Tire question 1968

[68 Sport Satellite]

68SS - I just left my old wheels and tires bolted on and measured off of those to the outer fender lip and to the inner wheel well. Then I measured the backspacing of the old wheel and made a drawing, to scale, of the old setup. This helped me figure out what backspacing my new 15X10 wheels should have. In my case it turned out that 15X10's with 5" backspacing (zero offset) would center the wheel and tire between the outer and inner sheetmetal. The other day I measured my BFG radial TA 295/50-15 (on 15X10 rim) and found they were 12-5/8" (320mm+) out to out of sidewall . That would explain why It seems like I have a little less clearance than I thought I should have as the tires are about an inch wider than I thought they'd be. Just something else to thing about.

Like I was saying before also, I've seen a couple of other posts where guys were selecting tires and comparing a 275/60/15 from two different tire makers. For example, the overall width of a pair of Goodyears side by side a pair of Firehawk Indy 500's showed the Goodyear sidewalls stuck out a bit more. Maybe that could also explain some of the clearance miscalculations? By the way, I measured the tread width on my cheapie Remington 245 tires last night and they're 8-inch tread width. They sure look wide from the back though and I can't imagine having that wide of a tire up front!

I'm also getting an early start on shopping for wheels. I'm down to either Convo Pros, Weld Prostars, or centerline Telstars like you've got. Satelliteman, any chance you could post a side view of your car with the Telstars so I can see what they look like front and back on your car? Anyone else out there have a 68-69 plymouth B body out there with Weld Prostars or Convo Pros on them? I think I'm leaning toward the Prostars but I heard the Telstars shine up better. For the longest time I always wanted a '66 Nova with Convo Pros, but then when I bought this 68 plymouth and saw a '70 plymouth with Convos on it, they didn't look as good to me on this car as they did on the Nova.

I promise I'll post pics soon. I got the car back, but have been working on some engine issues and it's parked where I can't get a good shot.
--68 Sport Satellite

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Here's a shot of my 68

 

[696pack]

Like I was saying before also, I've seen a couple of other posts where guys were selecting tires and comparing a 275/60/15 from two different tire makers. For example, the overall width of a pair of Goodyears side by side a pair of Firehawk Indy 500's showed the Goodyear sidewalls stuck out a bit more. Maybe that could also explain some of the clearance miscalculations? By the way, I measured the tread width on my cheapie Remington 245 tires last night and they're 8-inch tread width. They sure look wide from the back though and I can't imagine having that wide of a tire up front!

I'm also getting an early start on shopping for wheels. I'm down to either Convo Pros, Weld Prostars, or centerline Telstars like you've got. Satelliteman, any chance you could post a side view of your car with the Telstars so I can see what they look like front and back on your car? Anyone else out there have a 68-69 plymouth B body out there with Weld Prostars or Convo Pros on them? I think I'm leaning toward the Prostars but I heard the Telstars shine up better. For the longest time I always wanted a '66 Nova with Convo Pros, but then when I bought this 68 plymouth and saw a '70 plymouth with Convos on it, they didn't look as good to me on this car as they did on the Nova.

I promise I'll post pics soon. I got the car back, but have been working on some engine issues and it's parked where I can't get a good shot.
--68 Sport Satellite

A tire size is a tire size and is the same from man. to man. If the above was true they were probably either different profile sizes or they were mounted on different size rims.

 

[SatelliteMan]

More Pics

68SS - Your Sport Satellite looks like a real clean car, NICE. Here are a couple of pics, hope it helps. The Centerlines have more than doubled in price lately, Summit has the 15X10's for 300 each. My recommendation, either 15X8 or 15X9 with 275/60-15 rears. Look at 69Roadrunner69's photo gallery, sweet car. This tire size just looks a little better from the side, larger diameter, fills the wheelwell front to back better, not so much inner fenderwell, framerail, etc. showing. Added plus, less chance of rubbing somewhere.

 

[beezee]

My 68 Bee with 295-65-15 BFG Drag T/A's on a Weld 8" rim 4" backspace. MP Hemi springs, Edelbrock AIS shocks

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

295 would be tricky.

I have 275 on my car and I think it´s enough.

69Roadrunner69,

Sorry for the late reply, but nice looking car and I like the way your wheels/tires look. I agree - I'm going with 275/60/15 on the rear. I've been focussing on the rear wheels/tires, but forgot about the fronts. I would like 235/60/15 on front and currently I have a 7-inch wheel with 215/65/15. I think those don't look quite right. Should I stick with 7-inch wheel for 235's and if so, what is the proper backspacing for that wheel?

-68 sport satellite

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Take them off, not needed on a Mopar, just a pinion snubber.

