wheel/tire fitement question

[A05]

Right now I have stock 17 inch rims and stock 17 inch tires. Less than 10k miles and only seen the track once. I CAN NOT GET THEM TO HOOK. I am thinking about getting factory 18 inch rims getting them chromed and putting an aftermarket tire on them, I want to go to 18 inch for the sole purpose of better traction. I don't feel safe that whenever I am driving on the road and I feel the urge to get on it abit my tires do not catch and I feel the car slipping from under me.
SO my question is
#1 will factory 18 inch rims fit on a car that had factory 17 inch?
#2 for my aftermarket tires, what is the biggest size I can get to fit on my car.
Edit: After doing some research I found out that the important questions I should be asking are:
What is the widest rim I can fit on the car w/ and w/ out rolling the fenders?
What is the biggest inside offset you can put on?
What aftermarket suspension set up do you have/ suggest to help w/ handling?

[Rob@WretchedMS]

Right now I have stock 17 inch rims and stock 17 inch tires. Less than 10k miles and only seen the track once. I CAN NOT GET THEM TO HOOK. I am thinking about getting factory 18 inch rims getting them chromed and putting an aftermarket tire on them, I want to go to 18 inch for the sole purpose of better traction. I don't feel safe that whenever I am driving on the road and I feel the urge to get on it abit my tires do not catch and I feel the car slipping from under me.
SO my question is
#1 will factory 18 inch rims fit on a car that had factory 17 inch?
#2 for my aftermarket tires, I think I am gonna get Mickey Thompson, what is the biggest size I can get to fit on my car.

If your only goal is to hook up off the line, the 17's are going to be better. You can get a 275/40/17 to fit, though you may need to roll the fender to clear it, depending on the rim offset.

[A05]

My goal is not to have to worry about traction issues on the street, I know 17's will be faster and better for me on the track but my main concern is everyday traction on the street. Because whenever I make a turn and step on the gas just a tad I get a chirp. and whenever I decide to hit it pretty hard on the street which I very rarely do, they don't grip.
Does rolling the fender have any negative effects on the cars steering or performance? and does it usually cost much?

[cquist]

No negative effects for rolling fenders. I am not sure of a price. Drag bags should help with wheel hop if you are looking for initial traction. It is way easier to find MT's in a 17 inch if you are going that route. You may also look into a wider tire like a 9.5 in the rear instead of an 8.

[A05]

What is the widest rim I can fit on the car w/ and w/ out rolling the fenders?
What is the biggest inside offset you can put on?
What aftermarket suspension set up do you have/ suggest to help w/ handling?

[Rob@WretchedMS]

What is the widest rim I can fit on the car w/ and w/ out rolling the fenders?
What is the biggest inside offset you can put on?
What aftermarket suspension set up do you have/ suggest to help w/ handling?

You can fit 9" wide in the rear with the right offset, i believe in the area of 52-55.

You can fit 9.5 maybe 10 but you will need to roll the fenders.

most rims are 9" with 45 offset, and with these you will be close to fitting, depending on the tire size.

The biggest offset you can put on isn't the right question, what's the biggest offset available is.
Roh makes a few rims that are in the 52-55 range, but as i said before most are 45 max.

As for the suspension, what do you want to do with the car?
Street driving and cornering, Track II
Drag racing, Daily Driver, Track II with drag springs.

[Chevelleguy]

I want to go to 18 inch for the sole purpose of better traction.

FYI: An 18 inch tire is NOT going to "hook" better than a 17 inch tire. If you want better traction on dry pavement get a "summer" tire with a lower treadwear number - it's usually a softer rubber compound that won't lose grip as much as a harder compound (higher treadwear #) but then you get less life out of the tire......unfortunately there's no one perfect tire for every situation...........:burnout:

[TriflowM5+M3]

running larger diameter tires will actually limit your ability to run wider and higher contact patch rubber. Adding inches to diameter actually runs you closer to strut rub issues. In addition, by running larger diameter your aspect ratio will also need to be lower to maintain a proper outside rolling diameter and thus you will loose sidewall flex for launch. Furthermore, by adding larger diameter rubber in addition to attempting to run wider cross sections will also net a higher tire/rim weight combo; not something that you want to do.

The 17's give you the lowest rim/tire weight combo (especially when running to wider rubber), the lowest rim weight for acceleration, generally a larger selection of street and Rcompound tires and offers you the largest range for width and offset to remain clear of strut rub.

[06GTO6.0]

This is kind of off-topic.....Will 275/40/17 tires fit on the stock 17" wheels without any problems?

[A05]

You can fit 9" wide in the rear with the right offset, i believe in the area of 52-55.

You can fit 9.5 maybe 10 but you will need to roll the fenders.

most rims are 9" with 45 offset, and with these you will be close to fitting, depending on the tire size.

The biggest offset you can put on isn't the right question, what's the biggest offset available is.
Roh makes a few rims that are in the 52-55 range, but as i said before most are 45 max.

As for the suspension, what do you want to do with the car?
Street driving and cornering, Track II
Drag racing, Daily Driver, Track II with drag springs.

when you say the offset is in the 52-55 range or 45 is that centimeters or 4.5 inches?

Also I am probly going to roll the fender so therefore i will try to fit a 10 inch tire, so where did you all buy a rim wide enough for a 10 inch tire?

[Rob@WretchedMS]

when you say the offset is in the 52-55 range or 45 is that centimeters or 4.5 inches?

Also I am probly going to roll the fender so therefore i will try to fit a 10 inch tire, so where did you all buy a rim wide enough for a 10 inch tire?

That's in mm it's the amount of mm that it's off center.

The biggest tire your going to want to go with is the 275, rims can be bought at tons of places, but i'm not the expert on that.

[JoesYum]

Also I am probly going to roll the fender so therefore i will try to fit a 10 inch tire, so where did you all buy a rim wide enough for a 10 inch tire?

Not really sure what you mean by 10" tire? Rob@Westfield-ET was talking about 10" rim/wheels.
CCW makes 10" wheels and you can put 275 tires on them, if you want to modify the inner wheels well and do full fender roll, you can put 285 tires. Other option on putting 285 tires is to jack up the rear-end about 3" will drag bags without rolling fenders, but still have to deal with inner wheel well.