Sorry, no 442 here. 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham, 5.0 liter (307 C.I.), 2.14 REAR AXLE, 200 Transmission, hydraulic roller lifters and valves, original owner. Lead vechicle in motorcade in 1997 Oldsmobile 100th Anniversary in Lansing, Michigan. Sheryl Crow was there, as was Dolly Parton.
Some nice rides you guys got there.

 

The plan is for 15x7 AR TTOs all around, this a Photoshop of a brown car I found online and made Bright Yellow.

 

Well I think the owner of that wagon needs to paint it yellow. That looks awesome!

 

New style Hurst wheels on my 66. 15x6 front 15x8 rear.

 

Any side pics with whole car on it?

 

 

I know they are stock 15s but i have been considering having the rears widened to 9” to run a wider tire at the rear. My son gas widened stock wheels on the rear of his 64 chevy c10 and it looks super cool with the stock hub caps.

 

This was my 70 442 before.....sniff, sniff.

85-87 442 wheels with 255/60/15 rear and 235/60/15 fronts.

 

You were able to fit 255s on 15x7s?

 

Easily.

 

I've got 275/60-15 on 15x7 factory wheels. Works just fine.

 

They might be "working", but they are mounted on rims outside of spec. 7.5" is a narrow of a rim as they should be mounted on. Once you go inside or outside of the recommended width you are giving up safety in handling and load carrying due to the flex of the sidewall.

I know a ½" doesn't sound like much, but the engineers that designed the tires know a lot more than we do. Take it for what it's worth.

 

I understand what you're saying, but I had read that the Chevy 454SS trucks came with 275-60-15s on 15x7 wheels from the factory.

 

You are correct about the 454SS pickups. I owned a brand new one and yes came with 275/60-15 comp T/A radials

 

A lot of us have run 275/60-15's on 7" wheels.

 

I only asked because my car has 235/60 15 and they look a little bulgy at the side walls. Kinda seems like thats the limit. Do you notice any extra give or flex in the corners. Not judging just wondering for future tire purchases.

 

My car handled just fine with the 255's on it.

 

I've seen it as well. I'm just telling you what the manufacturers of the tires say about it. I sold tires for a number of years and we wouldn't stretch tires either way. It was against company policy for safety and liability reasons.

I specifically remember a guy with a grand national that came in with the stock wheels and 305/50/15's crammed onto them and wanted us to swap them out and we had to turn him away. He wasn't very happy about it, but the company was not going to let us take that risk. And if we had and something happened with those tires, he could have sued the company bankrupt.

I'm not telling you guys not to run them, just what my experience tells me is safe. That's all.

 

Thanks 66SportCoupe. Those looks awesome!

 

I think the 235-60s may look "bulgy" due to their very short sidewalls. If those were 70 series tires you probably wouldn't even notice.

In the past I have used 235-60, 245-60, and 255-60 on 15x7 wheels. I selected 235-60 up front for improved handling as they have a wide tread and very short sidewall that won't deflect easily, and 255-60 in back for the wider tread for traction. I have since gone to 245-60s all around so I can rotate the tires.

 

Here is my current setup for street/drag race:

18x8 5.25" BS 245/45/18 Mich Pilot 4S = 26.7" diam
18x10 6" BS 305/40/18 Nitto 555R drag radials = 27.72" diam

shlTLwr.jpg

Will eventually be ordering a 2nd rim and tire combo for street/autocross. Finally found a company that makes a comparable rim to the one I have now (NewGen - went out of business years ago). Will be going to Schott Wheels - their Magnum EXL wheel - leaning towards 275/40/18s on 18x9.5 front and 305/35/19s on 19x11 rear. With both sets I'll be able to do whatever I want with the car. Will probably go with the Nitto NT05 tires - a 200 TW tire that I can run hard during autocross and meet the 200TW requirement of most autocross events, but can still street drive and drive hard on the street (but carefully in the rain). I really enjoy banging thru the gears on twisty roads now with the 6 speed and all the suspension upgrades but I think I can take it to the next level with this setup vs the current drag radial in the rear and by going with a wider front setup with the 9.5" rim and a 275 tire.

