[mudslinger]

My sons 68 GTO resto is getting close to getting back on the road, all we need are tires to fit 17" rally wheels. Decided on 235/50 for the front and 255/50 for the rear. Front rims are 8s and the rears are 9s.
He wants to get redlines from Diamond back, problem is neither Nitto or Flaken have both sizes. Flaken 912 has the 235s...26.3" height. and Nitto 555 comes in the 255.....27.1" The 255s are a summer tire and the 235s are called a all season tire. The tread design is different on both the tires but not that much difference.
Anyone running different tire manufacturers and tread front to rear ?
Talked with DB tires yesterday and they said they would see if they could find the sizes we want from the same manufacturer and get back to us, haven't heard back yet. I did some internet searching on my own and it looks like Kumho is the only company that makes those sizes in the same design.
We are trying to stay away from putting on a 45 series in the front, concerned about having rubbing issues with too wide of tire up front, but would like the front a little lower than the rear.
We do have QA1 adjustable coil over shocks on all 4 corners.

Thanks

Bill

[egnarp]

I'm running those exact tire sizes. Went with Kumho Ecsta SPT. I found the best price at Tirebuyer.com. Good luck

[fyrffytr1]

I have been going through the same thing with my 67. I couldn't visualize 245/45s on my 17x8 rally IIs. I just knew they would look like rubber bands. Today, I made a delivery to one of the shops and there was a 67 Chevelle SS396 sitting there. It had 245/45/17 on 8" wheels all around. The wheels even had the same 4.5" back space as mine.
I talked with the owner and he said there were no issues with rubbing.

[blue goats]

How did you do with db? I heard that db will put on a redline on other tires for a price. I myself went with kumho's 235/50 in the front and 255/50 in the back . I also saw a HOT WHEELS camaro at Ocean City Md. last weekend and noticed its wheels had a red stripe on the outside edge of the wheels themselves and looked great. Thinking about doing that to my bandits.

George

[john31s]

Originally Posted by mudslinger

My sons 68 GTO resto is getting close to getting back on the road, all we need are tires to fit 17" rally wheels. Decided on 235/50 for the front and 255/50 for the rear. Front rims are 8s and the rears are 9s.
He wants to get redlines from Diamond back, problem is neither Nitto or Flaken have both sizes. Flaken 912 has the 235s...26.3" height. and Nitto 555 comes in the 255.....27.1" The 255s are a summer tire and the 235s are called a all season tire. The tread design is different on both the tires but not that much difference.
Anyone running different tire manufacturers and tread front to rear ?
Talked with DB tires yesterday and they said they would see if they could find the sizes we want from the same manufacturer and get back to us, haven't heard back yet. I did some internet searching on my own and it looks like Kumho is the only company that makes those sizes in the same design.
We are trying to stay away from putting on a 45 series in the front, concerned about having rubbing issues with too wide of tire up front, but would like the front a little lower than the rear.
We do have QA1 adjustable coil over shocks on all 4 corners.

Thanks

Bill

You can mix brands if you want as long as the two fronts and rears are the same. That being said I wouldn't want all season tires, stick with summer tires unless you plan to see snow.

I have a 1970 LeMans w/ 17" Rally II's and my tires are 25.94 inches tall with no sign of an rubbing issues, but I am not sure about 27+ inches.

Just curious why such a tall tire? You don't really need tires that tall to fill the wheel wells, and defiantly don't need tires that tall if you plan on lowering the car at all.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by john31s

Just curious why such a tall tire? You don't really need tires that tall to fill the wheel wells, and defiantly don't need tires that tall if you plan on lowering the car at all.

Lot's of good reasons to run a 27" tall tire on the rear. These cars came with tires about that tall to begin with. Taller tires reduce the rpm's and actually fill the wheelwhels nicely. Taller sidewalls also give a better ride (more flex) than the rubber band tires that some folks us.

My wife's lowered Camaro with 27" tall rear tires:



My GTO with 27" tall rear tires:

[mudslinger]

Thanks for the response guys.
Have red lines tires coming from DB. Went with 235/50s on the front and 255/50s for the rear. 2 different manufactures front to rear, DB said they do it quite often with no issues, so we will see.
Should have tires next week maybe, long ways from coast to coast.
Will try to post up some pictures when we get them installed.

Bill

[mudslinger]

Tires showed up
Had a little time to mess with the ride height, my sons going work on it more this week.
Glad we didn't go with taller on front. The 235's are a tight fit.

Bill

[GT182]

Looks good Bill. I agree on the taller tires too. I went with BFG 255/60-15 T/As on the rear of my 66. RPMs dropped by 300 to 400 with the 3:55 gearing. Ride is even better too.

[blue goats]

Looks great. The redlines are AWESOME.

George

[The Champ]

I like the look of redlines - and a full wheelwell.

You done good, IMHO!