E-Body Tire Combos

[tommyg29]

Thanks for all the nice comments about the car.
And yes, there is definitely more room for rubber. Truth be told, I cheated. I have the following setup:
Front 17x8 w 4.5"bs and 245-45 bfg2
Rear  18x9 w 5.0"bs and 275-40 bfg2
But....I added hubcentric spacer/adaptors front and rear to fill the fenders out a little more.
added 1.25" front and 1.00" rear. Essentially it made the rims 9.25" front and 10" rear, without having to spend an extra $600 for custom order rims. The adaptors were not easy to find, but they are an EXACT fit (critical with adaptors) and they were less than $100 total.
And I still have some room to play with on the inside. I like the way it stands now, but yes you could fit 315s in the rear for sure. 18x9s in the rear and I have more than 2 inches room inside from the leafspring!

[3D]

I took a chance because that was all that was available in that wheel, other than doing a custom backspace. It looks good with the smaller front tire.

To Film Surgeon, Do you really only have 1/2" wide frame rail left from the mini tub??? I hope you got some kind of cage. correct me if I'm wrong.

[filmsurgeon]

To Film Surgeon, Do you really only have 1/2" wide frame rail left from the mini tub??? I hope you got some kind of cage. correct me if I'm wrong.

@3D.  Don't know if you're intending to reference a different quote, because the 'quote' you're replying to is not mine.  Regardless, the prior owner did other mods as part of the mini-tub and leaf spring relocation (i.e. frame stiffening), but there is no 'cage'.

[Mpdlawdog]

Not quite, but I'm running a 17x9 with 5" of backspace and 275/40/17's in the front. The 17x9.5 with 5.25" of backspace has the same exact offset (0mm) as my combo, so the tire should be in exactly the same location on your car as mine. On the driver's side all I did was remove the brace, on the passenger side I did a little massage work on the fender lip, it's not even fully rolled. And my car sits pretty low.

The only possible concern isn't tire clearance, it's the rim clearing the outer tie rod end. The additional width of the rim, and therefore backspace, will make it a tight fit on the outer tie rod end. But that has a lot to do with the design of the inner edge of the rim too, so it will be hard to tell without mocking it up. You're into a combo that may or may not work depending on which rim you actually use. Some will, some might not. The only good news is that even if it doesn't clear, you're probably within a 1/8" spacer of making it work. And if you're planning on rolling the fenders, you should have the room.

Thanks for the info...I sold the wheels today!!!!!!!  Finally!!!!!!

My question is that I have a 4 speed car with 3.21 gears....I was looking at running 275 50 17  or 275 40 17 or 285 40 17 ..... 27.8... 25.6 and 25.9 tall respectively.....does running a shorter tire help make the gear ratio go up??  If so how much??


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[3D]

Film Surgeon,
I was referring to this picture.
Right in the center the picture your frame looks very narrow.
Oh, and how do you like the Caltracs?

[filmsurgeon]

Film Surgeon,
I was referring to this picture.
Right in the center the picture your frame looks very narrow.
Oh, and how do you like the Caltracs?

Can't say either way regarding the Caltracs, as the car hasn't seen much road time since they were installed.  But, the little time it has seen, I'd give them 2 thumbs up.  Yes, I didn't realize that the prior owner had done what they did to the rear frame rail.  But like I said, they did other frame stiffening mods; mostly welded in custom sub-frame connectors, and possibly other things, etc.

[JAS]

15x10 4"BS rear 28x12.5 Mickey's

15x8 4"BS front 26x8.5 Mickey's

[JAS]

rear shot

[dfrazz]

15x10 4"BS rear 28x12.5 Mickey's

15x8 4"BS front 26x8.5 Mickey's

Old School Muscle!   

[Mopar Mitch]

WOW! Those are some BIG BOLD Raised White Letters -- very cool!   Nice stance to the car, but.. don't the rear tires scrub/cut into the fender lips?... dangerous?

[734406pk]

Old School Muscle!   

I like it !!!

[JAS]

Mopar Mitch, you are definitely right on your concern.  Air shocks aren't the way to do it, but that's what it's got.  It doesn't rub, but then again, it's the air shocks holding things up.  Eventually, I'd like to get the springs moved in, proper SS springs etc. down the road.  Also a 496 stroker to go with...all in due time. 

I didn't have to jack it up anymore than I did with the 275/60's on the 8" Rallye's.  The tires are just more massive giving that look of it being way up.  It does ride pretty good and doesn't track all over the road like the old Polygas GT tires did.  Those things looked cool, but were horrible to drive on.  Now it rides pretty soft even with the air shocks in back, doesn't bounce or jar like it did before. 

Some of that thing I hated about the Cragar SST and Polygas combo is that it was extremely heavy, putting a lot of unsprung weight on each corner.  This combo is a good 10lbs lighter per wheel which also helps the steering etc. 

[Mopar Mitch]

JAS -- your car brings back memories of when L60s... and the biggest... N50s... were in the rear... awesome!

[JAS]

JAS -- your car brings back memories of when L60s... and the biggest... N50s... were in the rear... awesome!

Mopar Mitch, thanks but I honestly hate the bouncy-ness of it.  I am thinking of changing to radial tires at this point and would like to go with a more square fat look and better ride handling, cause driving is important. 

I was thinking 265/50r15 front and same or 295/50r15 rears.  The only company that has those right now is Hankook with their H101 Ventus... now before I get flamed, I had a set of Hankook RS3 semi's on my old RX8.  They handled flawlessly and had tremendous grip.  I know there are many threads that beat to death about RWL tires and such, but I believe the design of the Ventus H101 is FAR superior to the BFG slippery T/A's.  Just my opinion, never had the H101's but looking at the tread design they have a better tread-pattern than the BFG's. 

Their are many other RWL options IF I choose to go with a smaller front tire.  I have a 235/60r15 on my Rallye's and not particularly fond of the skinny size.

[Mopar Mitch]

JAS -- I've never run Hankooks but I'm satisfied with the newer BFG T/As on my car... just for street and mostly highway cruising.  255-60-15 fronts, 275-60-15 rears... mounted on vintage-style "Performance" brand 15x8 minilite rims.  "Street" truly doesn't count.

For better handling performance (hwy/road course lapping.. HSAX/HPDE), I use BFG G-Force Comp T/As.. 255-50-16 f/r on 16x8 minilite rims.

For yet ultimate handling performance, for competition pylon AX (SCCA) or HSAX, I use Hoosier A6 275-45-16 f/r on lightweight Centerline forged aluminum 16x10 rims.