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Hey all! Let’s talk rims for a minute. I have a 71, and If I remember correct it comes with 8 inch wide rims. If I wanted to put something between 265 and 295/50/r15 on the rear, would I need a wider rim, or would the stock ones work? If I need a wider rim, what is the widest rim I can go before needing to add any other parts. What do y’all think? What do y’all run?
The 275/60/15 is generally the go to "fat tire" for the rear of these.....they fit and look great on an 8" rim.....some say you have to move the E-Brake bracket....some don't.....most pair the 275 in the rear with 245/60/15 in the front....for a "big n little" look.....
The 295/50 is too wide for an 8" rim.....it wants a 9" rim......
IMHO....if you get the stance right on these tire sizes....it looks pretty tough.....especially with sidepipes......
Honestly, the best combination I have found is a 255/60/15 on all four corners. It's a fat tire, and with the higher sidewall, it looks even wider than your standard low profile 255 - at least to me. No need to add extra rotational mass for aesthetics only when the 255 looks beefy enough to satisfy most. It's a popular size amongst C3 owners (including me) for that very reason.
255 mm width is pretty much the ideal width for a 8" OEM rally wheel, as well. By contrast, and ASSUMING you could even make a 295 work on a C3 without a fair amount of modification - 295 is too wide for an 8" rim, and you really need about 10" wheel width to take advantage of a tire that wide without getting squirrely in the twisties. It will look odd too, as you will notice that the sidewall gets sucked in toward the wheel on a tire that is too wide for the wheel it is mounted on.
275/50/15 should fit on a 8" wheel, but I've heard other owners have had issues with rubbing. And you're increasing rotational mass purely for aesthetics.
Another thing to consider is that these cars have pretty big fender wells that look best when you fill them out, as that is how they came from the factory. In other words, either wheel or tire sidewall needs to fill that out. To me, a larger sidewall looks better, as that is how they were originally, but to each their own. The point is that they look funny/weird when there is a big space between tire and fender well.
In a nutshell, the 255/60/15 is tough to beat if you are interested in sticking with the stock 15" rally wheel. It fills out the wheel well nicely, and is plenty wide, IMO. An added benefit is that you can rotate the tires when running the same size on all four corners.
These cars came FROM the factory with same size on all four corners, so why change that and increase ROTATIONAL MASS on the rears (where you DON'T want to add it) by running a 275, other than for some minor aesthetic reason??? Too much hassle and downside for purely aesthetic reasons.
...And don't say for grip, because it's just as easy to spin a 275 as it is to spin a 255 - these (15") are largely SUV tire sizes. If you want grip, you need a better compound, and that means you need to move to 17 (not a great tire selection these days), or an 18" (ideal) to take maximum advantage of today's high/extreme performance compounds.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Nov 1, 2023 at 03:01 PM.
I have a pair of 10in torque thrusts with 295 50 15s. I have flares though so that helps. You can get 8.5 with 295 50 15s but the sidewall does look ballooned.
235 front/245 rear with stock rally’s on my ‘71 and the parking brake bracket is less than 3/8” from the tire sidewall. 255’s would probably be ok but anything bigger would require the bracket relocation.
Fortunately the tire doesn’t flex inward too much at that location under cornering.
Keep your stock wheel, spend the 30 mins/side moving the parking brake bracket for good measure, and mount up some 275/60-15's. This is your end result:
Keep your stock wheel, spend the 30 mins/side moving the parking brake bracket for good measure, and mount up some 275/60-15's. This is your end result:
Could be an illusion, but the tire appears to be sticking out a bit, which is no bueno. 255's are nice and beefy and do not stick out, and without the extra 3-5 pounds of rotational mass per rear tire you end up adding running a 275 purely for aesthetic reasons. You'd be amazed what a difference a few pounds of rotational mass makes in racing...
If just putzing around, and performance is not a priority, then I guess who cares - but tires sticking out of fender wells is not a good thing. There is simply nothing that a 275mm wide tire can do that a 255 can't do, all the while being lighter.
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Nov 1, 2023 at 04:44 PM.
This is a stock 15x8 rally wheel, 275/60/15 BF Goodrinch Radial T/A, tire is completely flush with the fender lip. Anything wider or a tire that is physically wider despite the same sizing will stick out beyond the lip on a stock 15x8 rally.
The problem with 295/50s is you need a pretty small front tire or else the front tire will be taller than the rear, which looks funny. I have 235/60s currently on the front of my car, but it's lowered so the wheelwells are filled properly, but real low cars can be a challenge to drive if you aren't used to it and aren't careful.
Richard is kinda right, I have a 235 60 on the front and it wasn't a big deal because I have manual steering, however on my wife's 66 Pontiac, it has 295 50s on the back and for that hot rod look it has 215s on the front and with power steering it takes a lot to used to, I'll be putting bigger tires up front and changing out thr 295s on the back for smaller tires.
The 275/60/15 is generally the go to "fat tire" for the rear of these.....they fit and look great on an 8" rim.....some say you have to move the E-Brake bracket....some don't.....most pair the 275 in the rear with 245/60/15 in the front....for a "big n little" look.....
The 295/50 is too wide for an 8" rim.....it wants a 9" rim......
IMHO....if you get the stance right on these tire sizes....it looks pretty tough.....especially with sidepipes......
Jebby
When I did the 275 on my 81 on stock rim the ends of the leaf spring rubbed on the tire. Took a grinder to fix the problem. I went with offset trailing arms and a shortened composite VB&P spring with a 15x10 295. With the custom wheel, the tire was almost even with the fenderwell. Stuck out just a hair.
Problem with the shortened spring was it had the most awful bouncy ride in the the back. Tried 3 different springs. Never got it as good as the factory ride.
This time eventually I want to get the offset trailing arms with the coil over option for the 295's. Have no clue how the ride is, some say it's better than factory. Makes me leary to try since it rides great ride now.
Even tho this is a Camaro, I have been looking into the specs of these wheels. I believe it is a 17x9 , 275 on the back. Trying to picture this on my car.
Thinking about these to replace my stock rallys'
245/60/15 x 7 fronts, 255/60/15 x 8 rears.
Just replaced my rotors and calipers(painted to match car color)
what say C3G?
I went with offset trailing arms and a shortened composite VB&P spring with a 15x10 295. With the custom wheel, the tire was almost even with the fenderwell. Stuck out just a hair.
Rims
