I bought and installed 235 70 15's on stock wheels (it's a '72), and to my surprise, the front's are rubbing on full turns. Pretty sure they are rubbing on the insides. The tires are .39 wider than the 225's I was running, so if I put 1/4 spacers on, pretty sure the inside rubbing will stop, but, will do you suppose they'll start rubbing on the outside???

 

Before you buy the spacers, you need to measure the current gap. My thought is that anything larger than the 1/4 inch spacer and you are good.

 

Most likely it's not the increased WIDTH of the 235s that's causing you the problem, it's the increased diameter. Check the front edge of the fender opening.....

 

But I was running 225 75 15's all the way around and not rubbing, and the 235 70 15's are shorter by .17 inches....

 

I guess you were running 225 70 15

 

I just put 235/70-R15's in the front of my car and they're a very, very, very tight fit as well.

Mine weren't even new. They were on the rear of my car for the summer and I...ahem..."shortened" them a bit for service in the front of the car.

I guess I didn't do a good enough job.

Granted, my car has some frame issues that are amplifying the rubbing a bit, but I'm here to tell you that there is a pretty big difference between a 225/70-R15 and a 235/70-R15.

 

No, they were absolutely 75's. On there when I bought the car 11 years ago and who knows how long before that, although they still had most of their tread left.

 

I don't get why 235/70-15 would be so tight relative to a 225/75-15. The tire fit calculator I'm using
http://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?whee...cl=50mm&sr=0mm
shows a 5mm (.2") reduction in fender and suspension clearance relative to the 225s. I had planned to switch to 255/60-15 as I'd heard could be done without clearance issues. That would be a 15mm reduction in fender and suspension clearance (and an increase in wheel well clearance relative OEM). Guess I'm going to have to rethink that.

 

Beginning with the 1978 model year, when the factory offered the 255/60s as an option, the leading edge of the wheel openings, on the front fenders, were "opened up" to allow for more tire clearance.

Many years ago, to help support my "automotive expenditures", I used to sell tires, as a part time deal. Also, as a "pack rat" I kept a lot of the tire tech sheets that I got directly from the manufacturers. So, for the sake of helping explain things, here's what Goodyear says for the Eagle ST, that they used to sell....

225/70 15 section width 8.58", OD 27.37", tread width 6.16"

235/70/15 section width 9.16", OD 28.00", tread width 6.56"

I don't have any tech info for a 225/75/15, but I'll say this....the 225/75 is very close to the OD of the 235/70, but somewhat narrower in tread and section widths.


Having said all of that, I'll add this....The C-3 Corvette is a "body on frame" car, with body mounts that may have gone bad over the years, causing the body to shift on the frame, causing tire clearance issues, especially when trying to fit oversized tires (such as a 235/70/15). Secondly, over the years, I also heard reports that the bodies weren't always mounted squarely on the frame, as manufactured. Therefore, ask yourselves this, do I have clearance on one side of the car, but not the other? Do the rear tires clear, but not the front? If so, the body might not be sitting properly on the frame, and it needs to be addressed.

Also, unless you're the original owner of the car, are you sure the car has never been damaged, and the subsequent repairs changed the way the repaired panels fit on the car, or that the entire body was shifted in the crash? This, too, will effect tire clearance.

 

Guess I can't know for sure if 255/60-15s will fit my '77 without trying them. Not likely that I can convince a tire dealer to 'trial fit' a set. I suppose I can buy one and mount it on the spare wheel and trial fit it at each corner myself. If there a problem, I'll just use it for the spare.

 

235's on stock wheel rims will have no rubbing on your car, if the steering system is properly centered. However, if you have non-stock rims with different backspacing, all bets are off. It is also possible that your front springs are getting old/weak and could be dropping the body lower in front than was specified for your car.

215 width tires are equivalent to stock F70 tire width; 235's are less than 1.0" wider and I've never known of any to rub on ANY C3...unless there was some non-stock or out-of-spec issue with the car.

 

Hi,Had 255 x 60 all round and had rubbing issues,changed to 245 x 60 up front,better but still rubbed on hard lock so decided to lower the front and rear 1 1/2", what do you know -perfect!
I think it's a better ride height and no rubbing as a bonus
Cheers Dave NZ

 

They'll probably rub on the front lip of the wheel opening. A little work with a sander will take care of that...