scott71

I'm going through this problem now, i really find these posting helpful. Right now I have a set of American Racing Torque Thrust II's 17in. I have a 71 cutlass 442. The car is being rebuilt after an engine fire which happened before I bought it. But i need to make a decision about wheels and tires. Do i keep the wheels that are on it now and save 800-1000 bucks and just get new tires, or do i replace rims and tires at the same time and step up to an 18in wheel......... Anyone have any thoughts??????????? (rims are in perfect shape just need cleaned and polished) Been looking at some coy c-5 rims?????

Limey

My own opinion but just buy the new skins for them and let them roll you never know if that 800 TO 1000 might be needed for more Hidden things that fires can create and the seller nor you are aware of

stevengerard

yeah, I agree and I also feel that although there are plenty of rims that look good in 18 and over these cars are fine with 14 - 17 inch rims. If I ever get a set of custom rims I most likely will stick with 16 or 17s keep the money for something else

Limey

well look at my big **** car I have only got 15's on it and it looks just fine

scott71

thanks for the advice, Cars like this are constantly costing money but by the time i'm done i will have went through the entire front end of the car. So their won't be much of anything that could break. However I do think i will just replace the tires and leave the rims. Good suggestions thanks

Limey

money saved for more Horsepower is always good !!

gearheads78

I would not spend the money to go to 18" with a Coys wheel. If you were changing the style and wanted to go 18 that would be one thing but TT2 to Coys you are not gaining anything IMO

The Stickman

The only thing switching to 18's does is to give a slightly better tire selection. Slightly.

joe_padavano

I'm not a big fan of "rubber band" tires. The 1960s and 70s cars look best with the wheelwells filled. That usually means a TIRE diameter (not wheel diameter) of 27-28 inches. Most tires for large diameter wheels max out around 26 inches, but there are some exceptions. I also don't think lowering the car to close the daylight gap above these smaller diameter tires looks that good, as the arc of the wheel opening does not match the arc of the tire. Of course, there's the other problem that the shorter sidewalls lead to bent rims when these tires and wheels are driven in the real world...

Col Wickham

Got a photo of it with the 17s on? I personally like the Torque Thrust wheels on just about any 60s & 70s muscle car or classic. 17x7 up front & 17x8 on back. I'd stick with them and put your money away for necessary stuff.....like women and alcohol.

J-(Chicago)

I personally don't like the look either, BUT... I will say, those rims and tires handle better than the old baloons that roll all over themselves during sharper turns.

Ever try riding a bicycle with a flat front tire? That's an exaggerated version of what happens to the 28" tall 185/15 stockers. I'll sacrifice the handling for the classic looks because my cars pretty much just need to go straight.

Some other people enjoy trying to bob n' weave with these old tanks I guess.

The Stickman

I resemble that remark.

Bluevista

This is the repair and "restoration" forum?

If I put those things on a dump truck will it carve corners??

scott71

here goes not sure how to do this but there might be some pics here and there might not be

Col Wickham

They look really nice on the car and I wouldn't go bigger. Save the money.I posted a pic of my old 69 Road Runner with the same wheels a few days ago. Looked better than the stock Magnum 500s without making the car look like it came out of a Hot Wheels packet.
I'll be putting exactly the same wheels on my 72 when it arrives.

The Stickman

I think the wheels look great. What size tires do you have?

scott71

the new ones im going with are going to be 245/45 zr17 in front , and 265/45/zr17 in rear but the ones in the picture are a 245, i'm going to keep the same size in the front and get a little larger tread pattern in the rear. I think bfg g-force. Those tires in the picture have lots of tread left but are all dry rotted. The car is very low miles and like i said tire tread is like new only tires are cracked all over.

orange442

On my 72 442, I have TTII's 17x8's w/245-45's front and 17x11's w/315-35's on the rear and I love the look and just about everyone else seems to like the look as well! I have had these wheels and tires since the 90's but I still think they look good and are not "dated".

The Stickman

I think that will look great.

scott71

well i already have the rims on the car or i would go with a larger tire in the rear but I'm pretty sure without looking yet that the rims are a 17x8 or at the most 17x9's so I think the max i can probably go with is a 265. A 305 is enormous!! wow you have any pictures ????

orange442

Here is a good closeup of the 315's...

The Stickman

Even if you have a 17X9 max you could go is a 275. The tire sizes you want should look good. Not as good as a 315 but anything over 275 and the prices tend to get larger quickly in both wheels and tires.

Aceshigh

Agreed.

Unless you have a specific disc brake upgrade in mind that REQUIRES an 18" wheel, it's a waste of money.