• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

tire choice

eagle1969

Member
Local time
2:31 PM
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Location
Arkansas
Im about to buy rims and tires for my 69 RR I want to buy the magnum 500s and Iam not sure what size. I like a level look front to rear but also a full wheelwell. I see they make 15s and Im just not sure. I will most likely sell the car so I want something appealling to all. Thanks
 
you could probably go 15x8 on rear and 15x7 on front,and have 245x 60 on rear and 215x70 on front.that is just my thought.
 
See this thread:

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?t=3074

You can easily go 275/60/15 rear and 235/60/15 front. That is the largest that is comfortably possible, but some have gone up to 295/50/15 rear by rolling the fender lips, although those tires are not as big around as the 275's. Some have also gone 245/60/15 on front. It depends if you have stock front suspension or have done mods to it.

General rule of thumb has been 8" wide wheel for rear and 7" for front, but with a 275/60/15 rear, an 8/5" or 9" wheel would fit a little better.

Good luck and happy new year!
Im about to buy rims and tires for my 69 RR I want to buy the magnum 500s and Iam not sure what size. I like a level look front to rear but also a full wheelwell. I see they make 15s and Im just not sure. I will most likely sell the car so I want something appealling to all. Thanks
 
I didn't see that you wrote you were going to sell the car until I already posted. If that is the case, just get 8" wide wheels for rear and 7" for front. Fronts should be 235/60/15 and rears you can still do the 275/60/15 and adjust the height difference with your front torsion bars or go down a size to 255/60/15's.
 
I am in the tire business and have done numerous musclecars for my clients.

Why mess with the front end with the 2356015 when 2257015 is a much better front tire size that will match up with the 2756015 rears??.
Cranking the bars changes your alignment angles requiring another alignment.
The 2356015 is too small for the front,IMHO.26.1 O.D. when matching with the big 275 rears.
2257015 is a better match and lots of room up front to fit it..
The outer diameter of the 2257015 is 27.4 inches,2756015 is 28.0"
You will still get the slight rake down in front without throwing out the balance of the car.Messing with the torsion bars is not needed.
Even the 2157015 is another good choice. 26.9" O.D.
Both will fill out the front wheel well better than the 2356015.
Plus,keep in mind these cars are heavy in front and the 2356015 will ride very rough.
The 70 series 15" I suggested will give a better ride over bumps and still handle great.
Rim widths should be 7" front and 8" rear. Backspacing front;4" Rear 4.25 to 4.5"
I use this chart to show clients and give a better understanding.
Play with it and you will see.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp?item=Wheel-Tire
 
I agree with waygun. The 225 is a nice match to the 275 rears. They fill the front wheelwell up nicely and you still get a slight rake. I think they look good on the Road Runners because of the higher front wheelwell opening on these cars compared to the rear.
 
good info guys. do you know if there are any raised white letter tires in the 225/70/15 size like the BFG's or Firestone Indy 500's? I don't remember them having that size.
 
I checked tire rack and both raised white letter tires are available in that size. I concur with the 225/70/15 for the front.
 
I am in the tire business and have done numerous musclecars for my clients.

Why mess with the front end with the 2356015 when 2257015 is a much better front tire size that will match up with the 2756015 rears??.
Cranking the bars changes your alignment angles requiring another alignment.
The 2356015 is too small for the front,IMHO.26.1 O.D. when matching with the big 275 rears.
2257015 is a better match and lots of room up front to fit it..
The outer diameter of the 2257015 is 27.4 inches,2756015 is 28.0"
You will still get the slight rake down in front without throwing out the balance of the car.Messing with the torsion bars is not needed.
Even the 2157015 is another good choice. 26.9" O.D.
Both will fill out the front wheel well better than the 2356015.
Plus,keep in mind these cars are heavy in front and the 2356015 will ride very rough.
The 70 series 15" I suggested will give a better ride over bumps and still handle great.
Rim widths should be 7" front and 8" rear. Backspacing front;4" Rear 4.25 to 4.5"
I use this chart to show clients and give a better understanding.
Play with it and you will see.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp?item=Wheel-Tire


Hey Waygun, thanks for that info. I'm almost ready to order new wheels for my car (15" Centerline convo pros). I am OK with 7-inch in the front, but I've been debating about the rear widths. I have 8-inch on there right now, but I have enough room for 8.5" and possibly 9-inch wide wheels which by my calculations would fit the 275's better than the 8-inches. The 8-inches look perfect with 245's or 255's, but seem just a tad narrow for the 275's. I measured my wheel well clearance yesterday and with the 275's on 8's back there right now I have 7/8-inch space between the inner fender and outside of tire on the driver's side and on the passenger side I have 1-1/2". Glad I measured - someone else on here told me to do that because sometimes Chrysler wouldn't get the rear end perfectly centered.
 
Not to worry...the 8 inch wide rim works great with the 275 without having to order custom built rims to fit.
The approved rim widths for the 275 is minimum 7.5 and maximum 9.5.
Just a reminder when you go wider,you need to go in--more backspacing.
Thus may require custom built rims to fit.
It may get tight against the leaf springs and still clear the wheel lips.
Do your measurements first before ordering rims--and do the measurements on the driver side.
https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html#backspace
Hope this helps.
JiffyAutoServiceandPerformance059.jpg
 
thanks Waygun. I have plenty of room at the leafs, but less room at the lips. I've seen that backspace guide before. It makes it easier to understand things. So right now I have the 275's on 8's with different rims and that's how I know how much remaining space I have. So if I have 7/8" at the fender lip and 2-inches at the leafs with my current 8" rim, can I easily go with the 9" wheel? I really like the fitted look of the wider wheel with the 275 tire better and the cost for the wheel is the same either way. If my 8" wheel is 4.5" bs, then the 9" wheel would be 5" bs, which is only another 1/2" and should be fine. Am I understanding that correctly?
 
