[78w72]

debating on using an almost new pair of 275/60 bfg tires on my 15x7 honeycomb rims for my 72 bird. anyone got any pics of 275's on 15x7 rims?

i know the 275's say 8" is minimumm but i have seen quite a few guys run them on 15x7 rally 2's & even on the honeycomb or snowflake 15x7's. would like to see some pics if anyone has them so i can determine if they will look ok on my car. plan to use a 255/60 up front but i like a bigger rear tire & happen to have a pair that are basically free to me, so to save some $$ i am considering using them. thanks.

& the honeys actually measure a tad bigger than 7", almost 7.25 so that might help some...

[b-man]

Here's my old '70 Tempest T-37 with 245/60s and 275/60s on 15X7 Rally IIs.

The 275/60s are a little wide for the 7" wheel, 7.5" is the minimum recommended rim width for that tire size (most manufacturers say 8", at least one says 7.5").

Looked and drove just fine, no instability while cornering, no issues.

[78w72]

cool thanks for the pics. my only concern is the bulged sidewall look. i know they will fit just fine, i have them on my 78 but it has 8" wide snowflakes.

any pics on a firebird??

[462ta]

I have perfect pics for you but it wont let me upload it I have 275 on back and 255 on front of my 72 bird. any pointer for getting pics on here

[78w72]

yes, shrink them down to a smaller size, or use a image host site like photobucket & copy & past the "img" link to here.

[A.W.Dille]

I had a pair on 15X7 Ralley II's for a few years on my GTO and never had any issues. Yes they do bulge some but didn't look bad at all. These tires are now on a pair of 15X8 Americans on the back of my Grand Prix.

[65gto69]

I have 275/60/15 BFG Drag Radials on 15x7 Centerline wheels. Do not think it looks bad at all and have been running them like this for a few years now without issues.

Hopefully you can see the tire and wheel clearly enough.

Thanks,
Mark

[goatless]

Here's a closer shot of a 275/60 on a 15X7 Rally. Actually it's the same tire and wheel as in the first pictures posted by b-man.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by 65gto69

I have 275/60/15 BFG Drag Radials on 15x7 Centerline wheels. Do not think it looks bad at all and have been running them like this for a few years now without issues.

Hopefully you can see the tire and wheel clearly enough.

Thanks,
Mark

Nice car!

From these pictures, it looks like my tires actually bulge more. My rear tires are 255/60's on 15X7's.

[78w72]

doesnt look too bad, thought the sidewall would be worse. thanks.

[screamingchief]

275-60-15's have always worked/looked fine for/to me on 15"x7" rims.

Had 'em on both 15"x7" Rally II's ('72 455 H-O GTO) and the 5 spoke Chevy 15"x7" Rally wheels ('72 SS 402 bbc ElCamino).

As long as you got clearance for them (no rubbing etc.) I say run 'em.

JM2¢

Bret P.

[462ta]

try this

[78w72]

perfect, thanks!

[462ta]

and this

[Skip Fix]

I ran 265-50-15s on 7" Rally IIS on the TA for many miles.

[Schurkey]

When the tire is too wide for the wheel, the only way to get the tread "flat" is to reduce the air pressure. The natural situation is for the tread to curve due to the sidewalls being pulled "in" too much, and therefore wear the center of the tread excessively.

Reducing the air pressure brings a bunch of negatives to the table, starting with excess heat generation. It flat-out does not work well.

[screamingchief]

The 275-60-15 has an ample amount of sidewall to it,which is why it works ok IMO.

As someone mentioned,his 255-60-15 seem to bulge more than the pics of the 275-60-15 seem to,and that's because the 255-60-15 have a shorter (ie:less) sidewall,thus less room to let the bead "suck into" the narrow'ish 7" rims,BTDT.

So yeah,the shorter the sidewall,often the more perceptible the "bulge" becomes when a given tire is wider than the given rim being used,and the further apart that disparity is,the more pronounced said bulge will be.

All I can say is I never ran less than 30-32 psi in my 275-60-15's on the street,and the tread was always flat enough that there was no significant uneven/center wear on mine,and the "test" footprint(s) always showed more than adequate coverage for the width of the tires.

Like I said,I'd it again w/o any hesitation just so long as there's no clearance issues.

FWIW

Bret P.

[Transporter]

I just went the opposite way with 275's started out with 8" wheels jumped up to 9's and now I settled on 10"s

I just really like the square sidewall look.

[Formulajones]

I've run 275's on 7" rims for years and years on several different cars with absolutely no ill affects at all. Only reason I do it is because of the surplus of 7" rims I have around here. Honestly I like the looks on an 8" rim too but I'm not going out of my way to buy a set unless the need arises.

Have had this setup on my 70 Formula for nearly 20 years, as well as my 72 chevelle. The Formula looks just fine, however I do prefer an 8" wheel on the chevelle and have run the chevelle with 8" for almost 25 years, I just currently happen to have 7" on it at the moment.

If needed, I can pull one or the other outside for pics when I get a chance.

[Blued and Painted]

The skinny rims will pull the edge of the tread away from the ground. Get down there with a business card and see how far you can push it under the edge of the tread.
I'm guessing the 275 are about 10.5 inches wide. IMO, 9" would be the minimum width to take advantage of the available contact patch of the wider tire.

But yes, you can mount them on 7's.