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C1 got my tire size figured out!!!

firstgear

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 11, 2003
Messages
1,895
Location
Norwalk, Ohio
Corvette
15 Z06, 01 Vert, 63 SWC & 60 ALL RED
After trying many different tires on my rim and putting it on the car several times, I have finally found a tire that will look good and stay under the wheel well. My rims are 8X17 with a 3.5" backspace (meaning I have more of a dish) for the back, the front are 7X17 with a 3.5" backspace (meaning the mounting face is centered on the rim).

I started out with 255/55R17 and they stuck out of the wheel well too much for me....then I went to 225/45R17 and they looked like rubber bands on rims....and finally found a 235/55R17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S that had the right tire diameter (27.3" and doesn't look like a rubber band on the rim) with a section width of 9.5". The 255/55R17 had a section width of 10.4" and while the meat on that tire looked great, I didn't like the amount that it stuck outside the wheel well.

Remember, I am not using a stock axle, but have the Myers Racing 9" Ford axle and it was narrowed to match the wheel I had picked out....I hadn't counted on the difficulty of finding a tire that would look good. Turns out almost all 17" tires are meant to have small side walls, unless you get into a truck tire, which is what I think I am into, but it is a Pilot sport and all the ratings on it are very high in terms of traction both wet and dry...so in that regard I am in good shape....here are the photos...this weekend I will take the body back off and get after the frame. I need to clean up a few areas with some grinding on it and begin to get it ready for powder painting.

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there is about an inch between the side wall of the tire and the body...

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and I will be putting a spare tire in the trunk......so full speed ahead.....

comments? questions?

thanks, Herb
 
Hi Herb,
I'm certainly not an expert on C1 custom wheels/tires. Since you asked for comments and seeing that the tires haven't hit the road yet I thought I would share my obsevation. Your tires look a bit on the narrow side compared to what I have seen elsewhere on other C1 resto Mods. Maybe it is just the photos. Have you talked to Larry (IH2LOSE) and John McGraw about their tire/wheel selections? You are making great progress and I look forward to your updates.
Gary
 
studiog said:
Hi Herb,
I'm certainly not an expert on C1 custom wheels/tires. Since you asked for comments and seeing that the tires haven't hit the road yet I thought I would share my obsevation. Your tires look a bit on the narrow side compared to what I have seen elsewhere on other C1 resto Mods. Maybe it is just the photos. Have you talked to Larry (IH2LOSE) and John McGraw about their tire/wheel selections? You are making great progress and I look forward to your updates.
Gary
they have a different set up than what I have....they have the C4 rear where I have a straight axle Ford 9"....I would agree that fatter tires would be better....but I really didn't want them sticking out beyond the fenders at all....I probably could have gotten away with them at the 255/55R17, but the 1/2" in the rear that they stuck out I really just didn't like....those tires had a section width of 10.4", these have a section width of 9.5"...that isn't the tread on the road, that is the fattest portion of the tire on the rim......


John had made a comment about 245 being the fattest he could put under the car and stay inside the wheel well...hopefully John doesn't mind, here is a link to his web site photo... http://www.villagephotos.com/image.asp?id_=13770610 I am not sure but it might be that their frame was narrower in the rear than a stock frame...that is a good question to ask them....take alook at this photo http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=9064399&selected=

John certainly said that the 245 is not enough tire and that it was very easy to light them up.....I figure that might be my problem as well...I would have gone much wider but I did not want to tub the car, if I had done that...then I could have really had some wide tires on the car.......I will have to think about this some more.....but I want those tires under the fender....the other thing I could do would be to go with fatter rims that enable the tire to come back to the car more and then "clip" the inside of the body at the top to have a small amount of "tub", in other words in the photo above clip the body at the top to gain some more room and then get a rim that is the same on the outside, but comes back more and then put a wider tire on it.....but I might have the same problem....finding one that stays inside.....I will have to think about it some more....
 

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