I was the guy who's asking U about your tires & rims. U say that U have Nittos on your 74 Vette? How long ago did U buy 'em for your Vette?

 

Sorry for the delay re\sponding,i didn't see this post;my vette is 74R and the tires are Nitto NT450 front and rear,just different sizes.....the tires are3 years old purch in the states,not sure where as i bought them with wheels both unused from a failed/unfinished project someone else was doing....hope this helps...john

 

jdunne: Thanks for gettin back to me. OK, that's what I thought, that your tires are at least a couple of years old. "Nitto" tires have changed (size wise) since then. I've been checking out all of the various manufactures of tires & nitto largest side wall tire is 35-40 series, which when these tires are mounted on a vette, look to me like "skate board" wheel & tire look That's if you like that look I don't. I want my tires & rims to fill up as much of the wheel well as possible.

I've got a '72 & the only size combination needed where the tire brand, type , tread match, etc. were the same were Dunlop's 5000 series. These are 17's I'm talking about. The fronts I mounted are 235/55R/17 & the rears are 245/50R/17. These two sizes are both in the 5000 series & the tread pattern are the same with both sizes. I wanted B.F. Goodrich's "G-Force" series tires, but the only size close to what is needed is a 255/70R/17. That's OK for the back, but 2 big for the front. Too much "rubbing" going on. the only smaller size in the G-Force was a 215/55R/17, which was not tall enough to fill the front wheel well right. Same thing goes for "Goodyears" & "Michelins".

My point is........It seems that all of the tire manufactures are going to smaller diameter & wider tire sizes, because all of the newer cars are being built for them. That leaves little choice for the older cars which originally came with 27 & 28 inch tall tires, that were alot narrower. The wheel wells were made for those sizes. Now, one's faced with trying to install a much smaller diameter tire 23-25 inch & much wider. The result......a match made in hell. No9t too mention, it makes the car look like crap!

 

One more thing.........& in all fairness..........the 15 inch tires, that came on many of the vintage cars are still being made in the popular sizes & fit well on the car. So, if you like 15's, there isn't really a problem. But for those of us who like the 17's-18's & 19's look on the older cars, then it's becoming a challenge.

Peace everybody!

 

CRUZZIN,i just went to the nitto tite website and a dealer for the sizes that i have 225.50.17 &255.50.17 and both confirm that both sizes are avail in v and z rating in nt450 model...web site is nittotire.com...hope this helps...john

 

John: You know, come to think of it, you are right about the sizes. I remember what the problem was with the "nittos". The deal was that the 255/50R/17 was OK, tire height & all. It was the front: 225/50R/17; this size is too short. The tire height with it mounted on an 8" rim was just a hair over 25" & too short to completely fill up the front wheel well. So, I went looking on their site for a 235/50R/17 & I found one, but it's a different model. Hence, the different sidewall look & tread pattern. That's where the problem is with most of these tire makers. You can eventually find the sizes you seek, but they're of different models, sidewall look, tread look, tire rating, etc.

'Ya know, I was looking at so many different tires & size combinations, my head was starting to spin

 

Cruzzin,i deliberately put the smaller tires on the front for two reasons,1 lowers the front by 1/2" 2 better turn in on the track...i will try to post a picture show wheels and tires on the vette if you want...john

 

Hey, Thanks John, Post away! We all love pictures!