[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.

[goatless]

Originally Posted by 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.

Did you look at any of the pictures posted above? The tread is in FULL contact with the ground as you would expect it to be.

[The Boss]

295/50/15 B.F. Goodrich Radial TA's, not sure of the rim width.

[HJones1313]

I ran 275/60-15's on 15 X 7 rims on my El Camino canyon burner for years without any problem, and I've got Hoosier GT's in the same size on my '70 GTO, again without any problems.

[Blued and Painted]

^^^ Note more ware is in the middle of the tire vs the outside.

Not saying it wont work or doesn't look good.
Just saying the extra tread width wont be utilized.

you can drop the tire pressure but it still wont have even contact pressure across the tread width.

[The Champ]

I think the point that many are missing here is that just because a 275/60 can physically be mounted to a 7" wide rim doesn't mean you should or that it's safe to do it.

Tire manufacturers have engineers that believe that at least a 7.5 or an 8" wide rim is what should be used for this tire size.

I'm sure that there are good reasons for their belief.

[goatless]

I knew it was only a matter of time before the Champ was here...

[goatless]

Originally Posted by Blued and Painted

^^^ Note more ware is in the middle of the tire vs the outside.

The "ware" pattern looks pretty even to me.

[65gto69]

My wear pattern is even across the tires on both sides and I have been using this setup for over 7 years now and I bought the tires and rims used which had several street miles on them and some track time before I got them.

Just saying

mark

[Steve C.]

Example from old Firestone sales material, Firehawk INDY 500 tires

Size P275/60-R15

Approved rim width 7.5 - 9.5 inches
Measuring rim width 8.0 inches

SW 11.0 inches on 8" rim
TW 9.0 inches on 8" rim



.

[NotaT/A]

It seems that GM is ok with a 275/60-15 on a 7" wheel. They have done it on several truck applications.

See attached tire placard

[b-man]

Originally Posted by NotaT/A

It seems that GM is ok with a 275/60-15 on a 7" wheel. They have done it on several truck applications.

See attached tire placard

How 'bout that for the doubters.

[Blued and Painted]

Can someone get a measurement of the tread with of the 275 please.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by goatless

I knew it was only a matter of time before the Champ was here...

I held myself back for quite awhile...

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by 65gto69

My wear pattern is even across the tires on both sides and I have been using this setup for over 7 years now and I bought the tires and rims used which had several street miles on them and some track time before I got them.

Just saying

mark

I would get those tires off my car now, even if they were new when you bought them. I won't run any tire more than 7 years old.

Old tires = a much greater risk of a catastrophic tire failure.

[Steve C.]

"Can someone get a measurement of the tread with of the 275 please"

Size 275/60-15 used to more available and the actual tread width would vary slightly from the different companies.

Today BF Goodrich, Cooper and Hankook all suggest a 8.9" tread width measured on a 8" rim for their 275/60-15 tires. As mentioned previously Firestone when they carried that size suggested 9.0" tread width on a 8" rim.

Actual section width on the various tires will vary as well.


.

[Blued and Painted]

This calculator said 10.8" wide. 28" tall. http://www.calcunation.com/calculato.../tire-size.php

Found this on the net. It must be right.
Note the * at the bottom of the page. Supports my point.
http://www.team3wheels.com/tech_specs_tire_chart.html

[goatless]

Yes, section width will vary based on rim width. No one is arguing otherwise. Doesn't mean the tread isn't making full contact.

[b-man]

Interesting that the engineers at General Motors thought that a 7" wide rim would work fine.

But what do they know ?

[Transporter]

Although I think it is really up to the individual and on the street I really don't see any issue with the 275 on a 7" rim, the old standby (at least as far as road racing and circle track goes) used to be at least an inch of rim width for each inch of tread width.

With that said the 275 has a "tread" width of 8.90 on a BFG, so it would be best on a 9" rim.

As I said, I have my 275's on a 10" rim and in order to match the "look' of the tire I also mounted 215/65/15 on 8" rims on the front, overkill? Maybe, but I like the look, to each his own. JMHO.