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Hey for 17 inch rims that are 7 inch front and 8 for rear width, would 245/45/17 rear....and 225/50/17 front work? I realize I’m being “safe”. I don’t want a big staggered setup! For my 1970 Cutlass
Those tires are tiny - they're a Honda-sized 25" in diameter (and your selected front tire is actually slightly larger in diameter than the rear). They will be lost in the wheel wells. These cars want tires in the 26.5-27.5" diameter range to fill the wheel openings. I don't know if you can actually find tires in these sizes, but I'd suggest something like a 255/50-17 for the rear and 245/50-17 for the front. These will be fine so long as you select wheels with near zero offset. Do not confuse offset with backspacing.
Edit: well actually they do make tires in sizes 245/50-17 and 255/50-17
First I realize the slight height difference but it’s so small (I think less than a 1/4 inch).
With the wilwood brakes and the car lowered, when my mechanic measured that’s what he said “I can guarantee these will fit when u turn, hit bumps, etc. he said he was being a tad conservative. The wheel I went w is +1 btw. Not sure if that plus the wilwood make u think any different?
QUOTE=joe_padavano;1186835]Those tires are tiny - they're a Honda-sized 25" in diameter (and your selected front tire is actually slightly larger in diameter than the rear). They will be lost in the wheel wells. These cars want tires in the 26.5-27.5" diameter range to fill the wheel openings. I don't know if you can actually find tires in these sizes, but I'd suggest something like a 255/50-17 for the rear and 245/50-17 for the front. These will be fine so long as you select wheels with near zero offset. Do not confuse offset with backspacing.
Edit: well actually they do make tires in sizes 245/50-17 and 255/50-17[/QUOTE]
First I realize the slight height difference but it’s so small (I think less than a 1/4 inch).
With the wilwood brakes and the car lowered, when my mechanic measured that’s what he said “I can guarantee these will fit when u turn, hit bumps, etc. he said he was being a tad conservative. The wheel I went w is +1 btw. Not sure if that plus the wilwood make u think any different?
Originally Posted by joe_padavano
Those tires are tiny - they're a Honda-sized 25" in diameter (and your selected front tire is actually slightly larger in diameter than the rear). They will be lost in the wheel wells. These cars want tires in the 26.5-27.5" diameter range to fill the wheel openings. I don't know if you can actually find tires in these sizes, but I'd suggest something like a 255/50-17 for the rear and 245/50-17 for the front. These will be fine so long as you select wheels with near zero offset. Do not confuse offset with backspacing.
Edit: well actually they do make tires in sizes 245/50-17 and 255/50-17
I can tell you from personal experience that 275/60-15s, which are 28" in diameter and 255/60-15s, which are just over 27" in diameter fit in the back and the front respectively. The tire sizes I suggested are smaller than that at 27" in the rear and 26 3/4" in the front. Yeah, your mechanic is being very conservative.
Olds put G70x14 tires on the car from the factory. Those tires were 26.82" in diameter and had a section width of 8.75". The tires suggested by your mechanic are about an inch and a half SMALLER in diameter than what the factory used, and the factory tires didn't rub. And the 225s that he suggested for the front are the same section width as the stock tires. Your wheels have a +1mm positive offset, so that pushes the tire outboard by that much. That's about 1/32 of an inch. You'll never see that. I have no idea if or how much the disc brake swap pushes the tire outboard.
Your car, your money, your call. Personally I think 25" tires leave waaaay too much daylight in the wheel well.
July 23rd, 2019, 07:39 PM
