Tire Sizes for 17x6" Wheels

[Logan Hughes]

I've owned my '69 GTX since fall of '69 as second owner. Since it is a numbers matching car, I left the original 14" road wheels (see pic). I just decided to change wheels when I found a great deal on HK Magnum 17x6" wheels with 3.75" BS. (BTW...Summit Racing and Holley both have great deals on these wheels.) I'd like to know who has the same/similiar wheel specs and what size tires you are running on cars with stock wheel wells. Knowing the largest size that will fit will allow me some flexibility in tire choices. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[33 IMP]

Width will be tied to height. How tall do you want?

 

[33 IMP]

215 and 225 are recommended for a six inch wheel. Could be stretched to a 235 for the rear. Aspect ratio will determine height. 55 or 60 aspect will give a good looking sidewall height. (you may find tires with those aspect ratios are considered performance suv tires)
Edit. Either the 215 or 225 should fit easily. You won't run into clearance problems with any tire that can properly fit on a 6"rim.

 

[4mulas]

I flat out have to say they are super cheap because no one wants them. They are way too skinny especially if upgrading to 17’s. They would look terrible. Plus you wouldn’t be able to put any tire with any kind of width on them.
if you’re upgrading wheels why not get staggered 8’s and 9’s and a different style altogether seeing as you’ve had magnums for the last 53 years now. This way you can get some descent wide tires on it too.

 

[Kern Dog]

I agree. A 6" wide wheel is narrow at a 14" diameter. At 17", it will look as narrow as a wheel on a covered wagon from Little House on The Prairie.
These cars beg for wider wheels. The hubs are tucked in so far, even an 8 inch wheel can look recessed.
I have 18 x 9" wheels up front and 18 x 10s in the rear.

If your goal is to have the wheels out closer to the edge of the body, you'll need wider wheels with the right offset/backspacing. Mine have 4 3/4" front and rear.

If you're just looking at the 17" diameter because of the larger selection of tires, keep in mind that to keep the overall diameter of the tire about the same as you have with the 14s, the sidewall gets a lot shorter. You're looking at a 225-55-17 maybe.
It is going to look skinny though.

 

[Kern Dog]

I flat out have to say they are super cheap because no one wants them.

Holy crap....the 6" wide ones are $80, the 9" wide are almost 3 times the price at $238.
Still not worth it. The low price is tempting but it will look bad.

 

[Bonehead70GeTeX]

I went with 255x50-r17 all four( bout 28” tall ) 17-9 weld wheels 4.5 back space ,

 

[33 IMP]

Nice lookin GTX. Nice lookin dog.

 

[496 polara]

On those 17x6 you get a higher speed rated tire on the front for better handling.can go 215/50r17 or 215/55r17. 6" is the minimum width for either of those tires. I have thought about those for the front of my duster with 15x8 on the rear.

 

[toolmanmike]

I've owned my '69 GTX since fall of '69 as second owner. Since it is a numbers matching car, I left the original 14" road wheels (see pic). I just decided to change wheels when I found a great deal on HK Magnum 17x6" wheels with 3.75" BS. (BTW...Summit Racing and Holley both have great deals on these wheels.) I'd like to know who has the same/similiar wheel specs and what size tires you are running on cars with stock wheel wells. Knowing the largest size that will fit will allow me some flexibility in tire choices. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

View attachment 1440682

Another wheel thread and another stunning B body. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Some Car Guy]

I’ve thought about doing bigger wheels on my 69 GTX and would like to stay inside the quarter to avoid spraying the panel with junk. I don’t care about traction, it’s just a cruiser and all stock anyway. I didn’t think 17s came this narrow, kinda interesting for my application. The 14s are really like 5.75 and 3.75 bs. Tires for a 17 should stay easier to get than 15s or even 16s. I noticed it looked like firehawks in 16 got discontinued for instance.

id like to see how this plays out in case I pull the trigger on getting bigger wheels.

 

[70ChargerRT]

I went with 255x50-r17 all four( bout 28” tall ) 17-9 weld wheels 4.5 back space ,

View attachment 1448376

You ever thought about trying a 275/50 on the rear?

 

[70ChargerRT]

I agree with others, way too skinny. I run AR 17x9 Magnums on all 4 corners with a 245/45 on the front and a 285/40 on the back.

 

[Bonehead70GeTeX]

You ever thought about trying a 275/50 on the rear?

Don’t think I have room for 275/50-17, with my rim backspace4.5 and 255 , it’s tight maybe 3/4 inch from rear fender inside lip,,I had 275/60-15 befor , about same clearance I have now , they had dif back space , but I do like the same size alway around ,more rubber is better

 

[70ChargerRT]

Don’t think I have room for 275/50-17, with my rim backspace4.5 and 255 , it’s tight maybe 3/4 inch from rear fender inside lip,,I had 275/60-15 befor , about same clearance I have now , they had dif back space , but I do like the same size alway around ,more rubber is better

Yeah I get it. I think my back spacing is 5” with the 285 and I could still get a bigger tire I think.

 

[Bonehead70GeTeX]

Yeah I get it. I think my back spacing is 5” with the 285 and I could still get a bigger tire I think.

Bigger is better, lol I just wish someone made a 17inch white letter tire