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I run 295/50/15 Stock rim .. I did locate the e-brake to the top .. These tires will be for sale soon as I am changing to MT street radials ..
Thanks...you showed me that 295 will not work in my case but should be on the rear of all non flared c3's
Originally Posted by RBrid
Thanks for sharing that info with us Bats. This is bad news for me too because I wanted wide 16" wheels (if Wilwood calipers allow them). Now I might have to settle with 10x17 in the front and 12x17 in the rear, with flares. These come close:
Yeah..Ahem...I think lots of the cats already knew it...
I still think it sucks but times change and I guess with tires I have to go modern if I want wide and a good street tire,
17" is pretty much what all the tire gurus I spoke with today said would be around a while, I like the E/T Team wheels, they do look old school and classic but I gotta go look up pricing seems a set is more than I paid for thew whole car,
I also don't like having the same wheel everyone else has, but..progress...
BATS......what you said about the bulge on 8" wide rims is evident here----there is very little clearance----5/8" clearance at the end of the spring.....
The tire sticks out about 1 and 1/2" on the 8" rims.......
BATS......you are right about the tire/trailing arm clearance---A 9" or 10" wide rim would give you 1 & 1/2" clearance between the inboard tire wall and the trailing arm----There is now 5/8" clearance between the inboard wall of the tire and the front section of the trailing arm because of the bulge.....
It finally soaked into my thick head/now I see that rims wider than 8" would make it easier to run 295/10" or 305/11 & 1/2" or maybe 315/12 & 1/4" wide tires on the back without having to re-arch the trailing arms (just remove/relocate the E-brake bracket)......re-arching them 1/2" would be a piece of cake and would not affect the ability to adjust the toe-in.
Last edited by doorgunner; 11-17-2014 at 09:07 PM.
Thanks Doorgunner,
I learned the 295's are not wide enough for me with the 4" total Ecklers ZL-1 flares,
As you know for several daze I have been grinding on this, I learned most of the 295's being ran on c3's are being squeezed onto the 8" rims, I said that 295's love 10" actually they like 10 a lot but love 11" a wide rim and even in the daze of 15" not all that common,
I listened to what you said about the way they list a tire size, I called Summit tech today and that was a waste but I will go to the source, I will call MT tomorrow and see what they can tell me on this saga, I believe they will have a tire that will be 15" about 12" wide and about the same outside diameter as the 305 50 15...I believe the issue will be that it will be high cost and not really a street tire,
BUT...most of the good looking 17 or 18 by 11 or 12 rims cost way more than I will shell out so I guess this is about me making it happen on my budget...
While I was looking for info I found this picture of Hammerhead ( love that car )
According to the caption with it these tires are 295 50 15 on 12" rim...of course he has c4 suspension and look where the tire is in relation to the fender/flare....
Thanks Doorgunner,
I learned the 295's are not wide enough for me with the 4" total Ecklers ZL-1 flares,
As you know for several daze I have been grinding on this, I learned most of the 295's being ran on c3's are being squeezed onto the 8" rims, I said that 295's love 10" actually they like 10 a lot but love 11" a wide rim and even in the daze of 15" not all that common,
I listened to what you said about the way they list a tire size, I called Summit tech today and that was a waste but I will go to the source, I will call MT tomorrow and see what they can tell me on this saga, I believe they will have a tire that will be 15" about 12" wide and about the same outside diameter as the 305 50 15...I believe the issue will be that it will be high cost and not really a street tire, I see what you mean about the rubber being too soft for the street....the cost of these new-fangled rims/wheels is ridiculous and I'm not a fan of the large diameter rims on a '68 body...just not for me either!
BUT...most of the good looking 17 or 18 by 11 or 12 rims cost way more than I will shell out so I guess this is about me making it happen on my budget...
While I was looking for info I found this picture of Hammerhead ( love that car )
According to the caption with it these tires are 295 50 15 on 12" rim...of course he has c4 suspension and look where the tire is in relation to the fender/flare.... WOW!
I'd rather spend top dollar on 15" I.D. tires than on 17" rims. I think I'll go to the Pick-a-Part....buy a couple 15" rims with the same offset as my 8" Vette rims......cut em in half and mod em so that I end up with ONE GOOD 10" WIDE RIM......I'll keep you posted.
I have no big desire to go to 17-18" wheel, it opens new issues but after a call to MT today I am not hopeful on my tire delima,
MT sell all kinds of uber wide 15" but too tall for the vette and not really for cars like vettes they are more directed to the T-bucket crowd as the tech told me the tires are for light vehicals.
I can get a 295 50 15 but I doubt it's wide enough for the 4" flare I have, look at your car, you have the stock 2" fender lip or "flair" that is stock and then you hang out about 2" +
The flare I have would cover that pretty well...
