Wheel sizes for my car: 18, 20, or 22?

[Darth_Emma]

I'll try to keep this short, but I do think a little background info is needed to figure out which wheels are best for me and my car.

Last year, before I thought I would be adding much, if any, rwhp to my L99 Camaro, I bought a set of 22" Savini wheels and I think they look great on my car. Here are a couple of pics.




Initially, the wheel centers were painted, but the paint chipped a bit around the lugs after a couple of months, so I sent them back to Savini to be powdercoated for a more durable finish. They still look the same as they do in those pics (gloss black with CGM accents on the sides of the spokes). I have not yet put them back on my car, so they are like new wrapped up in shipping wrap from when they were returned to me from Savini. In the meantime, I've put the stock wheels back on my car for the winter storage.

Since getting the 22" wheels, the performance mod bug hit me. Last fall I put a Maggie on my car and it is getting a cam, torque converter, and some other goodies right now. I should be at close to 600 rwhp when it is done in a week or two.

So, I have to decide if I want to put the 22" wheels back on the car or get wheels that might be more appropriate for my increased rwhp.

I think most of us know 22s don't hook as well as wheels with more tire sidewall. I have had several suspension mods to help with traction (drop springs, sways, end links, trailing arms, differential and subframe bushings). If I am going to sell my 22s, now would be the time because they are newly finished and are like new from the manufacturer. They have the tires and sensors mounted and balanced, ready to go.

So the question is, should I sell my 22" Savini wheels and go with 20" or 18" wheels? I don't plan to seriously race my car, but I might venture out on the occasional track day just to try it. So, my wheels will be used primarily on the street. I might also try showing my car at a few small local car shows.

I do not want to own several sets of wheels. I want to have just one set of wheels. Some have suggested I buy a pair of drag radials for the back of the car that will work well only on the track. However, I don't want to be swapping wheels. I am not physically able to swap wheels that track-day-only wheels would require. So, I want a set of wheels to just leave on my car.

Some friends have suggested that I keep the 22s because they look great and I'm not really going to race the car (much). Others have said to get 18" wheels (I'm looking at Forgestar CF5 wheels in "textured gunmetal") because the 18s will hook better and I won't be wasting all that newly-found rwhp. Others still have said 18s would look horrible on my car and I should stay with the 22s. Yet others have suggested I get 20s with some sticky tires for a happy medium.

I must admit, I rather like the look of 18s. I think they make a car look mean and ready for business, but the 22s are prettier. So, I have it down to 4 possible scenarios:

1) Keep the 22" Savini wheels because they're pretty, but take the perfomance hit from using them.

2) Buy a set of 18s with Nitto 555R tires in the back for great traction and they'd be decent on the street. In this case, I'd sell the 22s on eBay.

3) Put a set of 18s on the back and 20s on the front for the added traction in the back, but better appearance on the front. Put Nitto 555R on the rear and Nitto 555 tires on the front. Again, in this case, I'd sell the 22s on eBay.

I for sure would take a big $ loss selling the 22s on eBay. But the smaller wheels would cost less, so I might break even financially.

I sure would appreciate your thoughts on this. I know it's my car and I should get what I like, but I value your input and I don't see this as an easy choice. I have worked hard to keep my car classy (I hope), but also a good performer. I don't want to do something without thinking it through.

So, I've posted this poll to gather your input. Thanks for your help.

[Jay_LHD3]

I vote for 1. Keep the awesome looking wheels and imo the supercharger makes up for any performance you lost with going with 22s!!

Good luck on your decision!!

[ChvyBoss]

It's all on what you wanna do with the car. But if you wanna go for HP & go to the track occasionally then I would go with option #2. But if your not really going to the track and you wanna roll around the streets in style I would keep those nice 22" on.
If it was up to me I would go with option #1

[bmbbl be]

i would keep the 22's ,,,,they look great....with your hp i wouldnt worry about a couple tenths....

[Nine Ball]

I had no problem rolling the 22s on my supercharged Camaro. I don't have time to go to the track, so the car sees 99% street time. I suspect your car will be the same. The 22s look killer and make the car stand out more. The 22s do have some traction, but you just need to be going over 60 mph

There is no such thing when it comes to tires that do everything well. The ultra-soft drag radials will have you spinning the car on wet roads, and they wear out too quickly. The 555R drag radial works great wet and dry, but has very little tread depth and those wear out quickly too. Going to a regular street 20" tire won't improve your traction over the 22s.

Bang for the buck, keep the 22s, then just get a set of drag radials to fit the OEM rear wheels when you need them. You really DO have to change the wheels if you want safe daily driving street tires and the occasional track visit. Don't play games when it comes to driving a 600 rwhp car at the track, show up on the correct tires.

[khislop007]

Originally Posted by Nine Ball

I had no problem rolling the 22s on my supercharged Camaro. I don't have time to go to the track, so the car sees 99% street time. I suspect your car will be the same. The 22s look killer and make the car stand out more. The 22s do have some traction, but you just need to be going over 60 mph

There is no such thing when it comes to tires that do everything well. The ultra-soft drag radials will have you spinning the car on wet roads, and they wear out too quickly. The 555R drag radial works great wet and dry, but has very little tread depth and those wear out quickly too. Going to a regular street 20" tire won't improve your traction over the 22s.

Bang for the buck, keep the 22s, then just get a set of drag radials to fit the OEM rear wheels when you need them. You really DO have to change the wheels if you want safe daily driving street tires and the occasional track visit. Don't play games when it comes to driving a 600 rwhp car at the track, show up on the correct tires.

What he said!

[Darth_Emma]

Thanks to all of you for responding. All excellent points. I need to get this straight in my own head before putting the 22s back on my car. It really does seem like the sensible thing to do.

I didn't want to put them back on and then wish I hadn't later. I kept having this nightmare of "why didn't you sell those wheels when you had the chance?" or "you should know better than to run 22s on a car with that much hp." I thought there might be something I was overlooking.

All the comments you have made here have reinforced my inclination to keep the 22s. They really do look great on my car.

Maybe I'll just hire a pit crew on track days to help me swap my wheels.

I am particularly impressed that Nine Ball encouraged me to keep the wheels I have! Thanks, Tony.

After I recover ($) from the cam/stall/bushings/etc. work, I'll be back for those DRs for the track... if I get up the courage to take my baby to the track.

[My 5th]

Why have you not considered 19" wheels? They seem to work well for The Pedders Camaro. Don't know what tires are available in that size compared to 18's

[SGOS252382]

20'' are a happy medium. On a lowered car 20'' wheels look perfect. Some light weight 20'' wheels would allow you to look good, and have some decent performance.

22'' tires must have major issues hooking up on the street if your modded.