In theory,yes.
5" 5.5" max backspacing.
However ALWAYS test fit the rims BEFORE you mount the tires.
You mount em,you own 'em.
th_IMG_1892.jpg

th_IMG_1891.jpg
 
I am also looking at tires for my RR. It's a 74. I will either go with wheel vintiques mopar rallys 15x7 all the way around, or 15x7 front and 15x8 rear.

On my other drivers, I have had both matched and offset.
On a 69 GTO I had 14x6inch 225/70s all the way around.
I needed new tires

IMG_1080.jpg



the car was fine as it was. except 225s a tad too wide when all is said and done for 6inchers.

I went to 275/60/15s in the rear.

DSCN4087.jpg


again, the car is fine, except 275 a tad too wide for 15x7 when all is said and done.

at 3/4 inch more hieght in the rear than up front, this is about the max height offset you can do without issues. doing it over, I probably would have changed front or rear to give a max half inch offset.


on a 71 Javelin, I had 195/75/14s all the way around. horrible tires. could have replaced same size very cheap but hated them. in all fairness, they were old tires, maybe that size is ok, but the rode horrible.

DSCN4299.jpg



bit off on getting 15x7s all the way around instead of just for the rear.
blasted and did those wheels.

DSCN4387.jpg


I went with 255/60s in the rear. 215/65 up front,
for a half inch height difference.

I am not a fan of 235/60s.
Some love them and put on all four wheels.

As for raised white letter tires,
lots of sizes in BFG Radial T/As.
I prefer Firestone Indy 500s by a little.
Of the two, available sizes in the T/As or available price if you catch the indys on 25% off will probably decide for you.

I went with Cooper Cobras because they are totally made in the USA.

Some other RWL tires out there you can still get are Mastercraft Avengers, Radial Invaders, etc. Dean Stingers, Dunlop GT Qualifers are some Not still being made I understand.

If anyone has a list of what RWL tires are still made, where they are made, etc. that would be helpful to lots I bet.

My RR is still on rollers/yard drivers.
053.jpg

I am figuring out what to do with it.
But in general upping to a 15 inch rim gives you a lot more tire selection than 14inch.
And in general RWL tires are not cheap.

and that Waygun guy def knows what he is talking about.
Pay attention.
(although guys like me that have spent years with 225s on 14inch rims let along 275s on 15inch rims probably drive him nuts)
like I said, pay attention, he has better choices that make more sense.
 
I agree with Waygun; I have 7" front and 8" rear cop car wheels with 225-70-15 front and 275-60-15 rear tires. I have 3/8" clearance between the rear tires and the closest point of the wheel well lip and 7/8" clearance between rear tires and leaf springs. This is the best way to go with B-Bodies from 63 through 70.
 
Last edited:
that looks awesome.

any comments on choices from guys out there with our lowly 73/74 RRs?

(don't get me wrong, I love them, but I know they don't have the following the 79 back ones do)
 
Thanks,guys.
71-74 B's have a wider rear track and having big meats mounted in the back can cause clearance issues.
But that never stopped anybody in the past.
Mopar Action did an article where they fitted an E body rear to gain more inboard clearance from the springs.
But not all of us can or would want to do that.

So,for our "lowly" 71-74 cars I would recommend 2157015 or 2456015 front and 2556015 rears.All on 7" rims.
2756015 will fit in the rear after turning in the wheel lip.

Not a whole lot left to choose from in matching white letter tires in a staggered fitment and 15 inch tires in general are getting as rare as the cars we drive.
Luckily,I sell Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T's since they are always available.
Prices are comparable (if not a few bux cheaper) to the BFG T/A's and other broadmarket brands.
They look great on a 70's ride for that "day two" look.
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street.php?item=SportsmanST
I did some searching this morning and some of the popular sizes in the BFG T/A's are discontinued,or on a backorder with no set date for production--so what my supplier says anyways..
Goodyear and Dunlop no longer make 2456015,2756015,2955015 anymore.
 
I've heard lots of good things about the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. Great reviews on Tire-rack. I think they look great, much better than the BFG's, but I was curious to try the Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T's, so that's what I put on my '68. I goofed and ordered the 235/60's though and should have got the 225/70's.

I'll be ordering new wheels in a few months and will be selling my steel smoothies with moon caps (7" front, 8" rear). I will also probably sell the two 235/60's at that time. Let me know if anyone is interested. I will post photos of my car with the MT's later this week.
 
cool info.
I wanted MTs for the GTO but not 14 inchers.
I will look at 215/70s front and 255/60s rear all on 15x7s for my 74 RR though.

any idea where the MTs are made?

I also prefer the indy 500s over the BFG T/As, but plenty seem to like those.

Hard to believe no more 275/60s.

Thoses were as common as glass bottle soda machines and getting some at the drive in when I was a teen ager...
 
tire size

Everyone is talking about 15" rims. Am I wrong, but I thought either they came with 14" ( Which my 69 GTX did) or people just deceided to go to 15" rims. I have F 215 70 14" on all four wheels. Even the book that I have form the factory says 14" all the way around. Did they even make a Mag 500 without the trim rings back in 69? I thought all came with them and all chrome 500's where not available from the factory????
 
yeah, we are all pretty much talking about 15 inch rims.

not very much selection in RWL 14 inch now, and there days are numbered.

15 is in my opinion a good option.

probably 15-18, many would say 20,
get you all the performance tires.

any bigger is for pimpin' your ride
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top