Q's on SSI wheel manufacturers, sizes and tires

[ttg]

Hello All,

I have questions about wheels and tires for my 1971 Cutlass Supreme Convertible : http://www.geocities.com/baja/dunes/7516/mg.jpg

My current wheel configuration is stock 14" SSI wheels with 235/60/14 Firestone Firehawk tires. I have converted the front suspension to the tall spindle setup with 11 inch rotors and Global West upper control arms. I will be swapping out the original lower control arms to Global West soon.

My goal is to remove the spacers I had to cut for the front wheels to clear the caliper. I am assuming that 15" SSI wheels will clear the caliper. I want to keep the stock look of the SSI wheels which leaves me with Coker and WheelVintiques as far as I know and with WheelVintiques being more expensive.

Questions:

1) Is there any difference between the Coker and WheelVintiques SSI wheels other than cost? They look identical on the web.

2) As per 1010tires*, my current tire size diameter is 25 inches, I believe the stock tire diameter is near 27 inches. The front tires fill the wells and look good. Am I going to have issues going to a 235/60/15 (26.10 dia) in the front? The tire is only 1 inch larger in diameter. Rubbing?

3) The rear tires don't exactly fill the wells. I can see 'sunlight' above them. The extra inch from the 235/60/15 would probably fill the wells better. I'm wondering however if I should go to a wider tire. Would a 245 (26.5 dia) or a 255 (27.04 dia) look better? If I went with a 255 should I use a 15x8 wheel?

This post almost answers my questions except it applies to a 68. Anyone know if 255's would rub in back on a 7inch rim on a 71?

http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...tire-68-a.html

Thanks
Travis

* http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

[70cutty]

What year is your car??

[70cutty]

70Cutlass.jpg

This is my 70 cutlass on 15x10 in the back 295/50/15 and 15x8 on the front 24/50/16. car is lowered 1.5 back and 2" front. IMO I would go with wheelvintiques.

[70cutty]

255 might be too wide for a 7" wide rim it's gonna stick out over the rim quite a bit, go with 8", 4.5 backspacing, you wan't have no problems.
Check out this site, it helped me.
http://www.oldsmobility.com/fitting-wheels.htm

[Redog]

BFG's radial T/A 255 wide tires can fit on a 7 inch rim. They will bulge over but still will be safe. The min for these tires are 6.5 inch rim.

See if the tire that you are planning on using has a spec chart. Tirerack.com has them for just about every tire they sell

Correct plus sizing is usually 10mm wider, 5 or 10 mm shorter sidewall for that extra inch. That's more so for today's newer cars, older cars like your Cutlass are different.

Personally I think 235 is too wide for the front of a RWD car. My plan on the Delta is 215/70/15 in the front (stock size) and 255/70/15 in the rear. I've seen these cars with those tires on it before, so I know they'll fit

[70cutty]

cUTTY TIRES.jpg
I think 235 are good for the front, your car, just like mine, has a lot of room to fill. more you fill it better it looks but that's a matter of personal choice.
To correct myself, you can put a 255 on a 7 inch rim but it's gonna look like crap.

[ttg]

Guys,

How about running 215/70-15 on 15x7 in the front and 255/60-15 on 15x8 on the back with stock back spacing? The tires would be very close to the same diameter front to back. Found the suggestion here:

http://70.86.163.37/showthread.php?t=138063

Travis

[70cutty]

That would look good.

[ttg]

Thanks!

[scott_442]

Everybody has their own opinion but personally I think 255's on 7 inch wheels are far from crappy looking. Maybe I'm just out of touch or maybe I'm too old to know the difference, but I think they look fine. As far as them bulging out from the rim, I don't notice a difference between them and the 215/65/15's I run on the front. But rather than take someone elses opinion at face value before you spend big money on wheels/tires, I suggest you go to a car show and actually look at what others are running. Here are a few pics of what I run, so judge for yourself. I respect your opinion either way.

[LBF]

I always run my tire size questions through this web page:


http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...foTireMath.jsp

[ttg]

Thanks for the pictures and the advice to go to the car show. The 255's look fine on the 7inch rim.