I have 225/70 R15s on the front and 255/60 R15s in on the rear.
I have noticed this on a lot of C3s lately. Why is this a-symmetrical configuration practiced? Is there an advantage or disadvantage here? What is the best configuration for a ’71 convertible?

 

i have 255/60 15 all around.

the factory size was 225/70/15 or the optional 255/60/15

at least i think thats what it was.
if i'm wrong i'm sure i'll be corrected.

i will soon have 255/45/18 on my 80

 

Some people have reported rubbing in the front with 255/60 15's. I have not noticed this and run them all around

 

There is no way i could get 255's in the front.....235 are there on there now and that is even questionable.

Jim

 

I hear you there. I got Dunlop 235/60R/15 on the front and that barely clears. 245/60R/15 on the back and thats perfect for my car.

 

the problem with running 235/60/15 is you have way to much fender-well gap.

when i first bought my vette it had 235/16/15 and i could put my fist between the tire and the rim. i don't want a 4-wheel drive vette.

now after nee springs from vette brakes and real long bolt out back, it finally sits right!

 

I run the BFG's 245/6015 in the front and the 2556015 on the rear with no rubbing problems. The problem is they are not good traction tires or performance so I'll be swwitching soon to the more low profile tires, a 50 and 45 series tires in 16" or 17". Too bad there is not much of a selection in 16" that comes close to the 26.6" height I need.

 

Porsche, a rear engined car, and mid-engined cars like Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, etc. started stagering wheel and tire sizes because the rear tires were the driving tires, and they carried the most weight. The Corvette had all around same tire sizing untill the ZR1, which needed the additional traction for the powerful engines. The wider the tire in the rear on Corvettes, the more power you can get to the ground. Such large tires are not needed up front, so the stagger got real popular. When the C5 came out, all Corvettes had a stagger wheel and tire pattern. The advantage of having the same size tire all around is the ability to rotate your tires. But with unidirectional wheels and tires, and different width wheels, that became impossible. I could be wrong, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express just last week.

 

245/15/60 all around on my 70.
Fred

 

I also have goodyear 255/60/r15 all the way around with no rubbing, and fit fenders well.

 

I bought four 255/60/15's to start but the front two rubbed badly so I went to 235's. So now I've got two perfectly new 255's in the basement just waiting for their day....and a brand new 383 stroker that is just aching to make smoke of the currently mounted 255's. Ain't it funny how life can throw some unintended happiness your way?

 

Thanks guys, really good input!
I will be going with 255/60 R15s in back and 225/70 R15s up front. The reason being, the /60 and /70 indicates the wall height is 60% or 70% of the tire width. So choosing a /60 up front gives me only a 135mm (5,3”) wall height opposed to a 153mm (6”) wall height in the rear. I feel that it looks better when they have the same or close to the same wall height.
Ya gotta love this forum!

 

Hi Wayne, my name is Shilo I have a 1975 bought in Feb, this car drives like a truck with these 235/60/R15 on it any suggestions?
I have been work ing at bringing this back to life and I would like my wife to drive it.
Please help if possible, Thanks Shilo

 

Hi Shilo,
I have a ‘71 and was used to my Cobra. I had modern suspension components and was able to negotiate corners with the best of them. I also have a ’64 coupe. This is just for cruising and have no goals to drive fast in corners. With my ’71 it’s different. I have a nice ZZ3 motor with a hot cam so I will be moving quite fast especially here in Germany. I will be putting stiffer front springs in front which are approx. 2” shorter than stock. I already have a fibre glass rear spring and will be putting Koni shocks that are adjustable for fine tuning. I’m certain this will give me the controllability I’m looking for. You must first know, to what level you want to take this! There are many configurations to choose from!
As far as the tire choice goes, my belief is that a Corvette “with a good suspension” will work well with the popular tires that fit our cars. (255/60R15, R16, R17, Even R18s.) Somewhere down the line you will be confronted with the optics of your car, (original, custom, radical and so on! I chose the R15s for the ride-ability, curbs and pot holes and such, although there are many great looking Vettes with 17s and 18s on this forum! Unfortunately I have bad roads over here and would damage the rims the first time out! There are way knowledgeable Vette friend out on the forum that could give us some more insight on this issue! Do you have pics of your car?

 

Thanks Wayne,
Not sure how to add attachment whats your email or help me with this one, I am new at Corvette Forum also.

I am new at this and just want to cruise
with the wife.

We getting older now, kids all out of house and this is our first Vet, its
been a hard road to get it where its at now but we are getting there.
Hope you enjoy the pic.

My brother inlaws mom is from Germany, not sure where but shes all German.
My wife was born here and she is German also.

Let me know if you can view the pic, if not I will re-send.

Thanks Steve and Eula Hegeman