Hello S2K Familia,

This may be a dumb question but like to know people thoughts on this topic. I am pretty sure there are open forum topics on this but I’d rather have my own thread on it.

I am thinking on putting Fender flares on my AP1 possible the ASM rears. I plan on putting some 275/40/17 tires on my RPF1 (17x9 +45).

So my question is will the flares clear the tires? Will it rub?

 

275 on a 9" rim? Seems a bit much. If I had to guess I would say I'm sure they would fit with flares and an alignment but I'm no wheel guru by any means. Hopefully someone with more knowledge can chime in.

 

What are you trying to accomplish here?

255/40 is a much better fit for a 9" wheel in both width and diameter. It will also fit the stock body without having to cut up your rear quarter panels. If you need more tire than 255 then you should really consider a completely different wheel.

 

Yeah if you do the flares you should get theb17x10 +38 rpf1's. That tire will still be pinched a little but it'll fit better than on the 9 inch.

 

Agree with the general consensus here. Wrong tire and wheel combo.

Also in general its best to think about moving to 18's once you are playing with the idea of moving wider then a 255 due to the overall tire diameter. Tire selection are more limited after 255 with the 275/40, and its profile is a compromise. Also if your going to the trouble and cost of hacking up the rear quarters to do the over fender mod, you should be looking at 285 or 295/30/18 options to justify it. These 18" options will match the stock 245/255 17's as far as overall diameter/gearing. This is especially important if staying NA power, wile secondly but less important keeping an accurate speedo.

 

Thanks Guys,

The reason why I am asking is because I am in the middle of an LS1 swap. So I am a little concern on transaction. I Guess the best way is to get rid of the rims and get new ones.

 

The taller overall diameter of the 275/40 would likely better for you as far as gearing then since your running a v8. Your speedo will still be off, but you can get a yellow box to recalibrate this. Your still going to be dealing with less then desirable handling with a 275 pinched on a 9" wheel though. Your range should be 10" minimum and 11" maximum if you want to maximize the contact patch and square up the sidewall enough to reduce deflection for better handling.

 

Yeah bump to 18's with a 11 inch r 11.5 inch wide rear wheel and a 295/30/18 tire in the rear. Diameter is very close to the OEM diameter and a lot wider. This is the only time it makes sense to run 18's since there is much more options for wider tires than a 255. The only crappy thing is they are going to be expensive but if you are putting a LS into your car things being expensive shouldn't be much of a surprise.

 

with all this great suggestions, and thank you by the way.

so if I were to get for example: 18x10.5 +15 ( I think that’s the only fitment for RPF1 on 10.5 size) and getting the 275/40 tires will this be too wide for the ASM fender flares?

 

oh Yeah, forgot to mentioned. with going bigger on the rear to 18's, will it be okay if I leave my set of 17x9's in front? So I guess I will have completely staggered wheels.