1, etc, but IMO, they look better, and handle a little better, on the street.

Dewey316

prove me wrong, when you set up the suspension, you use the correct tire for your application. there is no rule that says 17's are better, or that 22's are better. my point being. a smaller sidewall is NOT ALWAYS BETTER.

i used the F1 car as an example of extreme performance, and look at the size of the sidewall, if sidewall flex was such a huge issue i am sure f1 would be running very small sidewalls. but it just isn't the case.

you also forget to mention the downsides of a small sidewall, like ride confort, how easily you can damage a wheel when you hit a pothole, ect.

now yes, comparing the actualy tire F1 runs, to your average street tire, is apples to oranges. but i have yet to see ANY actualy data, or examples that prove a small sidewall is any better.

Scott_92RS

I guess it boils down to what you want to do with the car. If you want to auto-x, use a correct racing tire. If you want to drag, use a slick or drag radial. If you want your car to look nice going down the road, use 17's (or whatever size...) with a lower profile tire.

Scott

DJP87Z28

If you intended to say with the 15" wheels why ask the question will they fit on 15 x 9 wheel. Its a screwed up size to begin with for such a SMALL wheel..

Abird4u2nv1

iTrader: (-1)

You can't go comparing a F1 car to a 3rd gen F-body, theres just no comparison. F1's can handle like that with big tires becuz there's no weight, they're the ultimate in aerodynamics, and the wheelbase is very wide. On a street car a bigger rim with less sidewall WILL give better handling performance than a 15 inch wheel with the same tire and more sidewall. Your talking 3500 lbs compared to half that. Put a set of 33's on all four corners of your car and then tell me that it still handles like a dream. A small sidewall gives less room for sidewall flex. A larger tire can be better in terms of drag racing, ever seen a drag car with slicks launch off the line? They have low tire pressure, and you can literally see the tire sidewall flex under the load, which is good for launching, but in a corner they give too much room for flex, causing a spinout. Look at NASCAR. At that spped in a turn, look how easy they can spin out.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Personally I love my factory 16 inch crosslace rims. 17's don't look bad but anything over that and it turns my stomach. I think bling bling whenever I see larger wheels than that. If you want 15's then go for it.

However your choices are limited. Most performance tires are made in 17 inch and larger sizes. You still have some choices with 16's but the trend for performance and bling bling is still larger wheels and lower profile wider tires.

BretD 88GTA

I have intention to start flaming. That does no one any good. Now, if you re-read my post I said a taller sidewall "CAN" reduce handling. I never said it will for sure 100% in every situation. I also said it comes down to how you plan to use the car.

And yes F1 cars use tall sidewall tires. But they also have almost "0" suspension travel, so you have to have some "give" somehwere. If you have F1 style suspension on your street driven 3rd gen f-body then YES you'll need a forgiving tire. Most of us don't have suspension wound anywhere near that tight, nor are we taking turns at 100+ mph. So stiffer tires generally aren't a problem.

Again though, it all boils down to how the car will be used and picking a tire that's appropriate for the application.

91305z

I would also recommend something bigger than a 15" rim. If your spending the extra money on new rims why not get something that looks better. I just don't like the look of tall tires on a sports car unless they are the slicks on the back. I think the tire engineer here needs to take a chill pill and get over his 15's.

Midland_GTA

This car is my daily driver, which means I won't be doing a lot of racing in it, if any.

The reason I asked my question is because the only size I found these particular wheels is 15x9. I wanted to make sure that if I slapped a set of 15x9 wheels on my car there won't be any rubbing, damage to the suspension, or stick out too far.

BADBIRD009

those wheels look like somthing that would look better on a truck, but you probably wont see any other f body with them, so thats good for originality.

BretD 88GTA

That will all depend on the back-spacing of the wheels. 9" wide wheels will fit fine provided they have the correct offset. You'll need to talk to the shop to see if the wheels are available with the correct back-spacing.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

someone always has to start something....

the only things you would need to worry about would be lowering options which if your not thinking about going lower the 1-1 1/2" you will be fine. just be sure to get the proper offset which should be zero in the proper backspacing and bolt pattern and you will be good to go. a 9" in design will be very close to the inner edge of the fender making it hard to lower the car without body modifications but it won't stick out, granted the measurements and build is correct.

there are many advantages and disadvantages to larger wheels.
going larger on the wheels will allow for better brake upgrades and thinner profile tires which will help in cornering but will deminish acceleration at least in the back where flex and larger thickness help overall traction. if you want 15's go for it! not only are the rims cheaper but the rubber is alot less. the trend right now is to go bigger so a nice clean set of 15's would set you apart. it definately won't get the "hey look at me!" but who cares if your happy.

i'm am very happy i went with 18's and i almost wish i went with 19's. my wheels are custom made of billet and are much lighter then my 2 previous wheels being stock 16's and z06 18's. i've had 9.5 up front and couldn't stand it so i went back to 8". for the rear 9.5-10.5 seems to be nice on the cars....i settled with 10. i think the ride with the lower profile is just fine. my car handles much better and rides just as smooth as my 16" wheels. however, there are issues with people bending rims or having blowouts and that is something that will always be common with larger wheels. my rims have a double rolled lip to help strenghten and prevent rim damage. newer well built tires now have rim guard which also helps to prevent these things, but nothing can protect you from accidents in the end. you have to use your head and be careful.

go with what makes you happy. good luck.

Pontiaddict

F1 teams have to use a certain diameter rim, (13" i believe) a low profile tire on a 13 inch rim doesn't have the right diameter to do alot of things that are requred of a tire on a car going 200+mph. The wheel speed would be too high, the contact patch would be smaller due to the decreased diameter (a reason drag tires are so tall, btw), a larger radius give more surface area to dissipate excess heat, and so on.
The reason the suspensions are so stiff on an f1 car, besides to carry the weight of the car with 3G's of downforce over bunps and stuff, is because of the (undamped, nonetheless) springyness of the tires. It's an effect of the large sidewalls, not the cause of them.