But...Look at Diehards car with 295's also on stock wheels,
his isn't as far as I see in the picture hanging out at all, so this is a case of wheel offset/back spacing and seldom two different tire brands are the same exact size between your fit and his,
This wouldn't work on my car I would have 4" of empty flare...
Now what I could try is the 295 50 on my car, my wheels are reverse offset and should stick the tire out not as far as hammerheads but enough to fill my flare and also keep things from rubbing the inside junk, this will not be the hugh wide look from the rear I wanted but it's the easiest on the wallet
I will try to find it on google but do you have any idea what stock vette rims were back spaced at?
At your leisure can you measure on your tire the tread that touches the ground, I believe it will be between 9-10"
I did a quick measurement: From the outboard lip of the rim to the base of the lugnuts is approx. 5"........would that leave 3" of offset on the back side of the rim?
The tread touches approx. 10" of concrete....you "gotta" admit---for a streetcar---that looks "pretty fat"......considering the rims aren't "New Age" hoops!
The 15 inch wheels to me look "right" on the vette. I tried to get the most tire I could all under the fender, and I am happy with the look I got. Wheels for me were Weld Draglites, 15x9 with a 5 1/2 inch backset. I then ran VB&P 1 1/4 inch wheel adaptors, and the fit is pretty good. The problem I had was finding a wheel I liked that would have a 4 1/2 inch backset, and clear the brake caliper, so that's why I ended up with the 5 1/2 bs, and wheel adaptor.
Tires are MT 295 55 15 drag radials. If I had fender flares, I'd be running 325 50's on wider rims for sure.
Last edited by The Money Pit; 11-18-2014 at 12:05 PM.
Thanks Doorgunner,
about 3" is what I was guessing with the stock rim and the "recommended" tire to fit it in it's day...
Originally Posted by The Money Pit
The 15 inch wheels to me look "right" on the vette. I tried to get the most tire I could all under the fender, and I am happy with the look I got. Wheels for me were Weld Draglites, 15x9 with a 5 1/2 inch backset. I then ran VB&P 1 1/4 inch wheel adaptors, and the fit is pretty good. The problem I had was finding a wheel I liked that would have a 4 1/2 inch backset, and clear the brake caliper, so that's why I ended up with the 5 1/2 bs, and wheel adaptor.
Tires are MT 295 55 15 drag radials. If I had fender flares, I'd be running 325 50's on wider rims for sure.
Can you point me to the 325 50 15's if they are a street tire, ( not drag tire )
Many thanks!
Check out the M/T S/R tires…they are pricy though lol
They were all taller than I wanted and yeah they want tall dollars...
My tech hit me from the shop the tires on my rear were only 275 60 they were big on the car too tall too.
From pictures of others with 295 50 and from what the 275 60 looks like on my car I believe 295 50 on 10" rims will work well....and I keep the old school 15" rim look I desire.
send some pics when you get it all setup….would like to see
I will can't wait for the car to get out of the shop,
I have a couple other needed things to fix before fun stuff like wheels and I don't know if I will run old slots or old enkei mesh wheels,
Don't expect anything epic compaired to this modern stuff but it will for me have that old school look I desire.
Hey Bats….I have a set of Eagle GTII tires on Weld rims for sale. They are 295 50r15 tires and were only mounted. Here is a picture of them. 400 for the set with rims. Also this is what they look like on my car with flares before I took out the IRS.
I learned the 295's are not wide enough for me with the 4" total Ecklers ZL-1 flares,
My dad uses 295/50-15 Hankook's on 10" wheels with the Ecklers flares on his '70. It fills the flares nicely, even with a fair amount of negative camber. I don't recall the exact backspace of the wheels he has them mounted on, but it's either 3.75" or 4".
In the front he uses 265/50-15 Hankook's mounted on 10" wheels.
Jamess411 thanks but I think I am going to use something I was thinking I would use something I have, either the mesh style or slots but now with 69auto saying his dads car the one in the carport picture is running 10" rims from and rear...just skinnier tires up front...hum...10" is a big wheel...
So 69auto do the fronts and rear wheels have the same backspacing/offset?
I like the look from the side....
So that is a 70, it has a long hood and 73-79 fender vents73-79 fender tops too it appears but with the chrome up front looks pretty darn sweet.
[QUOTE=69autoXr;1588305524]My dad uses 295/50-15 Hankook's on 10" wheels with the Ecklers flares on his '70. It fills the flares nicely, even with a fair amount of negative camber. I don't recall the exact backspace of the wheels he has them mounted on, but it's either 3.75" or 4".
In the front he uses 265/50-15 Hankook's mounted on 10" wheels.
I don't have a rear shot of his car available.
how long a go did you get the 265 50 15 no handkook dealer around here can get them.
11-17-2014, 07:33 PM
