[78T/a]

Hey Guys

I have a 78 Trans Am. Looking to get a new set of rims and tires for it. I have 15
" cragers now, but they stick way out past the fender in the back. If i were to stay with the 15's what measurments of rim should i get such as backspacing and what not, and what size tire would fit . Also if i where to go the 17" route what measurments would i be looking for there

Thanks Mike

[pippintook]

YearOne is now selling the reproduced factory 15*8 WS6 wheel...I think this wheel looks really sharp...and price is decent ($179/wheel)...Yearone's 15*8 repro WS6 wheel uses 4 1/4" backspacing

I have always liked the look and fit of factory 15*8 WS6 with 255/60/15's (all around) on 2nd gen (70-81 birds). I have run 255/60/15's

- on a 78 TA with the factory 15*8 WS6 wheel, 255/60/15 Yokohama Avid (from Summit)
- on a 81 TA with the factory 15*8 WS6 wheel, 255/60/15 Comp TA

On both these cars the 255/60/15 had a nice fit and look with the factory 15*8 WS6 wheel. In the rear I have seen some guys run a 275/60/15's on the factory 15*8 WS6..though the fit can be tight. Sometimes the springs, tire used (plus other variables) can make a difference...on the fit. If getting a 15" aftermarket wheel, I would likely get the same backspacing specs as the factory wheel...

YearOne also sells a 17" wheel that is a copy of the WS6 wheel..that is an awesome looking wheel...$199/wheel...Yearone's 17" WS6 type wheel is 9" and uses 4 7/8" backspacing

The price of used factory WS6 wheels seems to have come down since these repro WS6 wheels came on the market..there is usually some used factory 78-81 WS6 wheels on ebay...

[lester]

17x9 YO wheels. for my 77 SE clone



and OE 15x8 restored http://www.fbodywarehouse.com/fbw/home.php



or look here for some 15x7 snowflakes
http://www.78ta.com/store/product.ph...cat=258&page=1

[Flo]

Summit does not list the Yokohamas anymore... any other place out there? Looking for a good summer street tire.

[pippintook]

I see that Summit no longer has the Yokohama Avid ST 255/60/15 tire. The Yokohama Avid ST 255/60/15 is a good tire...and it was a decent price from Summit..around $75, if I recall correctly..plus shipping ($15/tire).

It appears Yokohama no longer makes the Avid ST ?...and Yokohama's web site does not list any 255/60/15 tires.

Tirerack still sells 255/60/15s in a BFG Radial TA and the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 for around $90 (plus shipping)

[Flo]

I was looking for a 15" with at least a V rating. And there pretty much is nothing out there. ONly the Pirelli P600 in 235/60 which is a 20 years old tire for $200+ and an Avon street race tire which is $350+.

In Britain there is the Pirelli P6000 available which is the successor of the P600 and a decent sport summer tire, but I cannot get it anywhere in the US!

Any help appreciated!

[myckee]

I had a set of 15x8 Snowflakes and I used 255/60/15 in the rear and 235/60/15 in the front. I used Yokohama Avid ST tires, but they are no longer available from Yokohama. I thought I would go with different wheels, but after I sold my snowflakes I regretted it so I bought new ones.

I bought the 17x9s from Year One. Now I run 275/50/17 on the rear and 255/50/15 on the front. They fit perfectly with no rubbing. The tires are Falken Ziex S/TZ-01 tires and are really nice tires! I bought the tires from Discount Tire on ebay. They were about $120 each with free shipping! They often put the tires on sale on ebay so if you can wait a couple of weeks you can usually save quite a bit.

EDIT: I just did a search on ebay and the tires have gone up a bit, but I think they are still worth it. Last year on sale I paid $108 for each front tire and $135 each rear tire. Now, not on sale, they are $130 for the front and $150 for the rear. I still highly recommend them.

This is what the tread looks like:

[lester]

post some pics of your ride. I want to see how the stance looks.

[myckee]

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow. The car is still on stands in the garage for winter hibernation.

