Skinny front tires for 1970 Roadrunner.

70 RR · Jul 10, 2014

Anyone know if an 80 load range tire will be safe on a 70 RR? I'm looking at the MT Sportsman S/R 26 x 6.00-15 on a 4" rim and the tire has a single max load of 990. Have MT ET Street Drag Radials 295 x 55-15 for the back and want to go skinny in the front. Looking at this combo...

View attachment 198125

Cranky · Jul 10, 2014

Probably not.....especially if your car has plenty of power and can daylight the front tires. If you have to lift for any reason, the load on them when the car rebounds will be a lot more than that. I used to run tires that were made for the older VW bugs on a 68 road runner with good success but I don't remember the load range. Probably less lol

70 RR · Jul 10, 2014

LOL You are still alive, did one ever blow?

Cranky · Jul 10, 2014

Nope, never blew one but back then, we didn't have very many choices. You could buy the skinny wheels but as far as dedicated racing tires for the front went, I don't recall there being much out there. My car ran 126 mph in the 1/4 and carried the front end about 6" off the ground for several feet.

aldal · Jul 10, 2014

70 RR said:
Anyone know if an 80 load range tire will be safe on a 70 RR? I'm looking at the MT Sportsman S/R 26 x 6.00-15 on a 4" rim and the tire has a single max load of 990. Have MT ET Street Drag Radials 295 x 55-15 for the back and want to go skinny in the front. Looking at this combo...

View attachment 198126 View attachment 198125

That's the exact set up I have on my 65 Coronet (current Poly 318 - future 578 aluminum Hemi)....now I'm having second thoughts, any more opinions/advice?

coloradodave · Jul 10, 2014

You asked for opinions, so here goes. From what I see, the curb weight on a 70 Roadrunner is somewhere in the area of 3700 lbs.( probably get some differences of opinions here) and the weight bias is 54% front and 46% rear. A little math tells me that about 2,000 lbs. is on the front tires, or about 1,000 lbs. each, thus exceeding the load rating of the tires you're looking at. I'm sure there is some 'wiggle room' in their ratings but I don't know that I'd take a chance with a tire rated so close to it's max load.

Cranky: I also used the VW tires on a few of my roadsters. Believe the size was 5.60X15".

70 RR · Jul 12, 2014

Thanks Cranky. I went with a Firestone tire 165x15 rated at 1170lbs on a 6'' OEM steel wheel (I have the same wheel for the back 10''). I like the black but I may paint wheels to match the car. My BFs are on orange wheel, so I may stay with the black for a change of pace.

coloradodave · Jul 12, 2014

Is that a radial tire?

70 RR · Jul 14, 2014

coloradodave said:
Is that a radial tire?

Yes Dave, radials front and back.

383man · Jul 16, 2014

Is this a street car ? I ask because myself I drive my 63 alot on the street and decided against the 4" wheel and skinny front tires. I went with a 6" front rim and a standard 215/75-15 radial front tire. Since I drive it way more then I race it I decided on the normal size front tires. Ron

70 RR · Jul 21, 2014

I actually went with a 6'' rim but a 165x15 Firestone radial for the front. I get the skinny look but a bit more stability. 10.76 is a great time, are you using slicks or drag radials? It looks like slicks, 275x60?

Cranky · Jul 21, 2014

Mine was going 10.68 @ 125 and change on the VW tires but it was never driven on the street....at least not legally. Street cars need to have a wider tire with a better load range. The wider tire helps with stopping ability and the higher load range helps with uneven road surfaces like bumps and going through the occasional pot hole that seem to always come up by surprise. A front tire also needs to be able to handle the mph speed too and I'm sure the VW tires didn't....

Some info that you might want to read about tires.... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...ed rating tires&ef_id=OPTOUT:20140721135827:s
and http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoSpeedRating.do

383man · Jul 21, 2014

70 RR said:
I actually went with a 6'' rim but a 165x15 Firestone radial for the front. I get the skinny look but a bit more stability. 10.76 is a great time, are you using slicks or drag radials? It looks like slicks, 275x60?

I use the Hoosier 30 x 9 radial slicks and I drive them on the street all the time also. I want a drag radial but cant find one thats 30 x 9 as I like that size as it dont rub anywhere in my stock wheelwell. Thanks for the kind words. Ron

aldal · Jul 21, 2014

So what was the load rating on the original tires that came on Hemi and other heavy cars?

GrabberOrange69 · Jul 21, 2014

VW tires were and are a good option, but I wouldn't use cheep-o's, and I'd keep them at max inflation. I'm running 185R-15's on the front of my '65 Coronet. They are for TR-6s, European spec and getting hard to find. With US sizing they are 185/80/15s.

You can find them in trailer spec also, but have to look real hard.

70 RR · Jul 27, 2014

I actually used a Firestone 165 x 15. I have not driven the car yet, still have not gotten the motor completed. I'll update once I'm on the road.

Skinny front tires for 1970 Roadrunner.

70 RR

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70 RR

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aldal

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