Nearing end of restomod project on 65 Convertible. Plan on using 15" styled steel wheels. I want to add a little tire size but I have MANUAL steering. The combinations I am considering:

205/70-15 all the way around on 6" wheels

205/65-15 all the way around on 7" wheels

215/65-15 all the way around on 7" wheels (front clearance?)

205/70-15 front (6" wheel) and 215/65-15 back (7' wheel)

Thoughts on a clean look for a convertible that has a nice tire parch but not over tired?

 

Do you want to add height, width, or both?

As long as the offset isn't much different from OE or your alignment specs aren't hugely different from OE, wheel width should not affect steering effort by enough to matter.

Dodgestang's wheel and tire charts will help you with finding out what can be expected to fit with reasonable certainty. I still haven't memorized the necessary links.


Norm

 

Thanks for the thoughts on steeering effort. When going to shows and looking at pictures, the convertibles seem to look better when the wheel/tire combination is "modest" compared to say a fastback of the same year which looks better with big-staggered tires. I was just wonedering what others have done and their results.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

215 65 15 is too big in my opinion.
215 60 15 rubs front lips for some people on the front depending on the wheel (will rub with a wheel that has 3.75 backspacing which is the backspacing on the popular TTD wheels, as long as the style steel wheels have 4.25 backspacing it should fit fine (and that you have a good alignment anyway ).

 

Very nice feedback and sugestions. I like the TTD's - alot - but I will probably go with the SSW on this car. The TTD and TTII wheels look great on the fastbacks and coupes but somehow the convertibles seem (to me) to show better with the styled wheels, unless it is a highly modified car.

I agree with the 215/65-15 wheels being big, as you can see those were the largest I speced. Most of the forum threads are focused on the biggest size that will fit and I am looking for better grip and handling that fits along with a classic look.

Do you thing the 205/70-15 front (6" wheel) and 215/65-15 back (7' wheel) is the wrong way to go?


BTW: The fastback in the picture is beautiful! Perfect tires/wheels for that combination.

 

IMO 205/70-15 is too tall a tire for the front. Its an economical tire and its height provides extra cushioning on bumps and potholes so you get a bit of a smoother ride than with a lower profile tire, but its personally too soft for me. I'm not sure what the difference in clearance between a 65 and a 67 is, but I have 7'' SSW's in the front and 8'' SSW's in the back, and run a 225/50-15 and 265/50-15, respectively. You can also see from the pic that I prefer my car to sit pretty high, so backspacing isn't as much of a concern, I think mine is 4.25 or 4.5. And yes I have manual steering.

Obviously your suspension will dictate a lot about the look or stance of your car, does your car sit low? Level?

For a clean look, I would recommend 215/65-15 on 7'' wheels all around. Not too big for the front IMO.

I used to work for America's Tire, and one thing you can do is if you order your wheels from them, or even if you don't, take your car down there and they will mount more than one set of tires on your wheels and test fit them for you so you can see them on your car and decide first hand what you want.

 

These are the 215/60-15's on 7" Magnum 500's with 4.25 backspacing I used to have on my 65. Never had any tire rub issues
In the sig pic below this is 215/55-16's on 7" rims.

 

Personally, yes. If I was going to run 15s again, I would run 215 60 15 on all 4 corners. It lets you rotate and apparently is a good fit.

Here is a photo (best I have) of 215 60 15 x4 on 15x7 ttds



Thanks....thats 245 40 17 and 255 40 17 on 17x8s.....which could look good on a vert

 

I would run 215 60 15s. That is the perfect size for 65-66.

I have 215 60 15 on the front of my 65 with 15x7 Magnum 500 and 4.25 backspacing. I have no rubbing issues and have 1 inch lowering springs on the front. I'm actually considering going to the same size in the rear. It currently has 235 60 rear.