696pack -

Thanks for that tip! This is why I'm glad to find this forum, especially since I'm new to the Mopar cars. I followed your advice and looked online and found a great article from Mopar Muscle Magazine. They mention the same thing you said and show the installation of a pinion snubber. The one they put in is a threaded adjustable one instead of one with the holes and moveable pin. I called Just Suspension who they referenced and they don't carry it anymore. However, the guy I talked to over there was very cool and told me to try Mancini Racing because he knew the company that made those had gone out of business, but that Mancini also was a customer of thiers. I called Mancini and sure enough - they've got it. I ordered one for my 8-3/4 rear and it cost me about $100. It should be here next week. Now I can put the snubber on and ditch the traction bars, making room for the 275's. I'm stoked.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

68SS - Your Sport Satellite looks like a real clean car, NICE. Here are a couple of pics, hope it helps. The Centerlines have more than doubled in price lately, Summit has the 15X10's for 300 each. My recommendation, either 15X8 or 15X9 with 275/60-15 rears. Look at 69Roadrunner69's photo gallery, sweet car. This tire size just looks a little better from the side, larger diameter, fills the wheelwell front to back better, not so much inner fenderwell, framerail, etc. showing. Added plus, less chance of rubbing somewhere.

Satelliteman -

That's it - I'm sold on the Telstars. Thanks very much for the side photos. I agree - I'm going with 275's. The front currently has 215/65's on 7-inch wide wheels, but I installed Hotchkiss front suspension (upper control arms, steering rods, and struts) and I'm a little worried that if I put 8-inch rims up there it will make contact with one of those parts. If I keep the 7-inch wheels, I've heard I can go up to 235's, but again, I'm not positive I won't have any interference issues. I'm sure 225's will fit, but the overall height would look smaller than the 215/65's I have now.

For the longest time I wanted Convo Pros, but then I saw them on a few b-bodies and I just think the Telstars look better. You're right - if I buy all new Telstars and tires, that's going to set me back some serious dough.

I have a habit of doing my research really early on. I'm currently working on electrical and fuel line upgrades and realistically I probably won't be doing this wheel swap thing for another 6-9 months. Unless I get lucky and everything else comes together and I'm ready for it by mid-summer. :yes:

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

My 68 Bee with 295-65-15 BFG Drag T/A's on a Weld 8" rim 4" backspace. MP Hemi springs, Edelbrock AIS shocks

Beezee -

SWEEEET Bee!!! I've always loved the Bees. Hey! Someone else besides me that's running the Edelbrock IAS shocks. Since you've obviously got your rear tires set up for the track, can you tell me if you are satisfied with the performance of the IAS shocks under hard acceleration? Not to detract from this thread - just would like a quick opinion.

Thanks for the pics of your car with your tire/wheel setup. It looks great. Do your MP Hemi springs keep the stock height or raise the car a bit? I just recently swapped my old sagging original leafs for Hotchkiss rear leafs. While I'm happy with their design (normal towards the front of the leaf, with mostly a mono-leaf at the rear of the spring), it did lower my rear about 1-1/2 inches. If I had to do it again, I think I would have ordered some Mopar rear leafs. I also have my torsion bars loosened to drop the nose a hair. When I get my final wheel/tire setup I hope to have 275/60/15 in rear with 235/60/15 in front and then I will probably be able to raise my front back a bit more while still maintaining a slight nose drop in front.

 

[beezee]

Quite happy with the setup, I,ve been to the track once with 3 runs,the second run was the best with a 1.60 60ft, the car left hard and straight.I would say the springs are very close to the stock height,actually removed ss springs as it sat too high. I can break loose the BFG 275-60-15 T/A,s at 50 + mph.

 

[Sublime70]

This is probably not helpful since its an e body, but at one time I tucked 325/50 15s on 10 inch rims on my 70 challenger. The just barely made it, but I had to roll the inside lip of the quarter on one side. I don't remember the backspacing, but I still have the rims in the garage if you want me to measure.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I don't think I will be going THAT wide without doing a mini-tub. Plus it's an E-body, so I don't think the measurement would help me on my b-body, but thanks for the offer. I'm pretty settled on what I need for the back. I'll be doing 275/60/15 on 8-1/2 inch wide wheels. The front is still giving me a bit of doubt that 235/60/15's on 7-inch wheels will fit OK with no interference with my Hotchkiss front end. I guess I need to measure carefully where my 215's are at now from the sidewall to the closest suspension surface, add 20mm (10mm each side) and then add a little buffer zone for when the car is leaning.

 

[wagonmaster]

Wheel/Tire

On my son's '70 440 Super Bee we ran L60 X15's (about (295/60)on 10" rims.

[/IMG]

Don't have a pic anynore after Plum Crazy paint....: (

 

[69Roadrunner69]

275/60/15 in rear with 235/60/15 in front.

This is exactly what I have on my Roadrunner. I think it looks perfect in that combination.

Not too extreme but still very "muscle" !

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

A tire size is a tire size and is the same from man. to man. If the above was true they were probably either different profile sizes or they were mounted on different size rims.

Here's a late reply to the above comment - from my recent research, the difference in widths shown in the photo was not likely due to different profiles. I remember comparing the same profiles together. It could have been different rims on other cars where I noticed the same thing, but the photo I saw had the tires off of the car side by side with no rims.