-Joe

 

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* Really, really, like the Schott wheels, my favorite; very expensive. Was looking to purchase a set for my Challenger. However at $1000.00 minimum per wheel, I don't know if I wish to put out that much cash. Have it, but don't like giving it away. A picture of the wheels I was looking at. At 71.5 degree center hub, I can only get the standard concave, not the full. Both are nice.

Model 5- eXL

 

Agreed on the Schott Wheels being expensive. For the 18/19 SSIs combo I'm looking for, I haven't found any other wheel builders that make the Magnum/SSIs etc that aren't the cheaply made version. What I mean is they are completely FLAT on the front, have unwanted differences from stock appearance, and/or don't have room for big brakes behind them. I've seen some REALLY ugly/bad ones on some high end cars. Tons of options and selection for 14" to 17" but then a huge drop off for 18" or bigger. You definitely pay more for the higher end custom aluminum wheels but in my opinion the difference is night and day.

-Joe

 

Are you referring to the lip? A lip is essential for any show wheel, even for road. Many, a great many wheels have the spokes situated on the face of the rim; these are absolutely junk in my opinion. All center spokes should be located within the wheel with at least a 1/2" lip. Concave is always my preferred option for show, no other wheel compares. With the wheel I was looking at the options are as you said 'drop off' after 18". This is mostly due to the concave depth. Would not consider convex ever, not ever. Never liked them. However, I did have some Cragars on a 69' Camaro rally Sport. I had the Astro Supremes on my 68' Malibu which I preferred much better (concave). Back then, we never did any calculations as to center hub, just put them on and go. Do not ever recall using spacers.
*Forgeline makes a nice wheel, but the expense is there as well.

 

100% agree on the lip and being concave. I was specifically referring to the cheaper made SSIs where the chrome or silver spokes are actually dead flat when they are supposed to have a curve to them. I'm sure it's less expensive to have the face of the wheel made flat or flatter with less curve. When you look at them close up they look off or wrong but it's hard to tell what's not right. I can't find any to post here as an example but I'm thinking the Year One SSIs were like that if I remember correctly. Some may not care about that and would prefer going with the cheaper wheels but I just can't stand how they look. My current NewGen SSIs and the Schott Magnums both have more curve then the originals especially as you get closer to the center of the wheel and I actually like that more. To me it looks like Schott copied the NewGen design which is huge for me so I can mix and match if needed/wanted once I have 2 sets of wheels.

 

Certainly concur with your synopsis. Do you mean these SS1's- 1967? What was the cost of the Schott magnums?

 

Actually I think that one looks pretty close to stock. I like those. My son has the steel 15s like that on his 70 Cutlass Supreme:
Tg7loGP.jpg

I found a pic of one of the cheaper ones:
ZVU6F93.jpg

Here are the Schott wheels:
tn0MJGw.jpg
YAEwewr.jpg

Your earlier comment of $1,000 per wheel minimum is accurate. 18s are just over $1,000 per wheel and 19s are $1,200 each. Plus to have custom caps made with the Olds Rockets is even more.

Here's a close up of my current NewGen wheel:

ilcmQmo.jpg

 

I like that wheel, nice sized lip and the spokes are within the wheel with a nice roll (curvature). Nice 70' Olds', but care not for the powder blue. A more racy color would surely magnify that Olds': my opinion.

 

I like the unusual colors and thankfully so does my son. His 70 is factory original paint code 20 - Azure blue and my 71 is factory original paint code 43 - Lime green. I'm just not a standard color guy. To each his own!

 

How about some 22" I still have them if wanted.

 

How about some re-finished big car GM 15 inch steelies, dog dish 64-F85 hub caps ( 1 year only)

 

Just swapped out the slots for 15 inch steelies with '66 dog dish on rear and 15 x 4.5 Cragars up front.

 

My 70 with Jegs brand wheels, 15”