442b

First: I have a 1972 W-30 442 which currently has 225/70/14's. I have an opportunity to purchase (4) 245/60/14's. Just wondering if they will fit on my current wheels which are factory original. Wondering if the profile 245 vs. 225 are going to be much lower or wider. I get confused with tires sizes. I do know I want a wider tire. Any help would be good.

Second: I am planning a total repaint of my car at the end of this season (2011). A friend will be doing the car & he likes to paint the stripes, he did his own 442 & it came out perfect. My question is, Were all stripes done at the factory Painted or Decals? I plan on replacing the hood stripes & body stripes. I'm correct in assuming these were the only stripes available? No Trunk stripes, right?

Thanks for your help on these two subjects. Brian

fourtwenty

Try this little gadget
Tire size calculator

alek72us

no no no trunk stripes. lol
yes those tires will fit with no problem u can go all the way up to 275 60s i think u can go up farther but then they stick out. but 14inch rims are limited anyways and won't go that big. i'm pretty sure they were painted on from factor. but not postive. i'm painting mine on and i supposibly have the same stencil kit used on the factory cars in 70-72 (fusick)

442b

Yeah, I didn't think trunk stripes but I have seen them, and they don't look good. No offense anyone who has & likes them, just my honest opinion. The tire issue has got me. Don't know how to use that calculator & I'm not math friendly, LOL. I'll ask the tire store, hopefully they can tell me. Thanks for the feedback.

1969w3155

The 245-60x14 are wider, but about 1" smaller in diameter. I had a set on my '71 supreme and they just did not look right, replaced them w/245-60x15 much better.

442b

Problem is I don't have 15" wheels. Or are you saying I can put 15" tire on 14" wheels?

442much

You can't put 15" tires on 14" rims. What he means is, get a set of 15" rims and put those 15" tires on them.

442b

Ok, well that probably won't happen considering I just got the nod from my wife to repaint the whole car this coming winter at the tune of 5K to 7K. I know, what's a few more hundred, in her eyes, allot. Thanks

1969w3155

That's correct, I should have clarified.

fourtwenty

when you run 225/70/14
sidewall = 6.2 inches high
diameter = 26.4 inches across

245/60/14
sidewall = 5.8 inches
diameter = 25.6 inches
when you are doing 60 mph on the old the new size will be 58 mph
Hope that helps cheerio

jensenracing77

i run 245/60/14 on my rallye 350 all the way around. i like them myself but that is just me.

the srtipes were painted on for that car.

442b

Hi Jensen - Your Avitar picture, Is that the ralley 350 you have the tires on in that picture? What brand are those tires? Looks good. Thanks for the info.

z11375ss

IMO, I think the reason Olds didn't put the stripes on the trunk was to differentiate the 442 from an SS. From a distance you knew it was not a Chevelle from the back. If it looked like a beefy A-body it was a Cutlass. BTW, I have two complete sets of tires and rims for sale. SS2s. Very good rubber and rims are in good to fine condition. I will be posting pics in the for sale section since it doesn't belong here. We are building a Cutlass and decided to go with 15s. Then decided to go with Ansen slots instead. Decisions, decisions.

jensenracing77

they are BF Goodrich. not my favorite tire but i like the size. i am thinking about going to a Hoosier in that size. the problem i had was i wanted black wall tires but there are none available in that size in any brand. i had to turn the white letters in.

jensenracing77

i don't have any good pictures of the tires. if you want i can get better ones on a hard surface if you want to see how it sits. (other than a grass setting)

joe_padavano

I've run the BFG 245/60-14s on A-body cars, but I find them way too small in diameter. 225/70-14 is about as close to the original tire diameter as you can find in a 14" tire that's not an expensive repro from Coker. Keep the 70s for now, look for at least two 15" wheels, and when you find them at a good price, THEN get 255/60-15s for the back.

442b

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm still on the fence as far as tires & wheels go. Don't think I can find stock 15" wheels so I may just go with another 14" tire. Just confused on what would be best. I know I want 60's on the car, just love that size tire.

stevengerard

I run 245/60/14s on mine, they look fine to me (though I have a back up set of 15s I'm saving up for tires for)

BlackGold

That statement means nothing. 60 is the aspect ratio. It's the height of the sidewall divided by the section width (widest part of the tire). 60 is not a size. A 60-series tire can be big or small, wide or narrow.

Aceshigh

Looks like your car is in need of some rear springs or new shocks. Booty saggin.

That's cool. I prefer them personally.
Almost every car that had racing stripes, had them on the trunk.....except Olds which looks funny to me.

I call it fixing the factory error. Hockey sticks weren't factory either, but I dig em.
Never cared for the lower valance body length stripe though.
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