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Old 10-28-2020, 02:42 PM
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dhcarguy dhcarguy is offline
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Default Tallest tire

What would be the tallest tire I can buy/ install on my 65 GTO (post). I have 14"x6" Hurst wheels.

Thanks, Dave

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Old 10-28-2020, 05:42 PM
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Radial or bias ply? White wall or redline?

Coker has these bias ply tires available.

Whitewall - 8.50x14 will work on a 6" rim. 28.1" tall. Should fit on the rear, not sure on the front.

Redline - 7.75x14 was stock on your '65. 27" tall.

If you go radial from Coker:

Whitewall - 235/75/14 will work on a 6" rim - 27.9" tall - should fit on the rear, questionable up front.

Redlline - couple of options with a tire height around 26. - 26.5" tall.

DiamondBack has an HR78x14 that's 27.5" tall - should fit on the rear, questionable up front.

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Old 10-29-2020, 12:02 AM
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About the tallest 14" tire you can get from regular tire shops these days is a 215/75-14, they'll be about 26.6" tall, and probably not very good as far as performance is concerned. A 225/70-14 is a little more common and available in semi-performance brands; it will be wider than the 215/75, but will be slightly shorter. You can go to the Tire Rack or Discount Tire websites and find the specs on specific sizes, including diameter and width. Note that for a given size, the actual dimensions can vary a little from one manufacturer to the next.

If you want anything taller or larger, as Champ indicated you'll have to go to a specialty source like Coker or Diamondback.

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Old 10-29-2020, 12:31 PM
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Thanks Champ and Stuart, I will look at those 2 sites.
I want the tallest radial tire I can find. I am aware that 14" tires are not to popular, but stuck with them running on Hurst rims.
I will in the future get a set of 15"x 7" Rally II's. I have seen those on a few 65 GTO's and like them better than the Rally wheel.

Dave

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Old 10-29-2020, 02:18 PM
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215/75–14 is a good fit front and rear.

Anything bigger starts looking like a balloon tire on a 6” wide wheel.
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Old 10-29-2020, 03:02 PM
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Thanks b-man,
how tall are those mounted on your Hurst rims?

Dave

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Old 10-29-2020, 07:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dhcarguy View Post
Thanks b-man,
how tall are those mounted on your Hurst rims?

Dave
Looking like 26.65” tall with 35psi in the tire, so Stuart’s number is right there.

There are at least a few affordable 215/75-14 narrow white wall radials available for right around $80 each, which was what I originally planned on doing until these wide whites fell into my lap for about the same money.

You’re really not going to get any sort of real performance radial tire that looks at home on a 14x6” wheel. A good looking tire in the right size is what you shoot for.

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Old 10-30-2020, 07:58 AM
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Dave

I agree that the 215/75/14 is a great affordable option and a size that is close to OE height (27"). I didn't mention it because of your emphasis on Tallest Tire.

If that is the size you choose to go with, it is available in a redline tire from both Coker and DiamondBack to give you the vintage "back in '64" look.

I originally ran 215/75/14 on 14x6 rims on all 4 corners in 1994 when I first completed my '64.

I went to 215/65/15 redlines on 15x7 rims - front and rear on my '64 from 1995 - 2004, after I found a set of 5 Uniroyal Tiger Paw SSE's (manufactured by Uniroyal from the mid 80's to 1991) at a local tire store (redline radial reproduction tires were not available in '95 to the best of my knowledge). In 2004, I suffered a almost catastrophic failure (steel belt failure) to the left rear tire while on I94 at 70 MPH. I installed the "brand new" spare and thought I'd had a freak failure. Within 500 miles the other 3 tires that had been on the car all developed a vibration and found a small "bubble" indicating the beginning of another steel belt failure on these 13 year old tires.

In 2005 I went to 235/60/15 front and 255/60/15 rear and in 2017 went to 215/55/17 front and 245/50/17 rear.

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