I would like to upgrade my 1965 Cutlass/442 from the 14 inch wheels to a set of 15 inch Goodrich TA/Radials. Has anyone experimented with different tire sizes for the best clearance and fit? I have a pair of 7" Cragars for the front and a pair of 8" Cragars for the rear. Would like to use these if they will fit. Thanks Trax.

 

Kind of depends on what size the tires are. No reason why 15s of a reasonable width and section height shouldn't fit with those Cragars. You might want to investigate different brands, though -- to get away from the T/A "brown-letter syndrome". Cooper Cobras seem to be well-regarded and there should be something appropriate in a 15.

 

I run 245 60 15 on all four wheels with 15 x 7 rims on my 70 Cutlass convertible. There is room to go wider in the rears. My my BFG Radial TA’s have the brown letters, I plan to go with Copper Cobra when I replace them.

 

235-60-R15 or 245-60-R15 up front and either 245-60-R15 or 255-60-R15 out back should be workable sizes for the wheel combo you noted if they are 4.5" backspace. I would keep to 1 size larger for the back than the front though. I would either go from front to back - 235 / 245 or 245-255 since you're planning on using 2 different width rims.

OR... you could ditch the 15's altogether and move up to 17x8 all around if you're not completely set on wanting a white-letter tire set. On my '72 I run 17x8 rims with 4.5" backspace and 245-50-R17 rubber all around and they are essentially the equivalent of a 245-60-R15 in overall wheel height and depth.

Benefit of larger rims is the increased choice of more modern tires - i.e. updated technology with improved ride/handling over the well aged BFG/Cobra designs. Both still arguably respectable for their limited interest use these days, but not really cost effective anymore in my opinion.

 

1970-1972 Cutlass models have huge rear wheel wells that can easily accommodate 295-50 tires with the appropriate wheel backspacing. I have no idea how wide of a tire a 1965 Cutlass can handle.

 

Less.

 

BFG T/As were crap ttires when the letters were white and cost 1/2 of what Coker charges. Alternative to the Cooper Cobra is the Mastercraft Avenger. You don't want white letters, anyway.

 

That aint what Ricky Bobby and Joe Dirt told me....


Party on Garth

 

I am shocked that Goodrich seems to show zero concern with regards to this obvious problem. How difficult could it be to fix the issue and remain the first choice for a sea of “Joe Dirt” types like myself??!! I’m exploring options for my car, M/T? Firestone? Very disappointed with the attitude Goodrich has displayed.

 

They're like the phone company back in the day. I think their slogan went like this: "We're the Phone Company -- we don't care because we don't have to."

 

That's awesome.