New wheels and tires for the C5Z... decisions, decisions...

Well, I think it's time to be replacing the tires on the C5Z. When I bought them used from a guy who was selling them here on this forum, the tires really weren't matched, and were different brands on front than he had on the rear. And those supposedly 10/10 wheels, really weren't. He said he was in an accident that totaled his Camaro and was just selling off the wheels/tires. There are some dings on the inside lips of the rims. Nothing bad, but I guess I kind of like things to be as close to perfect as reasonable.

So I bought those tires/rims back in June of 2011, so they are over 7 years old now. Assuming the guy bought them new, of course. I look close and see some possible micro cracks in t he rubber along the edges of the tires, and I guess the rubber is likely getting kind of hard by now just from age.

I honestly would like to find runflats for the C5Z, but that turned out to be much harder to do than I thought it would be. They might be out there, in some "Maypop" brand, but I couldn't find any in the stock sizes for the car at all. Matter of fact, I actually want to buy tires and wheels as a package, so I can just put the car on the lift, take off the old ones, and slap on the new ones with no muss and no fuss. McGee Tire here locally has taken on a new name, and when I go to their website and get "PAGE NOT FOUND" when I click the "contact us" link and also when I clicked the "make an appointment" link, well, I just don't get a warm fuzzy feeling about them. I like the way McGee's did the work on my cars, but I'm not sure the same crew and equipment is still there. They might be still OK, but....

So anyway, trying to figure out what wheels and tires to get proved to be a real headache. Spent most of the day doing searching and researching. I do prefer Michelin tires, so I was trying to keep that at the forefront of my searching. And trying to juggle around dimensions for some alternatives that might work instead of the stock sizes. The Z06 has those brake ducts in the wheelwell that the stock tires are pretty darn close to as it is. I can't see causing myself yet another headache by getting too ambitious with wider tires back there.

So to start off, here's the stock dimensions for the C5 Z06:

Front:
Wheel size: 17 x 9.5
Offset: +54mm
Tire Size: 265/40/17
Back Spacing: 7.38” (187.35mm)


Rear:
Wheel size: 18 x 10.5
Offset: +58mm
Tire Size: 295/35/18
Back Spacing: 8.03” (204.05mm)

Click to expand...

Just for chuckles, I looked into the sizes for the C6 Z06 as well:

Front:
Wheel size: 18 x 9.5
Offset: +40mm
Tire Size: 275/35/18
Back Spacing: 6.82” (173.35mm)


Rear:
Wheel size: 19 x 12
Offset: +59mm
Tire Size: 325/30/19
Back Spacing: 8.82” (224.09mm)

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know there are others I could have checked on too, but this was making my head spin. Would have been REAL nice if I could have just gotten wheels and tires from a C6 Z06 and slapped them onto the C5 Z06, but just not the case at all. From what I understand the C6Z's rear tires/wheels will stick out something like two inches from the wheelwells. :ack2:

I may look up the wheel/tire dimensions for the other late model Corvettes later on and just plug that info in here for reference sake. But not tonight.

Anyway, would be nice if whatever wheels and tires I got were as close to the stock dimensions of the wheels and tires, so there wouldn't be any issues with active handling/traction control yelping, nor throw the calculations of speed and mileage out of whack. So this is what I found for those dimensions:

FRONT
265/40/17 = 25.3" diameter, 10.4" width
265/35/18 = 25.3" diameter, 10.4" width
275/35/18 = 25.6" diameter, 10.8" width

REAR
295/35/18 = 26.1" diameter, 11.6" width
295/30/19 = 26" diameter, 11.6" width
305/30/19 = 26.2" diameter, 12" width
305/35/19 = 27.4" diameter, 12" width
325/30/19 = 26.7" diameter, 12.8" width

Click to expand...

What I read is that it is a good idea to get wheels and tires on the rear that are between 0.5" and 1.0" larger in diameter than the front wheels/tires to keep the active handling/traction control system happy.

Anyway, push come to shove, the closest I could come to what I wanted was if I were to go with 18 inch wheels on the front with 265/35/18 tires, and 19 inch wheels on the back with 295/30/19 tires. The 305/30/19 tires would have worked, I think, except that the wheels are only 10.5 inches wide, and those 12 inch tires are just a tad too wide for the wheels. At least according to the chart I will attach at the end of this message. I did NOT want to start my search all over again looking for a style of wider wheels that I liked just to get those 0.4" wider tires.

The wheels I have decided on are the Cray Manta Hyper Silver w/ Mirror Cut Lip model (https://www.elementwheels.com/wheel...er-w-mirror-cut-lip/cra-1890cmhscra-19105cmhs). But honestly, I'm still leaning a bit to the chrome version instead. I do like the wheels to be blingy. But after having those chrome wheels I had on the car get destroyed at Aaron Scott's place when he left the car out in the elements nearly the entire time he had it, I guess I'm a bit more leery of chrome wheels now.

I had considered having TPMS sensors installed since the place I will likely get the tire/wheel package could install them right then and there, but from what I understand, it takes a TECH II to enable the TPMS system in the Z06. Which I just do not have access to. Oh well....

