[AdamIsAdam]

I need to change my front setup and need input. Last month when I had new front lower ball joints installed, I asked to check the front springs to see if one wasn't seated properly and causing my lean. Sure enough, they both were not seated right. They are now correctly seated and the lean is gone, BUT IT'S TOO DAMNED LOW up front! The rake is too much for my taste and what's worse, THE FRONT TIRES RUB on any turn.

So, I've got 225/60x15 on Cragar S/S rims (15x7 with 4" BS):
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/c...3440/overview/

Should I change springs? To which ones? Or narrower and taller tires?

What springs are you all running? What's the measurement from ground to fender lip?

TIA,

[Chris65LeMans]

I'd think taller tires would make the rubbing worse. Shorter tires could help, but would make the rake that you don't like steeper. Springs look like the only option.

I have Hotchkiss springs on mine - they were there when I bought the car, so I don't know if they've been cut. My car is pretty low, so my stats won't be a good guide for you.

[Geoff]

Summit sells spring spacers in various thicknesses to lift the car. They sit in the spring pocket & the spring sits on the spacer.

[AdamIsAdam]

I should have been clearer. The front tires hit the fender trim and rub on the outer edge of the tread and only when turned. So I was thinking of going with a narrower tire than the current 225, but don't know how narrow to go. 215? 205? And go taller at the same time. 70 series I assume. Problem is BFG doesn't make 205/70x15.

Yes, I guess I could add spacers, but springs are so cheap, I'd do whatever was best.

My springs are Eibach so I have no idea what size they are and what to change to. The rear has aluminum spacers under them as well. Just go complicate matters.

From floor to fender (bottom of chrome trim) is 24" on drivers side and 24 3/8" on passenger side. I think it used to be another inch taller before.

[The Champ]

I ran 235/60/15's (26.1" tall) on the front on 15x7" steel rims with 4.25" BS on my '64 for 15 years. Originally with stock replacement springs and drum brakes - eventually with Koni Coilovers (set low) and Wilwood disc brakes (widened the track about .25" per side). I rarely got a rub with after lowering the front end and adding the discs.

Your 225/60's (25.6") are shorter and narrower. But your rims have .25" less BS. Do you have front discs too? If so, the combination of BS and disc brakes is limiting your tire choices, I believe.

A 215/65/15 (25.9" and I ran those from 1995 until I put the 235's on) would get you a little extra front end lift (.15") while being a .4" (..2 per side) narrower. A 215/70 (26.9") would make a noticeable lift on the front end (.65"). If you're running 255/60's (27.1") you'd be ok with the 26.9" diameter on the front - as you are trying to level your stance..

I recently went to 17x7's on the front with 4.625" BS and 215/55/17's (26.3" tall) and now have zero rubbing issues.

[AdamIsAdam]

I do have front discs. I wonder if 215/65 is narrow enough to eliminate the rub.
215*.65/25.4*2+15=26"
225*.6/25.4*2+15=25.63"

Rear is 275*.5/25.4*2+15=25.83"

And I now have a rake that I want to reduce. Rear ride height is excellent.

Before, the front height was excellent too.

So, so we think I can eliminate the rub with only tires? (And slightly reduce rake?) I debate if 215/65 is narrow enough.

The rub is leaving marks on the edge/corner of the tread. I think a 1/4" would do it, but that means going 1/2" narrower, or 12.7" narrower.

[AdamIsAdam]

Sorry, above post was done with thumbs. What I was trying to say is that I wonder if going to a 215 is narrow enough to eliminate the rub. Plus I would go slightly taller, to 215/65, but if I'm inside the fender trim, then that should be ok.

I'm still thinking new springs might be the better way to do. What needs to be disconnected to swap springs on these cars? I know it can be a PITA. I've done lift kits on my Jeep before.

[Geoff]

The beauty of spacers is that because of the A arm suspension ratio, the height increase is known from the spacer thickness. Eg, a 1/2" spacer will raise the front of the car about 3/4". No guess work involved....

Springs on the other hand seem to be a crap shoot, with variations between brands & even weight affecting the final ride height [ does it have A/C, lighter alum heads etc ].