So I compiled a list of section width and tread width that shows comparisons between the 4 different white letter tires I've been looking at. There's definitely a difference! Some of the differences are not much, but for example look at the tread width difference between the Goodyear's and the others. Matter of fact, that's what was in the photo I saw - Goodyear Eagle GTII's side by side with the MT Sportsman ST's.

Comparison of specs for 275/60R15 tires

Brand Tread width Section width

Goodyear 8.30" 10.9"
Eagle GTII

Firehawk 9.00" 11.0"
Indy 500

Mickey T. 8.90" 10.7"
Sportsman ST

BFG Radial T/A 9.70" 11.0"


Comparison of tire specs for 235/60R15 tires

Brand Tread width Section width

Goodyear
Eagle GTII 7.2" 9.45"

Firehawk
Indy 500 7.7" 9.50"

Mickey T.
Sportsman ST 7.6" 9.20"

BFG Radial T/A not listed 9.50"

Basically, 3 of the 4 except the MT's have about the same section width for their respective sizes. However, the tread widths vary quite a bit. I'm just trying to avoid that bubble look on the sidewall but with as much footprint as possible. For awhile I was set on the Firehawk Indy 500's based on my comparison reviews on Tirerack. But I wasn't really sorting my comparisons by car type. Once I went back and looked at RWD cars that were pre-78, it became clear that performance opinions seem to say that the BFG's are OK, but the other 2 perform better (the MT's are not reviewed on tirerack). The Indy 500's and Goodyear's seem about equal in performance, but the Goodyear's wear quicker. The only one I couldn't find many reviews for were the MT's, but the 3 I read were positive. I think I'm going to go with the MT's. Anyone have any opinions on grip of the MT Sportsman ST's?

 

[dodge41969]

15x8" 4" backspacing w/275/60/15 tire, this combo will not rub!, pulling into driveways w/people in backseat etc., I've had (2) '68 road runners and (1) '69 road runner with this set up, I currently have a '69 coronet with the same deal.

 

[newboyracing]

I am sure this is the billionth time this question has been posted, but I cant seem to find a thread on it. I am wanting a big fat tire and wheel combo on the back of my 68 Satellite. I want to use a fifteen inch wheel. Anybody know how wide a wheel will fit and what backspacing? How big of tire on that wheel. I am wanting to keep the wheel and tire somewhat tucked up in the rear also. Not wanting to raise the rear of car to clear a tire. Sorry to ask this same ol' question, but I gotta know.:edgy:

I have a 68 roadrunner with N50-15s on Crager old school s/s wheels. I sent them to Stockton wheels in CA. and had the back spacing changed from 4.5 to 5.250 & they fit up under the finders nice. Wheels are 15x10. I use MP 7 leaf hemi springs and no fender mods. Tire width is 12.250.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

hey guys,
a couple of more comments/questions to this old post -

So several months ago I finally upgraded my tires to 275/60/15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T's on the rear and 235/60/15 front. Rear is 8" steel wheels and 7" front. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on some centerline rims and I think I'm going to change the front tire size - the 235/60's look too small to me.

So I've narrowed it down to either 245/60/15's on 8" for the front like Satelliteman has in the photos of this thread or 225/70/15's as recommended by another member.

Does anybody have photos of a 275/60/15 Rear + 245/60/15 Front combo as well as a 275/60/15 Rear + 225/70/15 Front combo on a '68/'69 B-body so I can decide which to go with? We're only talking a 1/2" difference in front tire height between the two, but I think the comparison will be in how they each look with the 28" tall rear tires. If I go with the 225's I'll stick with 7" fronts and if I go with 245's I'll order 8" fronts.

 

[hunt2elk]

I went through this as well. The picture in the grass is with 225/70 & the other shot is with 245/60. The rears are 275/60. I ended up using the 225's for two reasons, In order to drop the front end to cover the tops of the tire(the look I like) I had way to much of a rake look. The 225's are closer to the heighth of the rears and look more proportional while filling up the well better. I am using the MP HD rear springs and have about 1" rake. So I have a brand new set of 245/60/15's I will sell cheap if you go that way, lol.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I went through this as well. The picture in the grass is with 225/70 & the other shot is with 245/60. The rears are 275/60. I ended up using the 225's for two reasons, In order to drop the front end to cover the tops of the tire(the look I like) I had way to much of a rake look. The 225's are closer to the heighth of the rears and look more proportional while filling up the well better. I am using the MP HD rear springs and have about 1" rake. So I have a brand new set of 245/60/15's I will sell cheap if you go that way, lol.

Awesome! This is just what I needed. Thanks for the quick response with the great photos. Is the suspension setup and front ride height the same in each photo? If so, I would say the 225/70 looks better. I guess if I went 245/60 in front, then I should drop the rear size from 275/60 to 255/60 to balance things out. Otherwise, like you say, it's too much rake.