I have an opportunity to purchase a very nice, low mileage 86 Coupe. One owner car that needs tires. Still has factory rims which are 16" diameter and if I recall correctly 9.5" width with the Z51 package. I cant seem to locate the 255/50r/16 speed rated tires. Tire Rack couldn't help me. Any suggestions? Thanks, in advance.

Next to impossible to get 16" tires anymore. Had a hard time getting them for my '85, too. It's been a while, but I had to get Discount Tires to order them for me. Kumhos is all they could get at the time, so that's what we got.

Joel Adams  
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Joel,

Are yours 255/50vr/16? I see a lot of people running 245/50r/16 tires on their 84-87s.  That's about 4/10ths of an inch narrower width. Not sure if that works for me.

Great to see you are still contributing greatly to the Corvette world!

Best,

Scott

Ranger 3

Not sure what size they are, off-hand, but I believe they are 255s. I have the 9 1/2" rims on the rear, but forget that info when the tires were ordered.....they're a lil bit to narrow on the rear rims, and it is very noticeable. I'll remember next time, for sure!! I'll hafta look and see what size they are now... 

Joel Adams  
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Thank you my friend. I don't want to buy a car that I can't find tires for. I don't want go to a bigger wheel diameter. Thanks for checking for me.

Best,

Scott

Still no luck. Toyo has a "streetable" drag radial in 255/50r/16 but they have a "0" wear rating. I just don't know how a 245/50r/16 will fill the wheel well. The Z51 cars have 9.5 inch wheels on all 4 corners. 

Are any other 84-87 C4 Z51 owners using anything but the 255.50r/16 size. My goal is to continue to use the factory wheels.

Thanks,

Scott

Scott, I just went and looked....my '85 does have the 255/50 ZR 16 tires, front and rear. My rear rims are 9 1/2", and the tires are a bit too narrow for the rims....but they work. I just dint consider the rear rims width when I had the tires mounted....and the tire shop dint bother to mention it either. Looks weird, but they've so far been fine.

Joel Adams  
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Thanks Joel1 The Z51 cars have 9.5" wheels, front and rear, from the factory. I have located some Michelins but they are $550 per tire. I could upgrade to 17" wheels from a later C4 and go with 255/45r17s. Same width and diameter tire, just a taller wheel. That would be my last resort.

Thanks,

Scott

Hi, The 17s for a later year would be my preference. Don't give up a good opportunity because of a small detail. The bolt pattern is the same for multiple years of O.E.M. wheels. Back spacing is not a problem either. Go for it! 

Thanks Manchester. I really want to keep the car stock but the correct 16" tires are hard find. If you do find the right size, it is very expensive. My primary concern with the late factory 17's, is another C4 owner told me I would need to uses 3/8" spacers due to different backspacing. I have yet to find the actual backspacing numbers for each wheel to see if that is indeed and issue. So far, I have not given up on purchasing the car. I purchased a brand new 85 4+3 in early 1986. I miss that car to this day.

Thanks for your helpful input.

Best,

Scott

FYI...the rims in my above pic are from an '84 Z51 car originally. Original owner had them chromed, and I bought them from him. The '84 Z51 had the 8 1/5" front, 9 1/2" rear, so that's why I has what I has. 😁

The SLS Cad Mama used to have also had 16" rims from the factory. Slim pickins on tire choices for it, too, but...imho, ALL Cadillacs should have Michelin tires anyway, and that's what I put on it. Not cheap, but well worth the extra cheese. 

Joel Adams  
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Thanks Joel!

Some time ago, I found this info about C4 wheels on the link below.

Hope it is helpful.

Dave

www.mirrockcorvette.com/corvette-parts-guide-wheels.html  

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/tech/c4/susp_chart.html

Just found this additional source of information, and like my previous post, although it is not

specifically about tires, it may be helpful finding appropriate wheels.

Dave

Thanks Dave. This is very informative. Seems like the challenge with moving to a 17" wheel is the backspacing or offset. My current wheels are +38mm while most of the 17s are +56mm. To me that seems like I would need 18mm spacers. I'm not a fan of spacers but that may be the only solution. I also appreciate the additional technical chart you sent. I am very excited about getting this car. Should arrive next week. 

Best,

Scott

When I put 17 inch A-mold clones with lower profile tires on "The Toy" years ago had to add 3 1/2 inch spacers to get the offset correct.  Never had a problem with them.  Good luck...!!! 

Sittin' pretty at the NCM!

Jim Olson

 
"The Toys"...!!!  Save the Wave! 

 Where I've been in a Corvette...!!!

The C3 look sharp with the larger wheels! Thanks sir!

Best,

Scott

I thought the wheels dressed up the Ol' Girl nicely.  The tires did improve the ride and handling but with "strong arm" steering they made me work a bit harder at low speeds and in parking lots.  Never got around to upgrading to power steering before sending her off to the next caretaker.

As was mentioned above check Discount Tire or any other big name tire retailer as Tire Rack isn't the "end all" tire resource.

Jim Olson

 
"The Toys"...!!!  Save the Wave! 

 Where I've been in a Corvette...!!!