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Old Blue 66 · 03-26-2012, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goatmanmitch

Ride and handling is fine but in all honesty I feel no discernible difference from when I was running 14" wheels. But I really like the way these fill out the wheel wells to the max.

Since I just went through this, I can honestly say I dont feel a difference either.

goatwgn · 03-26-2012, 11:17 PM

I haven't had the 14 inch wheels for 25 years. I had some tires a little smaller up to this point.(225 60r15). I went with the 15 inch originally because it was easier to find the factory 15 inch wheels in the boneyard that would clear my disc brakes. I never really noticed any real difference in ride or handling either.

I also like the way they fill out the wheelhouse. They do make 14 inch wheels with the right backspacing to clear the factory discs, they were just harder to locate back when I did this. You couldn't buy "new ones" back in 1987 like you can now.

ZeGermanHam · 03-18-2018, 12:04 AM

I have a question about wheel & tire fitment on my '66 GTO, and I thought it made more sense to revive this older thread rather than creating a new thread. I'd like to buy some 15x7" steel wheels for my GTO and use with poverty caps and 235/60R15 tires on all four corners. Having read through this thread and others, it seems that running 235/60R15 tires in the front can cause slight rubbing at full lock when the suspension is compressed. Doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but I'd rather avoid if possible.

Would using 15x7" wheels with 4.75" of backspacing help alleviate the rubbing issue in the front? I think the standard backspacing is 4.25" if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks in advance!

lust4speed · 03-18-2018, 03:08 AM

Yep, old thread, but I see why you tagged on to the thread. Standard backspace on a 7" wheel (which is 8" outside to outside) is 4".

I'm running the standard backspace with the 235's and the right tire does just barely rub when at full lock at entering a driveway with a little speed. The interesting thing is the rub spot is the inner wheel well about centered fore and aft and on the outboard curvature. Seems like just a little more backspace might cure it - even a quarter inch going to a 4.25" backspace. Somewhere the increase could cause interference problems on the inboard side of the wheel, but I haven't really looked to see if anything is in the way. Maybe 4.5" would still be OK, but 4.75" is starting to sound risky.

roy381 · 03-18-2018, 09:42 AM

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GT182 · 03-18-2018, 04:58 PM

I'm running BFG 255/60R15s mounted on Cragar 15x8" rims with a 4.25" back spacing. Tire diameter is 27.10 in. according to Summit Racing. This combo will hit the rear fender well and wheel well trim. These are the rims that came on the car when I bought it. I went from 215/70R14s on Cragar 14x7" rims up front to 225/60R15s on 15x8" Cragar rims. No rubbing at all. The ride is very good.

To solve the rear tire problem I'm running a set of Gabriel Hijacker air shocks and a set of airbags. I like the stance it gives the car, and gives the needed clearance for the tires. Handling is excellent. Believe it or not it makes it easier to fill up the gas tank to actually being full without as much splash back (if any) as it did when sitting level. I always got a bath when I'd fill up my 1st GTO back in 1970, and it sat level.

ZeGermanHam · 03-18-2018, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GT182

I'm running BFG 255/60R15s mounted on Cragar 15x8" rims with a 4.25" back spacing. Tire diameter is 27.10 in. according to Summit Racing. This combo will hit the rear fender well and wheel well trim. These are the rims that came on the car when I bought it. I went from 215/70R14s on Cragar 14x7" rims up front to 225/60R15s on 15x8" Cragar rims. No rubbing at all. The ride is very good.

To solve the rear tire problem I'm running a set of Gabriel Hijacker air shocks and a set of airbags. I like the stance it gives the car, and gives the needed clearance for the tires. Handling is excellent. Believe it or not it makes it easier to fill up the gas tank to actually being full without as much splash back (if any) as it did when sitting level. I always got a bath when I'd fill up my 1st GTO back in 1970, and it sat level.

