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Old 11-10-2020, 04:13 PM
Will Will is offline
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Default Pics of 28" wheel/tire combo on 2nd gen?

Does anyone have pics of a 28" tall wheel/tire combo on a 2nd gen 'bird?

Preferably an 18" wheel.

I'm considering running a 275/45-18 tire so that there will be a little bit of sidewall but that combo is 28" overall diameter and not sure how it will look. Don't want it too big for the wheelwells and I'm skeptical of 18" wheels on these cars. Definitely don't want that "Donk" look or to have to have the car sitting up high to give enough room.

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Old 11-10-2020, 06:07 PM
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This might give you an idea on a 2nd gen. (Camaro) with 18". US-Mags has a decent gallery to search through for pics or just Google.

http://us-mags.com/rambler-u111-g-21046.htm


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Old 11-10-2020, 07:43 PM
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Here's a 295/40R18 which is 27.3" tall on the rear and a 255/45R18 on the front (27").




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Old 11-10-2020, 10:59 PM
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Thanks vertigto & amcmike but both those combos are ~ 27". At least I know the ones amcmike posted are, they don't say what tire size is on that camaro but the sidewalls don't look any taller than on the 'bird. I'd like to get a little more sidewall on there if I can which is why I'm considering the 275/45-18 but I'm worried about running a tire that tall.

Those 295/40s look good on the rear, but I want a wider tire than a 245 up front and I don't think 295s will fit. I wish someone made a 275/45-17, that would be perfect.

An ancillary concern is that whatever size I go with, I want to make sure I'll be able to get replacements in the future. Looks like Nitto and Falken are the only manufacturers making 295/40-18. This is also the reason I don't go with a 285/40-17 which I had on my '73 and like. There are only three manufacturers of that size and one of them (Yokohama) gets over $500/tire which is just ridiculous.

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Last edited by Will; 11-10-2020 at 11:06 PM.
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Old 11-11-2020, 02:43 AM
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295/45R18
275/40R18


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Old 11-11-2020, 10:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amcmike View Post
Here's a 295/40R18 which is 27.3" tall on the rear and a 255/45R18 on the front (27").

(Off topic) Ty's car?

On a positive note, Ty has FINALLY repaired enough of the loose/missing bolts/wires/welds and other "stuff" from the mad thrash to get the car SEMA/PRI "ready", that he has actually been able to drive the car this year!

Will, you could always go with drag radials in the back. M&H has this one in 17" https://www.mandhtires.com/M-H-Drag-Radials/275-50R17

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'67 Firebird [sold], ; 11.27 @ 119.61, 7.167 @ 96.07, with UD 280/280 (108LSA/ 109 ICL)solid cam. [1.537, 7.233 @93.61, 11.46 @ 115.4 w/ old UD 288/296 108 hydraulic cam] Feb '05 HPP, home-ported "16" D-ports, dished pistons (pump gas only), 3.42 gears, 275/60 DR's, 750DP, T2, full exhaust

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Old 11-11-2020, 12:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieT/A View Post
I didn't even know anyone made a 295/45-18 and now I find there are quite a few of them. That looks pretty darned good! I bet the 275/45 up front would match them pretty well, too. Thanks FrankieT/A! You've got me thinking 9" or 9.5" wide up front with the 275s and 10.5" with the 295s out back.

Say... are those the cast Bandits (U109) or the forged ones (U304?)

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Old 11-11-2020, 12:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee View Post
....
Will, you could always go with drag radials in the back. M&H has this one in 17" https://www.mandhtires.com/M-H-Drag-Radials/275-50R17
Right size, at least for the back, but I really don't want to run a drag radial. I'm more interested in handling and given where I live it's pretty likely the car will get driven in the rain on occasion and big cubes + drag radials + rain on the street equals "watch out!"

And, that doesn't really solve the issue with the fronts. I wonder how the car would drive with those on all 4 corners?

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Old 11-11-2020, 01:53 PM
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Cast Bandit U109's. Be careful, after I put them on it made my brakes completely visible, hence the Wilwoods and 12" rotors.

I wouldn't go with bigger fronts. Those are brand new springs, waiting for settlement then start by cutting 1/2 a coil. They already hit my tubular A arms on small U turns. They used to hit the fender bolts but I changed those to buttonheads and cured that.

