jdmcbride

I am trying to decide between 18 x 9" with 255/45/18s all around or the following staggered setup:

Front - 18 x 9" with 255/45/18s
Rear - 18 x 10" with 285/40/18s

I know that the staggered setup cannot be rotated and one set may wear out before the other, but what would be the disadvantages when it comes to handling? The staggered setup would seem to have more traction on the drive wheels which should be better in a straight line or in the corners. Am I right?

Anyone who has lived with a staggered setup for a year or so have any opinions on their setup? Would you do it again?

Thanks,

TexStang06

if you are gonna do staggered, go big on the rear lol...The rear ends on these cars swallow tires...my 295's dont near as wide as they really are.It does have some weird grabbing on real uneven surfaces, like the car will kind of walk around a bit, but not bad...not bad enough to make me wish i wouldnt have ran staggered...plus wide tires on these cars go like icing on cake

06elnr

I went with 20x10s front and rear so I can rotate plus I like the hotwheels look.

majinprodigy

I was looking into this the other day and lots of the current best road racing track cars run staggered set up's but then again they have their suspension tuned for it so depending on what kind of suspension your running it could be a huge benefit or give you a shallow corning ability.

Sleeper05

If you stagger, go big in back.

If you are lowered moderately, 295 is about the biggest you can fit. If you are lowered an extreme amount, 285 is thebiggest that will comfortably fit.

The only downside of properly staggered setups is a loss of the ability to rotate the tires for even tread. To maximize tire life, keep burnout to a minimum, and switch the front tires from left to right/right to left every 10k miles or so (you will have to have them removed from the rims).

RodeoFlyer

WRONG!

Running considerably bigger tires out back is asking for understeer.

Strictly from a handling perspective a set of 255's all the way around is great for the street. 275's are alright too.

The most successful S197 road racers would be the Grand Am cars obviously, and they are running 275/35/18's all the way around. SCCA T-2 allows 255's all the way around, with 285's being your option in the rear, but you will see 255's all around for a reason.

Therer is a great divide between what is performance minded and what is performance STYLED.

jdmcbride

Thanks RodeoFlyer, I was on the fence about this. I thought that the staggered setup would affect understeer. I will probably stay N/A and really would not have the need for larger tires out back.

I think I will just do 255/45/18s on 18 x 9" wheels all around. Besides, it will be easier to rotate the tires when the time comes.

Boozshey

But staggered looks so cool... But expensive to rotate the two sides and to get them replaced...

RedDot

From a performance minded point of view then, would 255's on 8.5" stock rims be equal to 255's on 9" rims? I want to go with 255's all the way around, but I was concerned with the performance and safetyenvelope of the tire/rim combination on 8.5" stock rims.

gnetster

Can the understeer created by using a staggered setup be "tuned out" by installing new front and rear sway bars?