noroof66

15's are very limited these days. I agree with many others that 16 is minimum. I have a tough time recommending 17's. I have 15's now and thinking of going to 16 to have more options.

Norm Peterson

I think one needs to look carefully past the immediate tire and wheel replacement. Buying a set of wheels and having them made essentially obsolete after running only one set of tires on them is something you really want to avoid. BTDT, it sucks.

It does come down to how hard you drive your car and how important it is to you to have as much tire performance as reasonably practical underneath you, keeping in mind what's under the newer cars on the road and the cornering and braking performance gaps that you should be trying to cover for.


Norm

fakesnakes

Basically, this is the trade off of wheel for tire side wall. Tirerack has great specs available that show every dimension of the tires they sell. I personally like the ratio of wheel to tire that 15's provide. However, it is a fair trade off to step up to 17's when I can keep the ratio close to the same by using a 25.6" tall tire on a 17" wheel with the top of the tire at the bottom lip of the wheel well. To me, that is the perfect stance. I am running 245/45-17 front and rear on my 66 fastback as I did on my last 66. I rolled the fender lips and lowered the car enough to get that top of the tire to wheel well lip look I like. This is an extreme size for a 65/66. You are better off with a 225 front and rear for no clearance issues. I also like a very stiff ride and run a large sway bar, stiff springs, and Koni shocks. This prevents enough front roll to gouge the tires, which would happen even with rolled wheel well lips at that tire size.

trashline

Yea I agree 100% from a performance aspect really bigger is better.

JamesW

In the 10 years I've had my car... I've had 14's, 15's and 16's.... same basic suspension
It's really in the eye of the beholder

14s

15s

16's

dodgestang

Need 17s James.

JamesW

I guess in another 10 years I'll have 20's on it.....

dodgestang

I'm hoping in 10 years to have converted mine to 19 inch hover-plates.

jonm1a1

I did not think i would get that much advice. Thanks a lot. I love big rims but i do think they look odd on the old coupes since the car is so small to begin with. I think 16 is a happy medium and later will get 17s just for looks when i have the money lol performance is what i want and i think 16s will give me the best tire to ground ratio i want.
mot looking to hot rod just to drive good and corner good. the 14s have new tires and i can jus tell they r 2 small and fill almost like i am driving on 4 spares.

Norm Peterson

Kuhmo Ecsta MX in 225/50-16 may work quite well for your application (220 treadwear, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...tirePageLocQty= ). Just be aware that they've already been around for several years, not so much that they are all that much off the performance of some of the newer tires but more with the thought that most tires not sold through Coker Tire have finite lifespans.

The Ecsta XS is a much newer tire and is also available in 225/50-16. 180 treadwear if that matters any. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...tirePageLocQty=


Edit - I hope the links work because the direct link is blocked by my work even though I can go anywhere on the Tire Rack site from its home page. Go figure.


Norm