My 66 GTO has 235/60/14 front tyres & the car is lowered. No contact problems. Tyres are on 7" rims & the wheel offset is such that there is about 3/8" gap between the steering knuckle & the tyre. Wheel offset is a factor in determining if fender contact will occur.

[The Champ]

Adam

Are you running 275/50/15's or 275/60/15's in the rear?

From your post with the BFG info - it appears you've calculated tire height for a 50 series tire, but to the best of my knowledge, BFG doesn't make a 275/50.

The actual tire height of a 275/60/15 is 28" - and that is why you have such a big difference in the stance of your car now that the springs have been properly seated in your car.

Just remember that you have to divide the height difference in half to determine the amount of lift. Half of the diameter difference is sticking up into the fender well.

By going to a 215/65/15 (26") you still have a huge difference in tire diameter and the stance change will not be noticeable (28 - 26 = 2.4 / 2 = 1") from the .

By going to a 215/70/15 (26.9) you would cut the difference from 1" to .55" - a very noticeable change.

The tread width on a 225/60/15 is 7.5" per BFG - tread width on a 215/70/15 is 6.5 - which means you move the contact point inwards .5".

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

The idea of changing the springs to raise the front end would work - but to lift the front to the same spot as the 215/70/15's would do would mean increasing the front ride height by .75". Would you like the look of an extra .75" between the top of your tires and the fender?

[AdamIsAdam]

Hey Champ,
It was not a typo, my rears are 275/50 Nitto drag radials onto which I affixed BFG Radial T/A white lettering I had made because I like RWL look. It came out great and I get a fair amount of "hey, WTF, how did you do that" compliments.

Anyway, good point in checking actual tread widths. I was going by the size number but this is probably more accurate. I was also considering other brands that may have more of a rounded edge, but then what lettering?

Let's look at this. I have 225/60 = 7.5" width, with a lift (rim to ground distance) of 135mm (5.3")
(The rears are 137.5mm (5.4").)

So moving to one of these nets:

215/65 = 7.1" , 139.75mm (5.5")
215/70 = 6.5", 150.5mm (5.9")

Hmm. So based on this, I'm thinking 215/70 should tuck the tire in a half inch on both sides and also raise the front up 1/2". BINGO

If this works, I won't have to change springs. Of course, if it doesn't work and I buy new springs, I may need different tires!

(Q: DO YOU THINK HAVING A .5" TALLER FRONT TIRE THAN REAR WILL LOOK WEIRD? I'll measure my current ground to rocker clearance tomorrow to see what the current rake actually is.)



PS I tried BFG 275/60 and the rake was killing me, I hated it. Not to mention the complete lack of traction I had without drag radials.

[NEW64OWNER]

You have multiple problems going on. Original wheels were 6" wide with 4.5" back space. You now have a 7" wide wheel with 4" back space, so you moved out total 1", 1/2" for width and 1/2" due to less BS. Then with disc brakes you moved out another 3/8", So you're outward 1 3/8". Then you toss in lower springs to boot!
I had essentially the same situation. I had 215/60/15 tires that would just rub on the outer edge and I have stock height springs. My wheels are 15x7 with 3 3/4" BS so I was out a little bit more. I wanted to go to a taller tire and decided on the 215/70/15 which gives me the approx. same height as the original 14" height. Now there is no way that tire will fit with 3 3/4" BS (I also have disc brakes) I had to install my special hub/rotor combo to move my wheels inward 7/8". Wheels now clear without any rub although they are close to the front fender corner but have not touched so far. I think your springs need to go back to stock height before you do any thing else.
Ideally new wheels with at least 4 1/2" backspace would solve your problem

The first pic is my new relocated disc set up, the second is the stock rotor showing the difference in mounting locations.

[NEW64OWNER]

I initially wanted the 215/65/15 but since I wanted to run same size all around I felt that tire would be too small for the back, good size for the front I think.

[AdamIsAdam]

Here are two pics at various states. None taken with current ride height. Just a comparison of 275/50 v 275/60. My goal is to get it back to the way the 275/50 was. The 275/60 was too much rake. I'll have to get a pic up of the current front end eight but I'm not home.

I'm wondering if I go with the 215/70 will that look close to the way I had it before or will it look goofy that the front tire has more sidewall than the rear, even if the overall rake is good?