Hi All,
My 1995 Z28 is being relegated to the street because I recently replaced it with a new car (A 2007 Volvo V70R which, before you start laughing, has 300HP, yet less torque than the Camaro, but offers me more utility value for almost the same performance so I am comfortable with the decision!). I'll be keeping the Camaro though as it's 12 years old, pretty weak in resale value and is definitely showing its age so I have no compelling reason to sell.
The question I have is in regards to the wheels and tires. I replaced the stock wheels with Enkei Win wheels about 10-12 years ago and have put on nothing but Firestone Firehawk SZ50's until they stopped making them in the size that fits that wheel so I went to BF Goodrich KDWS and they are ok. Regardless, the wheels have pretty much lost their clearcoat and are showing lots of corrosion. I am probably ok with keeping these wheels as I don't drive recklessly and they are not likely to shatter any time soon due to the corrosion, but they really look bad and I need to replace them.
Since I am now paying for a new car, I can't just go and buy a new set of wheels at the same size as the Enkei Win wheels but I DO still have the OEM wheels and can put them back on any time I want with a relatively cheap set of new tires. Granted it won't handle as well and will look a bit different (I have a set of Eibach springs so it's lowered) but this to me seems to be the most reasonable thing to do since it's not likely I'll be able to successfully refinish and save the now corroding Enkei wheels.
So, do I HAVE to put on OEM sized tires on the OEM wheels or can I vary the size a bit and if so, what can I do with the stock wheels? Or is the realm of wheels/tires such that you can only put on the given original tire size. I know I can change aspect ratio a bit but I'd like to keep the original diameter so I am more concerned with width. Can I put on a slightly wider tire on the original rims and still have proper handling? I have a feeling I can only put on the original width tires but don't know for sure.
Any thoughts?
Thanks for the input,
Bob
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions on possibly saving the Enkeis, feel free to chime in!