I would like to have wider back tires on my 82. Can anyone tell me the best tires to go with and how wide I can go without having to modify anything on my car and without changing my rims. I have aluminum rims. I am not sure but I think they are the original rims.

 

What'cha got on the front rims right now for comparison?

For example: The previous owner of my car put P235s on the front rims and P295s on the back rims (the rims are steel 15" diameter by 8" wide).

FYI: the P295s on the back rims required the E-brake brackets to be removed to keep from cutting the inboard wall of the tires to pieces.

Many members are putting P255 tires on all four rims so they can be rotated front-to-rear and rear-to-front to make the tires last longer.

 

I have BFG 275x15's on stock 15x8 rallies on the back of my `76. It was a close fit but nothing had to be modified.

 

those powerful 82s always had traction trouble at the rear tires.

 

Bear with me please because I don't know a thing about this. The man at the tire place said I have 70's and that he could put 60's n the back, so I am guessing the lower number is wider. Then he made a call and said that those are not available.

 

Blessmyvette, I am going thru the same thing right now, I have an appointment with the tire shop tomorrow to install my new fronts. My rears are really hard to get right now so I have to wait..

How tire sizes work is the Width times the ratio / 100 gets you your profile.
On my front I have 255/60 (all 15") on stock aluminum wheels.
255 * .60 = 153mm of height. 255's fill the front wheel wells perfectly.

I put these on my rears, but they are not wide enough.

I want to try 295/50's. I have already moved the parking brake mount (had a friend do it with me in an hour. easy job for anyone with a welder).

295/50's = 295 * .50 = 147.5mm. In this case the rears will have a lower profile than my fronts, but only 1/4" so I am hoping nobody will notice.

I used to have 245/60's on the front, but they sit inside the wheel well and I hate that.
I also had 245/60's on my rears, but mounted on Cragar 10" wheels, these stick out 1.5" and I love the look. From what I know, stock corvette rims all have the same back space, at least they do on my rims.

Hope this helps.
Ken

 

I really liked the look of yours so I showed the guy at the tire place and the said he never heard of it. Then he made a call and ask someone else and they said they never heard of it. It seems no matter what I try to do to my car, it's a hassle. I think its because I am a women and I don't know what I am talking about. I do know what I want though. They feed me a bunch of bull because they can and I wouldn't know it. It really makes me mad. I am not trying to get a bargain. I would gladly pay more just to get what I ask for without all the hassle

Now he's telling me that the tires I have are the widest I can have. If he put 50's they would stick out on the sides. I know that's a bunch of bull because I see them all over the internet. I asked him what were my options. He said I didn't have any unless I want to change my rims.
My husband had him order the tires because I had a flat the other day and he wanted me to have all new tires because during the summer I live in Florida and I make several trips back to Louisiana. Well that was sweet of him but I wish he had gotten with me first. I kinda feel like this guy has the tires my husband ordered and he just wants to put them
On and get me out. As mad as people like him make me, my heart goes out to them because they don't have a clue as to the passion we feel towards our cars. Shot I bet they have never felt that way about anything. It's sad

 

Army, Are they 275/60?

275 * .6 = 165mm profile.
Are you getting the idea blessmyvette?

FYI, I went to Cooper tires web site and selected the Cobra tires under Passenger Tires. Once there I selected the big red button [tire sizes and specifications] to see what was available....you can eliminate most of them because they are either not wide enough (under 255) or the profile is way off.

Ken

 

Yes, they're 60's Ken. Sorry I should have included that. I bought mine locally from a tire guy I've been dealing with for 40 years. They should be readily available just about everywhere. Summit has them. http://www.summitracing.com/int/sear...rder=Ascending

I've heard tire places are getting skittish about installing sizes that aren't what the vehicle had on it when it left the factory. My tire guy says the big chain stores and outlets are concerned about potential liability issues.

 

Well he's putting the ones my husband ordered on because I need new tires right now to make my husband happy and I need to get on the road in two hours, but after I hear all
You guys have to say and take some time to educate myself on all this. Search the net and research it to death. The granny tires will come off. Need to or not and I will have what I want in the end and when I do I will come back here and show this guy, and explain to him in detail how I got what I wanted. He keeps laughing at what I ask for. You would think I ask him to make my car fly.

 

What I am finding is the tire stores are not used to dealing with these size anymore at all. My store here, had me come in when the owners brother was working. He was the 'expert' on old cars/tires. As for liability issues, if the manufacturer says it fits on an 8" rim, there should be no issue.

Blessmyvette, this may not be a 'woman' thing, they just don't deal with these tires anymore. My guys have been in business for over 20 years and they still are reluctant to answer questions about these tires. Most of the new cars are 18" rims+. Of course the guy could just be a jerk....

If I can't get the 295's, I will probably go with the 275/60's. At least the 165mm profile would work with my car (since the rear end is raised).

Army, were exactly are you located in ON?

 

IMO i would just get a set of 17''x8'' wheels and a good set of max performance summer tires. I bet my 255 summer tires will out handle 295 all seasons all day long.

 

You missed the point of the OP...

 

I think a lot of people here did. 275's and especially 295's are too wide for an 8" wheel. They'll fit, but they look like crap.

 

275x15 60 series BFG's are rated for 7.5" to 9.5" rims. Whether you personally like how they look on 8" wheels isn't on the spec sheet.

I'm just west of London Ken. Got a couple acres along the 401.

 

I've had 275/60-15 8 inch stock rim since around 1978, didn't have to move anything, have never had a problem with fitment or rubbing on anything and IMO they look great back there.

 

I'll vouch for the 295s looking like *&%$%^!

It's not the '60s any more....LOL!



Bless MyVette....tell your husband to watch those D.S. tire store salesmen......they will jack the price up in a N.Y. second....don't ask me how I know.

As for your new tires that you can't stand...Ya' wanna sell 'em?

Depending on the size they are, I may buy a couple of them for the front on my project.

 

On my 82, I have BFG225/70R15 on the front and BFG255/60R15 on the back with stock rims and they look OK. Not sure what look your after, but mine fill the wheel wells. I would like to drop the back 2" and raise the front 1" which would make it look a little bit better. Look at the post on 82's and you can see a full picture of mine.

 

I recently replaced my tires on my 79 Corvette I put 275 60 15 on 8 inch Cragar RlSupersport wheels on the back and I put 235 70 15 BF GOODRICH RADIALS on 7 inch Cragar Supersport wheels on the front. Both the back and the front are 28 inch diameter. the back wheels stick out about a half an inch and they're nice and beefy it looks good!

 

Here is a good article of how far you can go on stock rims

http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/MoreBite.pdf