tires, tires and more tires.....

[RHW2]

hi all,

I've got a 64 Belvedere and I'm getting ready to replace the rear tires.....a little background info first. Rear is a Strange S60 (Dana) with CalTrac suspension, split mono-leaf. It looks like the spring has been moved inward about an inch. The tires that are currently on the rear are BF Goodrich Radial T/A 295/50/15 which according to their website are 26.7" tall by 12.2" section width by 10.4" thread width. There is at least 3/4" of room between the tire and the leaf spring and 1/2" between the tire and the fender lip so I comfortable with the section and thread width. There is at least 2" of clearance above the tire so what I'm wanting to do is go with MT ET street radials....now comes my problem. I'd like to go with the ET street P295/65R15 which are 30" tall, section width and thread width are identical to the Radial T/As but they"re about 3" taller as a back up I thinking ET Street P295/55R15 which has the same section and thread width but are 28" tall. Has anyone had any experience with tire fitment? I was thinking about adding airshocks to possibly raise the back end a little if necessary. Any thoughts........

thanks, Mike

 

[65hemi]

Personally, I prefer a taller 30" tire. I have MT 315/60 on my 65 Belvedere. Originally had 325/50, but were too short at 28".
My car is mini tubbed and springs moved in so lots of room for the 315/60. Ride height is fine with no need for air shocks. Just SS springs.
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=268649&d=1438000873

 

[reeltime]

hi all,

I've got a 64 Belvedere and I'm getting ready to replace the rear tires.....a little background info first. Rear is a Strange S60 (Dana) with CalTrac suspension, split mono-leaf. It looks like the spring has been moved inward about an inch. The tires that are currently on the rear are BF Goodrich Radial T/A 295/50/15 which according to their website are 26.7" tall by 12.2" section width by 10.4" thread width. There is at least 3/4" of room between the tire and the leaf spring and 1/2" between the tire and the fender lip so I comfortable with the section and thread width. There is at least 2" of clearance above the tire so what I'm wanting to do is go with MT ET street radials....now comes my problem. I'd like to go with the ET street P295/65R15 which are 30" tall, section width and thread width are identical to the Radial T/As but they"re about 3" taller as a back up I thinking ET Street P295/55R15 which has the same section and thread width but are 28" tall. Has anyone had any experience with tire fitment? I was thinking about adding airshocks to possibly raise the back end a little if necessary. Any thoughts........

thanks, Mike

Measure from the front of your tire horizontally in line with the leaf spring to the fold in the fender .My 67 with a 30" tire will rub there. So that should help you choose the diameter. Lets say you have a 30" tire on now.and it is 1 " from contacting that lip at 31" you will be 1/2" away from fold in fender.

 

[doublekrossd]

I actually made a jig out of plywood and 2x4's that bolted right to my hubs. From that point, I could make a "sweep" of the actual tire size and wheel backpacking according to the manufacturers actual dimensions. Was a bit of fussing around but I think well worth it as compared to buying a tire jig for 100 bucks that needs to be formed on a tire to use right anyways.

Remember to measure all 4 wheel openings, as I found my rears differ in size by about a 1/2".

 

[69 GTX]

I think you need 3" of clearance for bumps ect. You could dehump your wheel wells to gain more.

 

[62 Dart Convertible]

I have nothing to add as far as which tire to go for, but suggest you keep in mind what changing your tire height will do to your effective rear gearing. From a 28" to 30" rear tire will make your gearing "taller" by around 7%. i.e. 3.55s with 28" tire effectively becomes 3.30s with 30" tire. Depending on how suited your gearing is now, it may be a good thing or a bad thing.