By the way, I made a small mistake in sizes above. It should be 255/50/17 on the front, not 15.

[lester]

ok , post them when its on the ground and settled down. I'm making a list with pics of what tire size is on the YO wheels. so I can get a better idea of what my ride height will be on my 77. I dont want to spend 600 bucks for tiers and the car look like a 4x4

[74 SD455 Formula]

How about a 79 Formula with a 400 4spd WS6 and Factory 8" Snowflakes running 275 x 50 x 15 on the front and 295 x 50 x 15 on the rear and all inside the wheel well with NO rubbing.

[myckee]

Geez, its really a shame that you can't edit your posts anymore. Oh well, I made another mistake in sizes above. LOL I must be getting old. Anyway, when I had my 15" snowflakes, I did have 255/60/15s on them on the rear at one time, and 235/60/15s but the final tires I used on them were actually 295/50/15 on the rear and 245/60/15 on the front and the tires were Yokohama Avid ST. I acually have pictures of the car with these wheels and tires from when I listed the tires and wheels for sale and I can read the tire sizes.

Also I didn't realize it but I do have a picture from last year with the 17's on it.

[myckee]

Ok Here is a picture of my car with the 17's and 275/50/17 on the rear and 255/50/17 on the front. If you go any lower on the front the tires will rub on the wheel housing bolts on a hard corner unless you have super stiff springs. The rear could stand to be lowered but the SSM lift bars sort of prevent that. As well, I have some old air shocks installed back there which I haven't yanked off yet. I have new ones sitting here, but just haven't gotten around to installing them.

[aronhk_md]

The Year One 17" snowflakes I bought I fitted out with 275/40/17's on the rear, 245/45/17's on the front. They were Nexen N3000 tires. I love those tires by the way.....great wear and great grip.....used 'em on my wife's BMW 330 and they lasted forever even with the way she drove.

I like the lower profile I had.......those Falkens in a 50 profile look too tall for me.

Oh, and by searching I found a warehouse in Philly that got all four tires for me mounted and balanced for $400......lol. $320 for the tires, $80 for the labor. If you live near Philly I can dig up the company name.

[bonneville Joe]

Here's my '77 with 17x9 Y/O snowflakes with 275/40/17 Hankooks.

[myckee]

Well I chose the 50s because I didn't want to have smaller diameter tires than what I had on the 15 inch wheels and I also wanted them to be as wide as possible while keeping the diameter close. My 295/50/15s were about 26.6 inches tall and the 245/60/15 were about 26.5 inches tall.

The 275/50/17 are 27.8 inches tall and the 255/50/17 are 27.0 inches tall. So in reality the Falkens sit my car about 0.5 inch higher in the rear and about 0.25 inch higher in the front and my speedo didn't require any change. My headers thank me also.

Your 275/40/17s are about 25.6 inches tall.

[lester]

thats what I want , LOW . without a big gap in the well.

bonneville Joe , is your car lowered any mods?

[bonneville Joe]

1" progressive rate drop springs in the front. Thinking about putting a set of lowering springs in the back. I've got the same springs on my project I'm building now along with 2" drop springs in the rear. I want to see how it sits in the rear with the car all back together before I order rears for this car.

[aronhk_md]

Joe, if your springs are still good you can have a shop recurve them.

[Bill Boyle]

My 18 old tires need to be replaced. They were purchased and mounted in 1992 and are Goodyear Gatorbacks, unidirectional, 255/60VR-15s (blackwalls). Replacing them with a tire as good as they are (were) is a big problem especially as tire manufactures moved to larger diameter tires to coincide with the larger diameter rims. They left us behind. These tires are mounted on my stock 15x8 Snowflakes. (79TA) The large 17' Snowflake sold by YearOne is a great looking rim and at a fair price. I'm seriously thinking about getting a set provided I can match them up with a tall high performance tire. I want 27" tall tires as they fit the wheel wells nicely. I like the stock stance. If you recall, the stock tire was 225/70-15 Goodyears back in 1979. Any suggestions on a quality high performance 27" tire that can handle wet and dry situations adeptly?