[whitelt1]

So I have a '23 Camaro LT1 and one of the things many recommend is upgrading the rear wheels to at least 275. I currently have the stock 245s all around and plan on swapping all the stock tires with Continental DWS06+.

I spoke to a family member and they say it's a bad idea because the car already handles enough, can wear out the engine and transmission more and people who suggest these say that people who do stuff like this do not plan on keeping their car for more than five years.


Is there any truth to more engine wear? Doesn't seem to make sense to me considering that the LT1 has the exam same parts as the SS (which has 245 front and 275 rear) mechanically minus some coolers.

[SSEssence]

No, you will be fine adding wider wheels. You can run even wider if you wanted similar to a SS.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by whitelt1

So I have a '23 Camaro LT1 and one of the things many recommend is upgrading the rear wheels to at least 275. I currently have the stock 245s all around and plan on swapping all the stock tires with Continental DWS06+.

I spoke to a family member and they say it's a bad idea because the car already handles enough, can wear out the engine and transmission more and people who suggest these say that people who do stuff like this do not plan on keeping their car for more than five years.


Is there any truth to more engine wear? Doesn't seem to make sense to me considering that the LT1 has the exam same parts as the SS (which has 245 front and 275 rear) mechanically minus some coolers.

That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard... The SS 1LE has 11" wheels in the rear running 305 tires... I went from the standard SS size (245/275) up to the SS 1LE size (285/305 on 1LE spec wheels) and love it, the car grips so much better... I plan on keeping my car a very long time (I've already had it 4 years)... I couldn't imagine 245's on the rear with an LT1 under the hood...

Whoever was telling you that nonsense doesn't know what they are talking about...

[fj5gtx]

Its true that you can wear out wheel bearings and some suspension parts if you put the wrong offset wheels on a vehicle.

Its not true if you utilize the factory sizes and offsets. You can just upgrade the rear wheels if you want to minimize cost. Or you can sell off all your current stuff and upgrade to the even wider sizes.

I upgraded just the rear wheels/tires on mine to SS size. They work better than the 8.5s with 245s, but I think I would have been better off (traction wise) to just go with 1LE sizes and sell off my originals. If you want fuel economy, narrower is likely going to help that desire.

[BatMobileLT1]

Originally Posted by fj5gtx

Its true that you can wear out wheel bearings and some suspension parts if you put the wrong offset wheels on a vehicle.

Its not true if you utilize the factory sizes and offsets. You can just upgrade the rear wheels if you want to minimize cost. Or you can sell off all your current stuff and upgrade to the even wider sizes.

I upgraded just the rear wheels/tires on mine to SS size. They work better than the 8.5s with 245s, but I think I would have been better off (traction wise) to just go with 1LE sizes and sell off my originals. If you want fuel economy, narrower is likely going to help that desire.

Agreed - you are definitely fine going up to the 9.5"/275 SS Rear wheels and tire size with same offsets,..
And as stated - A bunch of LT1 or SS owners have gone right up to the SS 1LE wheels/tire sizes.

One other caution to keep in mind when going wider is that if you did increase the unsprung weight significantly (wheel + tire weight) you can somewhat decrease performance of acceleration and braking. Since I also have the LT1 with the smaller rear brakes I wanted to make sure I didn't overload them with wider wheels.
Fortunately, when we upgrade LT1 and also go from non-run flats to normal high perf summer or all season tires you lower tire weight significantly that should offset if the wider wheels are somewhat heavier than stock (and of course more $$ can always get lighter weight wheels).

[GXP08jrf]

Originally Posted by whitelt1

I spoke to a family member and they say it's a bad idea because the car already handles enough, can wear out the engine and transmission more and people who suggest these say that people who do stuff like this do not plan on keeping their car for more than five years.

Hogwash…

If you took two identical LT1s and swapped 275’s on one of them, left the other on stock 245s, then proceeded to drive them side by side for 5 years and 60,000 miles. any difference in engine/transmission wear that you could discern is more likely attributable to other non-quantifable outside factors. Manufacturing variability being the primary one, which mostly boils down to the luck of the draw...

Everyone’s build, driving environment and driving style is different. there is no way to to eliminate enough factors to be able to attribute powertrain wear directly back to tires.

I’m sure most of us could either baby a Camaro for 150,000 miles or trash it in 12,000 regardless of the tires.

[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Issue #1... Possible weight increase.
Issue #2... Will have you spending hours researching tire.
Issue #3... Bigger tires can be more expensive.
Issue #4... More traction
Issue #5... More traction will have you adding HP.
Issue #6... Possibly too much male attention.
Issue #7... You may stop doing other things you use to like, so you can touch your new larger tires all the time...