I'll likely put those wheels and tires up for sale to get rid of them. Don't need them cluttering up the garage, as I STILL have those older chrome plated ones sitting underneath the workbench there.

So, after looking at so many options it was making my head spin, I finally settled on ordering the following:

2 - 18X9 CRAY MANTA HYPER SILVER W/ MIRROR CUT LIP wheels
2 - 19X10.5 CRAY MANTA HYPER SILVER W/ MIRROR CUT LIP wheels
2 - 265/35/18 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4S tires
2 - 295/30/19 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT 4S tires

Mounted and balanced with free shipping from ElementWheels.com in Arizona.

They didn't have the 295s in stock, so I should have everything delivered by the end of the month.

BTW, if anyone wants to see a good explanation of what "offset" and "backspacing" for wheels means, this site gives what looks like a pretty good explanation with pictures.

https://www.autoanything.com/wheels-rims/wheel-offset-vs-wheel-backspacing

The reason I was looking this up is because I'm not exactly sure the rear wheels in this setup I ordered are going to clear those rear brake cooling ducts on the C5Z. If my calculations are correct concerning the backspacing of the new wheels, it appears the wheels/tires in the rear will be moved 0.75 inches closer into the wheelwell. I need to put the car up on the lift and measure what that clearance is right now with the stock wheels, but I don't think there is much clearance there at all, from what I remember. Cray's website says the wheels are compatible with the Z06, but heck, I've had "experts" work on my car before that proved to be disappointing with their "expertise". So I'm not much the trusting type any longer.

Nice looking rims, Rich! Looking forward to seeing some pics of the C5Z wearing the new shoes!
Andy

Wheels shipped today! :dancer01:

Coming from Arizona via trucking company, so won't likely be here till next week sometime. Hoped they packed them REAL good.

You might want to think about videoing the unpacking in case anything bad turns up. It would be cheap insurance, and can always be deleted if the packing is adequate and the wheels suffer no harm.
Just my 2 cents..........
Andy

navy2kcoupe said:

You might want to think about videoing the unpacking in case anything bad turns up. It would be cheap insurance, and can always be deleted if the packing is adequate and the wheels suffer no harm.
Just my 2 cents..........
Andy

Click to expand...

Yeah, not a bad idea. You just never know....

The wheels arrived in Atlanta yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. Left Phoenix at 1:18am on 11-20 and arrived in Atlanta at 3:37pm 11-21. So the truck driver didn't dally much along the way, it seems. 1800 miles. So we'll see how long it takes to cover the remaining 280 miles. They are supposed to call 24 hours prior to delivery to make an appointment. But in some instances, we would get the call when they are at the end of our driveway.

Guess I should put the C5Z up on the lift and pull the old wheels off and do some cleanup of the brake calipers and such. Or if I were smart, just wait until I unpacked the new wheels to make sure there isn't a problem with them first.

Well, the wheels left Atlanta today at 1:22pm. No other notices, so I guess the driver is taking the slow route. Hopefully they will show up this week.

Well, the trucking company (R&L Carriers) called yesterday morning and said the driver will be delivering my new wheels between 10am and 2pm today. I guess that is the curse of having a last name like "Zuchowski". I always seem to be last on any list.

Got 10 minutes to go for the phone call. The driver is supposed to call when he is in the area. We are going to have him meet us at the local Walmart since an 18 wheeler is a tough fit on our narrow dirt road. No way it would ever be able to actually get into our driveway.

Pics!!

Sorry, no pics yet. I didn't open the boxes today.

Didn't get a call from the driver till quarter till 3. He said he was heading to his next stop, which was Autozone. I suggested meeting him there to get the wheels from him. So he said he would be there in 10 to 15 minutes.

Connie and I headed out here and stopped off at the post office. I had to ship something out, so I was waiting at the counter while the person in front of my had a half dozen boxes to go out, and was taking forever while she asked question about them, and had them all measured by the guy behind the counter. After the third one, I couldn't wait any longer, so I walked out to head back to Connie's truck. While I was inside, Connie checked the post office box, and she said she saw an R&L Carrier truck go by and thought it had to be the driver we were supposed to meet up with. Problem is that he was headed in the wrong direction, away from Auto Zone. So we drove to Auto Zone, and sure enough, no truck there. It was maybe 10 after 3 when we got there. I went inside and asked the girl at the counter if B&L had been there to make a delivery, and she said yes, he dropped of the delivery and left real soon afterwards. Sheesh...

So we headed back home, in case the truck was headed to our house after all. Glanced at the Walmart parking area as we passed, but didn't see the truck there. And no truck on the road outside our driveway, neither. So I went into the house to check messages on the answering machine. No, I STILL don't use the cell phone.

Anyway, the driver left a message saying something to the effect that he was at the Auto Zone, didn't see us there, and was leaving. Double sheesh.... So I called him and he said he was at the auto store next to Winn Dixie. Which would be Advance Auto. I asked him what the heck he was doing there, and he said when he didn't see us at the Auto Zone, he figured maybe I was confused and went to Advance Auto instead. Yeah, right.... Obviously dealing with a genius here. He said he waited at the Auto Zone for quite a while, and I called BS on that one, telling him I went inside and asked the girl and her story didn't jive with what he was saying. So he says, "OK, I guess I didn't stay there that long.".

