I have a 72 Buick GS I am ready do a few things to. I use the car as a weekend driver for cruise ins and an occasional car show. Wheels and tires: Current have the stock Buick 15 " wheels and tires. Would like to move up in size but still maintain the RWL tires. Considering American Racing VN515 16x8 wheels with either Cooper Cobra Radial GT 235/55R16 or Mastercraft Avenger GTs RWL in the same size. That's about the only combination at the 16" level I could find and still have RWL tires. Does anyone have any experience with other wheel/tire combos that provide a larger wheel and RWL tires?
I spoke with the staff at WheelsforLess in Texas and the wheel description I was looking at was a Torq Thrust II 16x8 5x4.75 4.81" Backspace. The tech guy advised the 235/55R16 tires either the Cooper or the Mastercraft were difficult to obtain and that particular wheel/tire combination was not popular. He recommended 17 inch wheels with Nitto 555 G2 tires in 245/45R17 or 225/50R17 but neither tire has the RWL.
The 235/55 x 16 is a bit short based on the original G60 x 15 RWL that came with the super wide oval option. If you're insisting on 16 inch wheels you would be closer to original height with 225/60 x 16 or even 235/60 x 16. I'm with the tire guy that 17 inch wheels might give you more options if you can find tires with RWL.
Ray, thanks for the input. I like the idea of the 17 inch wheels but have been unable to find any 17 inch tires with RWLs. The 16 inch wheel seems unpopular and the choice of tires is limited. I think I will end up with the 17 inch wheels and forget the RWL or stick with the 15 inch size that has a myriad of choices in both wheels and tires. Thanks again. BTW I noticed you have an 800 CFM QJet and a B4B intake. I was considering that combination as well. I assume you are satisfied with that set up? I have read that the B4B to get is the old style where the air cleaner does not match up to the hood scoops as opposed to the newer style where carb lines up with the scoops. I think I saw the old style B4B on the T/A site. Thanks again.
I am beginning to agree with you. I have been researching 16" wheels and tires for about 2 hours and there are a fair number of wheels but the tire selection is awful. I really like the old school look of the RWL but can't find any RWL in the 17" size. I think I need to put the 16 " idea to bed and go with the 17" and forget the RWL. Thanks for your response.
Yeah, 16's are turning into the beta-max of the tire size world. Have you tried Coker tire yet? They have a pretty good selection. Also TireRack.com and DiscountTire.com.
Phillip, Thanks for the reply. I tried Tire Rack with the idea of a wheel/tire combination. They said they had no wheel/tire information on a 72 Buick GS and said they could not help at all. Surprising response from Tire Rack. I'll look at the Discount Tire and Coker Tire sites and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the leads.
