I have a set of 14" SS1 rims for my 70 442. What size and brand tires do you guys recommend? I would like to keep it somewhat stock. Thanks

 

Unless you plan to lower the car, any tire less than about 27" in diameter leaves too much daylight in the wheelwells, in my opinion. Unfortunately, the options for 14" tires in these diameters are very limited. BFG, Goodyear, and Firestone all sell 225/70-14s that are about 26.4" O.D. Ideally you'd want 235/70-14s, but I can't find anyone who sells that size anymore. Coker Tire sells a cool looking 225/75-14 redline radial (27.3" O.D.) but at $193 each these tires apparently use solid gold belts.

 

Stock means you're going back to bias ply tires.

I could have done that too, but I went for radials because of the advantages of less rolling resistance and better handling.

I went with 225/70 14's. It gives the car a nice aggressive look and puts a nice amount of rubber surface on the road. Joe is right about Coker, they're pricey. But you can pick and choose from other suppliers. I think there is a bigger market happening out there for wider and lower profiles than ever before. But, I agree with Joe (again) that you don't want to make the car look goofy.

And the last thing you have to pay REAL attention to, is your SS1 wheels might not be a wide enough rim to put wide tires on. Check with the tire manufacturer you are going with to find out the minimum wheel width and offset needed to make them work on your car. If your P05 SS1's won't do the trick, you can get wider ones (14X7 and 15X8) but they cost a pretty penny. Here's a link to a a site that sells them new:
www.wheelmasterclassics.com Clik on "wheel vintiques". About 3 pages in there's the SS1 Chrome c/w center caps.

 

Uniroyal Tiger Paws come in 235/70-14.

 

It doesn't matter what size you get as long as you run white letter out! They could even be Wal-Mart brand Generals!

 

Good info, thanks. The 14" tires are getting harder and harder to find.

 

The Uniroyal Tiger Paw is actually rated rather well at tirerack.com I think is has 7s in most of its categories. It is also reasonably priced. Best of all, it is black wall/white letter!

 

No problem, Joe. I'm going to be putting them on my '69 Camaro, as many '69s originally came with Tiger Paws (different font for the white lettering, but I think it still looks fairly vintage....)

Seeing as I'm now keeping my 442, I think I'll eventually put some redline radials on it despite the ridiculous cost.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I can only find the Uniroyal Tiger Paws in a 235/60-14. I can't find any 235/70-14's. Where did you find them? If I can't get them I will probably go with the BF Goodrich 225/70-14 with RWL. I think they will look good and they are reasonable.

 

Did you try tirerack.com?

 

Yes, I only see the 235/60-14's available on their website so I called and they said they can't get the 235/70-14's from any of their suppliers.

 

You can upgrade those wheels with new SS1 style 15x7's for about $160 each (set of 4). Then you can run common 235/60/R15's to keep the stock appearance.
Tires are part of the overall look of the car. Don't go smaller than this on a musclecar.

 

How about a nice set of redlines??? Still want the white letters? Check out this site www.dbtires.com I bought a set of wide whites for my 58 vette and they look great and ride smooth. Just my .02.

Regards,

Fred

 

Try this site. You can compare sizes.

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

 

take my advice go to 15" and live a little. take a look at these torque thrusts and tell me if the move to 15" is not worth it.

 

Very pretty post coupe. I see you decided to go painted roof instead of vinyl. Wheels look fine. Personally I think that most aftermarket wheels don't give the same visual as the SS1, SS11 or SS111, but that's my opinion. BTW, the all 3 of the wheel types mentioned are available in 15" rims. You've got a nice car and the chrome certainly doesn't make me look the other way. After all, it's an Olds.

 

All 70 442s came with SSII rims painted the color argent, some people refer to this color as argent "silver" or "grey". Although argent is considered a color. In 1970 the wheels did not match the color of the car, as in other years. I run 225 70R14s on my 70 442 and they look fine.