Hello All, this past w/e I converted manual drum to power assisted front disc on my 70 GS350. The original factory rims do not fit over the calipers. I want to replace the rims with 15X7 factory repo mags and tires that have a shorter sidewall to improve handling. I also want to clear the wheel wells and stay within reason on the speedometer cal. What tire size can I use and where is a good place to mail order the rims? Thanks
Specialty Wheels in Ore are the cheapest on new wheels that I have found. 245/60 15 are the biggest for the front that is safe against the rubs. I like BF Goodrich for the money. Sams, Wall Mart, BJs sell them.
He is correct. I have tried a lot of different tire sizes, front and rear and the 245/60R15 is about as large as you can go on the front and have no issues.
How about the rears? Thanks Jim (flynnbuick) & Phil (70 gsconvt)! I am doing them all while I am at it. What should I do with the rears? Steve
How big do you want to go? On a 15x10 rim with 5-5/8" backspacing you can put the new MT 325/50R15's on. On a 15x7 rim the absolute largest is a 275/60R15.
I agree on that rim the 275 is tops. However, it will hurt the handling while helping traction to not have the 245s on the rear.
Use of the Car Guys, this is basically a summer/ hobby car. I am using it for cruises and ice cream runs. I would place more emphasis on handling than traction. If it ever goes to the Drag Strip it will only be for my amusement. Should I put the same size on the front and rear if I want to optimize the handling? I have no plans to jack up the rear or cut the wheel wells, but I do want it to look good.
You may want to look at other sizes then. The biggest thing you want to look at is not tread width, but section width given a rim size. Also the diameter. These two factors are what most determine what will fit nicely in the fenderwells. Also, the stiffer your springs, the less travel you'll have and the larger tire you could fit. I had my front end lowered 1.5" and still had the 245/60R15's tucked up under there. The only problem I had was on the passenger side. The tire would just touch the 1.25" sway bar I have on in a full lock turn. If I had a regular sized sway bar, it probably would not have touched. But the springs were factory big block springs that I cut a coil off of. That will stiffen up the spring rate somewhat. And springs from Hotchkis and others can be even stiffer. You can make a real G-machine if that's what you're looking for. What is your suspension setup up front? Have you considered other sized rims like 17x9's or something like that? I know there are at least two cars on this board with these big rims and tire combos. They really fill the wheel wells and look great too.
i would run 245r60x15 front & rear preferably , or 245r60x15 on the front & 255r60x15 on the rear . u can develop braking problems if the rear tires are significantly larger that the fronts . could force u into using an adjustable proportioning valve for your brakes .