You have been warned.

Note: Mine are 19x11 up front and 19x12 out back.

[whitelt1]

Yo appreciate all you have been sharing everyone. The 245s definitely aren't enough. Kind of debating if I should go higher than 275 and of course swap out the fronts too depending on how much wider I were to go.


What are your thoughts on the speedometer being off? Any way to fix that without voiding your warranty?

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by whitelt1

Yo appreciate all you have been sharing everyone. The 245s definitely aren't enough. Kind of debating if I should go higher than 275 and of course swap out the fronts too depending on how much wider I were to go.


What are your thoughts on the speedometer being off? Any way to fix that without voiding your warranty?

If you are going to spend the money, I would HIGHLY recommend going to the SS 1LE wheel/tire size (10" front with 285/30R20 and 11" rear with 305/30R20), when your speedometer is showing 65 Mph you will really be doing 63.8 Mph, not a big deal... https://tiresize.com/speedometer-calibration/

If you want the great looking 1LE style wheels, the MRR017 wheel in Gun Metal Gray is a great choice at a reasonable price...

Here is my before and after on my 2SS...

Before:




After (with MRR017 1LE Replica Wheels):

[whitelt1]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

If you are going to spend the money, I would HIGHLY recommend going to the SS 1LE wheel/tire size (10" front with 285/30R20 and 11" rear with 305/30R20), when your speedometer is showing 65 Mph you will really be doing 63.8 Mph, not a big deal... https://tiresize.com/speedometer-calibration/

If you want the great looking 1LE style wheels, the MRR017 wheel in Gun Metal Gray is a great choice at a reasonable price...

Here is my before and after on my 2SS...

Before:




After (with MRR017 1LE Replica Wheels):

Appreciate the response. 1LE wheels sound very tempting, but now I think of it given where I live I think moderation is needed. From what I hear, wider wheels do provide better dry traction but have reduced traction in the rain. I live in South Florida where we get lots of rain especially in the summer, so I think 285 is probably the most you should go. (I believe 1LE wheels are 305?)

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by whitelt1

Appreciate the response. 1LE wheels sound very tempting, but now I think of it given where I live I think moderation is needed. From what I hear, wider wheels do provide better dry traction but have reduced traction in the rain. I live in South Florida where we get lots of rain especially in the summer, so I think 285 is probably the most you should go. (I believe 1LE wheels are 305?)

If you want more width and go with 285's, check out this idea, it looks great and will give you a LOT more traction and handling, plus it is a "Square setup" like you have now so you can still rotate your tires... I think this will check every box for you...

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619771

[dfwcowboy]

One downside is going to be wet pavement performance. My 2LT with stock tire sizes was my daily driver and was terrible in the rain and required slowing down significantly and being extra vigilant. With my ZL1 I do not drive it in the rain, but I don’t use it as a daily. The problem is all things being equal, a wider tire is not going to displace water as fast as a narrower one and when it can no longer do so you hydroplane. Tread design is a huge factor in this as well, so some tires are going to do better in this regard. Tire selection is going to be a much bigger consideration if you plan on driving it in all weather conditions.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by dfwcowboy

One downside is going to be wet pavement performance. My 2LT with stock tire sizes was my daily driver and was terrible in the rain and required slowing down significantly and being extra vigilant. With my ZL1 I do not drive it in the rain, but I don’t use it as a daily. The problem is all things being equal, a wider tire is not going to displace water as fast as a narrower one and when it can no longer do so you hydroplane. Tread design is a huge factor in this as well, so some tires are going to do better in this regard. Tire selection is going to be a much bigger consideration if you plan on driving it in all weather conditions.

The Conti DWS06+ that OP wants to mount has excellent water displacement, I don't think he will have problems at 275/285 width or even at 305. That said, I wouldn't compromise my Camaro with all-season tires, especially not in Florida, but to each their own.

[whitelt1]

Originally Posted by 2SS Capt

If you want more width and go with 285's, check out this idea, it looks great and will give you a LOT more traction and handling, plus it is a "Square setup" like you have now so you can still rotate your tires... I think this will check every box for you...

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619771

I see. The extra traction makes sense in dry conditions, but wouldn't I be sacrificing wet traction going with a 285 square set up instead of a 285 rear and something less in the front? It is an interesting setup nonetheless and it would definitely be great to be able to rotate my tires so I don't have to worry too much about uneven wear.