Can't make up my mind & thought i would seek some opinions. I have a 69 GS400 & i'm thinking BF Goodrich Radial T/A's, 235/60/15 all the way around, sitting on 15x8 rallyes from Wheel Vintiques. I don't want to lose much speedo calibration, but i want a nice looking stance. Also, hard to rotate them if i do bigger in the back & smaller in the front. I haven't bought anything yet, so should i go 15x8 or 15x7? Maybe some pics, along with tire & wheel info will help me make up my mind?o No: Thanks!
That's what i'm not sure about. For the 15x7's, i was thinking the 235/60/15. Then i thought i might want a bigger tire later, like the 255 or 275, so i thought the way to go would be 15x8. I'm thinking it was a difference of $10.00 a wheel. Am i thinking right on the size of the tire itself for normal street use & maybe a strip run here & there? How much will my speedo calibration be off if i jump to 255x15? Thanks
Don't worry about your speedo. Swapping the gears in the tranny is a piece of cake. Gears are only about $5 at most GM dealerships.
I say I say go for 15 X 8 in the rear, and then 15 X 7 in the front. thye BFG's are a hard tire so I don't think you will really have to worry about rotating them too much. The wider tires in the rear are a bit better looking I say. just one more thing, make sure you get a small back spacing like under 5 inches. Else the skinny rim tires get sucked way in and that probably won't look good either.
I always just lived with no speedometer/inaccurate speedometer whenever there was an issue with them. I have smaller O/D tires on the Skylark now (not by choice... but they look ebtter and are wider than the stock steel rims/tires) than stock... which isn't really as dangerous and larger O/D (small will make the speedo read fast, large will make it read slow) either way, it will probably only be a 5-7mph difference... I know the O/D of my original wheels/tires is up around 27"... and a 255/60/15 tire is 27" ... so I agree with 70 gsconvert ... speedo gears aren't expensive, or can you just choose to live with it. The 255's would look better, IMO :grin: And about the small backspacing, I agree... my car is proof. Guy that had the car before me bought the rims, and they are tucked WAAAAAAAAAAAY in... at least in the back.
opinions So, what would i ask for as far as speedo gear if i were to go 15x8 with 255x60x15 in the back. From what i'm gathering here, most people think 15x7 with 235x60x15 in the front, & 15x8 with 255x60x15 in the back. That's what i've been thinking too. Rear spacing would be 4" for the front wheels & 4.5" for the back wheels. Any opinions on particular type of wheel to use? I don't necessarily want to put rallye's on it if there is another wheel out there that really stands out for the 69 body style. Thanks
I would look at 5" of backspace on the rear to better center it up in the well, would also give you the option of moving up to a 275 with no problem.
Re: opinions Rallyes, no "and"s "if"s or "but"s about it... But, if you actually LIKE aftermarket wheels than I am not the person to ask... :Smarty:
rallyes Hey nicholas, would you consider rallyes from Wheel Vintiques aftermarket? How about the setup i mentioned? Front=15x7 235/60/15; back=15x8 255/60/15. The rallyes keep the original look & the more i thought about it, that is what i want. Now i just have to figure out the best looking stance. The car has factory heavy duty springs on all 4 corners. Thanks, Rick
That sounds like a nice combo Rick, and should give you a nice stance for the car too. I'm going to running something similer on my 69. 15x7/245 front, 15x8/275 on the back.
opinions Thanks, Jim & everybody else for that matter. As far as backspacing goes, will 4.5 backspacing be ok for the back & 4 for the front? Wheel vintiques rallyes' are special order for 5" backspacing. Any other vendor out there that sells new rallyes'? Thanks, Rick
poor car. anyway, that's a 235/60 on a 15x8. i have 4 1/8 BS and i could fit a 255 in the back as the max, probably. a 275 would probably rub inside of the wheelwell lip. a little more BS and 295's would go on easy.
Re: opinions Check out his link for speedometer calibration - http://www.chevelles.com/shop/speedo.html Just ignore the swear word in the url....