Thanks for the input, Gary. Your wheel & tire specs are somewhat different from the direction I'd like to go, however. I'd like to run a square stance (i.e., all four wheels & tires are the same dimensions). 235/60R15s will be no problem in the rear, so that just leaves figuring out what I need to do in the front. With a 15x7" wheel, it sounds like 4.25" of backspacing may do the trick, but I'd be curious to hear from others who have run that combination before I click the order button.

66sprint6 · 03-19-2018, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy381

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Me too. I never get tired of these threads. And seeing the pictures of different installations is very helpful. I seem to be leaning to 235/15 fronts and 245 or 255/15 on the back. I guess it depends on the manufacturer. Sometimes I see a 255/15 on the rear and it looks like too much sidewall.

lust4speed · 03-19-2018, 02:11 PM

Here's a shot of the car at the Yuma, Arizona Midnight at the Oasis car show we went to the first of the month. Four days of fun running into the night. Most of the cars had left the show field when I remembered to grab the camera for a night shot.

235/60R15 BFG's on the front and 275/60R15 Nitto 555R drag radials on the rear (and 7" rim on front and 8" on rear). I like the big tire on the rear, but could loose just a little width on the front tires without much remorse. Probably because it's more old-school to have a less tread showing on the front tires, and the footprint of the 235's is pretty crazy for an old car (or maybe just for the old person driving the car). Then again, if a new Honda grabs the brakes in front of me, I'll appreciate the extra front tread.

carcrazy · 03-19-2018, 10:32 PM

I have 235/60/15 on the front of my 67 GTO. Never had issues. These are on Rally 2 wheels and I believe the BS is 4.25 (but I've never checked/verified).

ZeGermanHam · 03-19-2018, 10:37 PM

Looks awesome, Mick. Thanks for sharing! I'm thinking I might give these wheels a try: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheel-Vinti...!US!-1&vxp=mtr

Wheel Vintiques 62 Series 15x7" with 4.25" offset. Assuming they'll work with the Pontiac poverty caps.

Also, thanks for the input, carcrazy. Much appreciated!

lust4speed · 03-20-2018, 04:06 AM

My wheels also came from Wheel Vintiques. I talked to W.V. tech and got the model/order number from them and with their blessing, I placed my order with Summit Racing since both W.V. and I are in CA and would have had tax on the order. Free shipping from Summit and saved the 8% tax, and still drop shipped from the factory. I also opted for the gloss black powder coat and very happy with it. Wheels are about 11 years old now and still look like new.

I tossed the original wheels and poverty caps back in the early 70's when I purchased Cragar SS's. The SS's eventually turned to rust, and I wanted to go back to how I originally ordered the car. The Cheap black wheels and poverty caps were anything but when I had to replace them.

ZeGermanHam · 03-20-2018, 10:20 AM

Mick: Since you ordered your Wheel Vintiques wheels through Summit, how did you get them powder coated? Looking at the Summit webpage, they don't offer powder coating as an option. Maybe they did back when you ordered yours?

lust4speed · 03-20-2018, 01:35 PM

I just looked through W.V.'s on-line catalog and saw they have some wheels powder coated, but did not find it available on the 62 series. You might have to call them and see if coating is still available.

The process back then was to call W.V. and get the exact wheel combination you wanted and they would assign an order number to your wheels. Then when you used the custom wheel order form from Summit, you could add your W.V. order number directly on Summit's form.

I typed in "custom wheel order" on Summit and came up with quite a few companies, but the Wheel Vintiques ordering was limited to spoke wheels. Maybe some phone calls to W.V. or Summit might shed additional light on things. Also, I only avoided going directly through W.V. to save the 8% sales tax in California, and that shouldn't matter in your location.

ZeGermanHam · 03-20-2018, 01:43 PM

Great, thanks Mick. I figured there was something more involved with getting them powder coated directly by WV. I'll check with WV and Summit to see if we can work something out, or whether I may be better off getting them powder coated locally.