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Old 11-11-2020, 02:00 PM
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On another note, I have a lot of suspension mods and nothing improved handling as much as the wheels tires. Night and day...

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Old 11-12-2020, 08:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieT/A View Post
Cast Bandit U109's. Be careful, after I put them on it made my brakes completely visible, hence the Wilwoods and 12" rotors.

I wouldn't go with bigger fronts. Those are brand new springs, waiting for settlement then start by cutting 1/2 a coil. They already hit my tubular A arms on small U turns. They used to hit the fender bolts but I changed those to buttonheads and cured that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieT/A View Post
On another note, I have a lot of suspension mods and nothing improved handling as much as the wheels tires. Night and day...
Are they hitting the upper or lower? The wide 15" wheels I have on there now hit the sway bar but the much larger diameter of the 18 will change where it might make contact.

I've played around with various wheel & tire combos on a few different cars over the years and yep, tires make the biggest overall difference. Putting a bunch of high dollar suspension parts on the car is a waste if you're just going to saddle it with crap stock sized tires.

I used to have a '75 Nova that I autocrossed. That year uses the same suspension as the 2nd gen F-bodies, probably making it the best handling sedan of the '70s. It had '79 TA WS6 spec springs & steering box, TA swaybars, poly bushings throughout, and 16x8" IROC wheels with 245/50s and only weighed about 3400 lbs. surprised a lot of people at the autocross.

Back when I first rebuilt my Formula there were still some performance 15" tire options in sizes appropriate for these cars. Not any more. Even the 17" options are drying up.

Honestly, a 27" diameter tire on a 17" wheel would be my ideal combination, but nobody makes a tire that size in a wide width in a high performance tire. As mentioned earlier, if someone made a summer performance tire in a 275/45-17, I'd be all over it.

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Old 11-12-2020, 10:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Will View Post
Right size, at least for the back, but I really don't want to run a drag radial. I'm more interested in handling and given where I live it's pretty likely the car will get driven in the rain on occasion and big cubes + drag radials + rain on the street equals "watch out!"

And, that doesn't really solve the issue with the fronts. I wonder how the car would drive with those on all 4 corners?
I know guys running DR's at all 4 corners, using 15" wheels. Although the sidewalls are softer, they are still VERY sticky. Heck, Dodge is putting DR's at all 4 corners of their new Challenger Scat Pack 1320 cars.

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'67 Firebird [sold], ; 11.27 @ 119.61, 7.167 @ 96.07, with UD 280/280 (108LSA/ 109 ICL)solid cam. [1.537, 7.233 @93.61, 11.46 @ 115.4 w/ old UD 288/296 108 hydraulic cam] Feb '05 HPP, home-ported "16" D-ports, dished pistons (pump gas only), 3.42 gears, 275/60 DR's, 750DP, T2, full exhaust

My webpage http://lnlpd.com/home
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Old 11-12-2020, 03:30 PM
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They touch the lower....Only when at lock

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Old 11-12-2020, 06:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee View Post
I know guys running DR's at all 4 corners, using 15" wheels. Although the sidewalls are softer, they are still VERY sticky. Heck, Dodge is putting DR's at all 4 corners of their new Challenger Scat Pack 1320 cars.

The tread on Scat Pack tires are specially designed to be optimized for straight line grip, but they have a much stiffer sidewall than a typical "drag radial" sold in aftermarket-only one like used on 15" tires. Not really an equal comparison.

And while the tread is sticky on a drag radial, the soft sidewalls will still cause excessive slip angles affecting the turn response, lateral stability, and control predictability. So it can be done but not a great solution.

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Last edited by amcmike; 11-12-2020 at 06:32 PM.
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Old 11-13-2020, 05:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amcmike View Post
The tread on Scat Pack tires are specially designed to be optimized for straight line grip, but they have a much stiffer sidewall than a typical "drag radial" sold in aftermarket-only one like used on 15" tires. Not really an equal comparison.

And while the tread is sticky on a drag radial, the soft sidewalls will still cause excessive slip angles affecting the turn response, lateral stability, and control predictability. So it can be done but not a great solution.
I hate tires with soft sidewalls.

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Old 11-16-2020, 04:38 AM
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Judging by the responses (or lack thereof) to this thread, I guess it's safe to say no one's running 28" diameter tires on the front of their 2nd gen 'bird...

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