[cnc]

I want to put a set of Torque thrust rims on a 70 bird what size rim and tire combo can i use in the rear to fill the wheel well nicely with out worrying about scrubbing the lip of the quarter using stock rear end not tubbing or any mods to housing area and i'm not sure how back spacing works any help with or with out pics of rim tire combo would be a great help Chris

[adeeos]

I have Torque Thrust II's 17X8's all the way around with a 4.5 inch backspacing on my 70 GTO ragtop and you have more room that I. My tires are 17X245X45's and are decent on the front, but get swallowed at the rear.

I'd go with 17X9.5's in the rear at least.

I know this really does not answer you question, but it gives you are starting point.

[b-man]

Originally Posted by cnc

I want to put a set of Torque thrust rims on a 70 bird what size rim and tire combo can i use in the rear to fill the wheel well nicely with out worrying about scrubbing the lip of the quarter using stock rear end not tubbing or any mods to housing area and i'm not sure how back spacing works any help with or with out pics of rim tire combo would be a great help Chris

Go here http://tirerack.com and you'll find out all about wheel backspace, rim width and offset as well as different tire sizes and their critical dimensions.

Then get out your straightedge and measuring tape and check out the clearances (body to tire) on your current wheel/tire combo. You can then easily calculate what new wheel you'll need and what tire you can put on it, using your current setup as a reference/starting point.

There is a ton of info on the Tire Rack site, you'll just need to spend a while clicking around and mining the info you need.

[INJUNTOM]

good advice above...but more suggestions:

1) you didn't mention whether you are going with 15" wheels, or going with the larger wheels like 17", etc.

2) if you give that info, then somebody with a 2nd Gen bird will be able to tell you what they are running.

3) if nobody chimes in, then look around for people on here that have 2nd gens, and shoot them a PM about what is working for them in the real world

[cnc]

I'm not really sure on the rim size just trying to get an idea of what would fit and how it would look i guess....i like the look of a meaty tire stuffed in the wheel well.....

[INJUNTOM]

i agree with the meaty tire thing. i still like 15" wheels.

next thing - are you looking for a drag style or the fat meats all around look?

not too many of those type of cars running around here anymore, but back when they were evrywhere, i remember them being able to run a 15x8 or even 15x10 deep wheel with a P295/50-15 tire all the way around because of the big, round wheel wells.

now that you know what you are looking for, then go and make a post in the 2nd gen "firebird tech" section, and specify "2nd gen tire/wheel advice"
as the thread title.

surely someone in that section wheel be able to post up some combos, and pics

[cnc]

Thanks for the input and suggestion for the 2nd gen search want the meaty look for the rear and kinda thick for the frt not sure its the rear i want to establish first...Thanks Chris

[INJUNTOM]

another thing to consider is that the rear width is narrower on those cars by about 1-1/2" (about 3/4" per side)

this is really apparent when you run wide, equal width tires all around.

if it were my car, i think i'd run 15x10 wheels all around with a 295/50-15 rear, and 265/50-15 front tires

[sharkbite]

Adeeos;
Looks like you've got some MO plate and a Schlafly sign up in the back, are you in the St. Louis area? Thats a sweet ride you've got there!

[76transam76]

I have a 76 t/a and I run 17x9.5" torque thrust IIs in the rear and 17x8" in the front. 285 kdws and 255 kdws. If you need the backspace numbers I will try to locate them for you. I also have pictures.

[OLDFLM72]

I run 235/60/15s front and 275/60/15s rear on stock 15x7 Rally IIs with no issues whatsoever on my 71 Formula. You can run 18s all around too. 255/40/18s up front on a 18x8 with 4.5bs and 18x10s out back with 5.5bs and 295/35/18s will fit without rubbing. I'd run a 285/40/18 out back just b/c the tire would have a little more sidewall and be an inch taller overall from the 295/35/18 but that's JMO. I've got pics of 18" TTIIs on a gorgeous 73 TA if you want to see them...
V/R,
Ty

[glhs#116]

C'mon! Post them! You know we all want to see :-)

Sam

[OLDFLM72]

Pics are too big too upload but here's a great link!

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid={ED36C117-22D2-428A-9A34-55AC9461594D}&tio=0&st=he&guid={3E16767A-2F6F-432C-8B06-B49E6E22DF5F}&sent=stored

Just copy and paste the above into your browser...

This is SWs 73 T/A. This is one of my favorite cars! Link shows the restomod of this and many other of his cars. He has Vettes/Vipers/Ferrari's/10 second Turbo Lexus/an incredible 69 Camaro...
Someday, when I grow up... (c:]

At the bottom of the link you'll see the car with CL205s and polished TTIIs.
Sized for both sets of rims are:
255/40/18s 18x8 w/4.5bs front
295/35/18s 18x10 w/5.5bs rear
These rims/tires mounted/balanced/delivered from Newstalgia are only $2400!

cnc, hope this helps!

V/R,
Ty

[glhs#116]

Looks fantastic but can that thing still go over bumps? Doesn't look like there is much room for suspension travel...

Sam

P.S. We have a lot of speed bumps and, uh, other bumps here.

[Z Code 400]

I have 15 X 8" Corvette Rallye's (No rings or caps!) for my 1975 Formula and I plan on using 255/60/15's at all four corners.

Is there a 50 series tire, the same height as the 255/60/15, that will fit at all four corners???

Thanks in advance...Robert 10851man@gmail.com

[johnsma22]

The side wall height of a 255/60/15 is 153mm. In order to have the same side wall height in a 50 series tire you would have to have a tread width of 305mm. That would definitely not fit in the front of a Firebird. It would be tight in the back as well, if it fit at all.

John

[Z Code 400]

Thanks....That answers my question...255/60/15's it is!!!...Robert

[Will]

A 295/50-15 will just fit in the back of a 2nd gen 'bird on a 15x10" wheel with 5.75" backspacing. You will have to eliminate/flatten the bulges for the seatbelt anchors on the inside of the wheelwells and it would be a good idea to trim & smooth the lip at the top of the wheelwell. You should also do everything you can to eliminate rear suspension deflection. A set of Global West Del-a-Lums and their welded shackles for the rear springs would be the ticket.

I'm running 15x10" wheels on all 4 corners of my '72 Formula. 265/50-15" in front and 305/50-15" out back. The 305s don't really fit under the car all that well and my wheels have about 5.5" backspacing and there is room for about another 1/4".

On my '73 I have 17x9" wheels all the way around with 285/40-17s and they fit fine on all 4 corners with 5.5" backspacing.

[pggto]

CNC, My 75 has 17x9.5 up front, and 17x12.5 in the rear. I bought the car this way. I don't know what the spacing is, but the front rub a little on the frame when steering is turned to locked position. The rear rub if the car is bottomed. I would personal go with a little narrower wheel if I was to do this to another car.

Adeeos, Car looks great, I want to put those on my 70

[HWYSTR455]

One thing to keep in mind when your measuring is that the passenger side has less room then the driver's side because the rear from the factory is offset to the passenger side like by almost an inch. Other factors that dictate what you can run in width are if you roll the fender lip or not (front and/or rear), tubular front uppers or not (front), if your running 3" tail pipes or not, and the location on the straps on multi leaf springs.

The only way to go max is to measure & trial fit on your particular car. You can get close, but for max, no other way really.

Another thing to take into account is the tread pattern on the tire you choose, because some are 'blocky', and some are rounded. This will come into play under compression/suspension travel in regards to the fender/quarter lip.