Hey guys. I'm new to this.I recently bought from a buddy of mine a 1997 Z28, LT1, white leather interior, 30th anniversary edition. I believe that the rims are stock (they are chrome, 5-spoke).

Here's my problem.I don't know very much about tire size versus wheel size. I took a measuring tape and measured the rim size.They appear to be 17" in diameter (17-1/4" to be exact) and about 9" in width (it was hard to get an exact measurement on the width with a standard tape measure).Here's where my confusion sets in. My tires on the Z28 are 245/50R16.I would've thought the last number would need to match my rim diameter. But low and behold I looked it 1995 Impala rims and tires and found a similar scenario. The Impala rims are 18" in diameter (18-1/2" to be exact) and 10" in width, however the tires on the Impala are 255/50ZR17.

My question is: Is it typical for the last number of the tire size to be 1" smaller than the rim diameter? Also, I am looking to buy new rims for the Z28, and need to know what size rims to get so that I can pull the tires off the chrome rims and put them on the new rims. I want to keep these tires, as they are brand new.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

 

Stock wheel and tire size should be 16x8 wheels & 245/50/16. And your question....NO the size dosent change. If you want to use those tires you need 16x8 wheels. Forget your measurement there wrong.

 

The measurement of the rim comes from where the tire seats,and not the outside side lip that holds the tire .If you measure from edge to edge you will get an extra inch..