So I asked him how long he intended on staying at Advance Auto and he said he would stay there as long as needed. But then changed his tune and said he would meet me at the Dollar Store (or whatever it is called), nearby to where we live. I was getting pretty hot by this time. We headed out again, this time to the Dollar Store, and yeah, the truck was there. Then the driver tries to tell me that he told me he would be at the Auto Zone at 3:15. I said, "Oh no you didn't. You said you would be there 10 to 15 minutes from when I talked to you on the phone originally." So he then says, "Oh, I guess maybe I did say that." The guy isn't real good at lying, apparently.

Anyway, got the wheels loaded into Connie's truck, brought them back home, and have them sitting in the garage. By then I had had enough, so I figure I will open up the boxes tomorrow. I want to set up for video while unboxing them, and just didn't feel like messing with it this evening.

I hope this isn't an omen. None of the four boxes look damaged on the outside, so that is a good sign, but still...... I always get the heebie-jeebies when things go wrong, as you just don't know when the bad stuff will stop, nor what it is trying to tell you.

But I'll see how things go tomorrow, I guess.

Oh, no apologies from the driver for missing the appointment window. R&L's website says they guarantee delivery in the window, but no mention of what exactly they guarantee. Nothing of the sort "Guaranteed to be delivered within the appointment window or __________". So I emailed them about that. I think I am due that _________.

Had to run errands most of the day, but I did get over to the garage and unboxed the wheels after we got back. Took video, just in case, but everything looked OK as far as I could tell without a real close look at them.
















Hope to get the old wheels off this weekend and do a thorough cleanup of the wheelwells before putting the new wheels on. Supposed to get heavy rain, however, so not sure if I will want to venture out much unless I can catch some breaks in the rain. I know this should be something saved for a rainy day, but I never have been very keen on actually going outside IN the rain to do something I saved for that day....... :hehehe:

Well, apparently my problems with this R&L Carriers shipping company were extremely minor compared to what others have gone through with them.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/r-l-carriers.html

When I emailed their "customer service" about what their "guaranteed delivery time" meant I was told that the shipper did not pay for that option. Eh? No mention of that on their website that it is optional. And I was told that the "guaranteed window" for delivery was just an estimate. Doesn't mention that on their site, neither.

https://www.rlcarriers.com/guaranteed-service.asp

I was also told that the shipper would have had to pay extra for a smaller truck to deliver to my address. So I wonder what would have happened had I not offered to meet the truck at a different location?

And I thought FedEx and UPS are bad at times........ :ack2:

Got the old wheels off and cleanup up the inside of the wheelwells.

One thing interesting to note that on both sides the rear tires have been (or had been) rubbing against the brake air ducts.



So I am hoping these new tires don't rub even more than the old ones apparently did.

New wheels look good.

Looks great!













l

So I went over to the garage after dinner to put the new wheels on the C5Z. Figured I should start with the rear wheels, because I just wasn't convinced that they were going to go on without issues. And yeah, sure enough. I just put the passenger side on and spun the tire by hand and could hear obvious rubbing of the tire against the brake air duct.







The rubbing is at a different spot on the duct, so my guess is this would be a problem.

So I took a look at the driver's side to see how much trouble it would be to just remove that duct completely. Not too tough. Just a half dozen or so 7mm screws holding the wheelwell liner and the duct in place. So now there is just a hole in the liner instead of the air being directed via the duct.



I don't think it will really affect anything, as I don't take the car to the track and doubt the brakes would ever overheat on me.

So I pulled the passenger side wheel off again, and did the same on that side.



Interestingly enough, when I pulled those liners out, I had what seemed like a couple pounds of sand fall out onto the floor with more remaining below the duct vents.






Oh yeah, I wanted to use my old lugnuts, but come to find out they were too large in diameter for the front wheels. I couldn't get my socket around them to tighten them onto the hubs. Fortunately a new set of lugnuts came with the wheels, and they used a smaller diameter socket that would work OK.







So, the wheels are installed. But will likely be a while before I can take the car out for a test drive. Raining like hell here all day long, and supposed to continue on through Monday or so. No, I don't want to get mud stuffed into all those nooks and crannies that the sand has been getting into.

Oh, a couple of other interesting things I found out.

While I had all the wheels off of the C5Z, I went and weighed them all to see what sort of weight difference we would be talking about.

• Old wheels
  • Front wheels/tires = 42.75 lbs.
  • Rear wheels/tires = 49 lbs.
• New wheels
  • Front wheels/tires = 66 lbs.
  • Rear wheels/tires = 60.75 lbs.

Weights are per EACH wheel/tire.

So I am putting on 70 lbs total unsprung weight with those new wheels and tires. Granted, there is some weight lost on the old tires because of wear, but I don't think it would be overly significant.

Now what surprised me is that with those new wheels/tires, the rears (which are larger), actually weigh less than the fronts. I wouldn't have expected that. It's just the opposite with the old tires and wheels.