Tire recommendations for my 79

[donwroth]

I have a white 79 L82 4speed with the stock rally wheels and I need to put tires on it.
I know that it came with 225 70 15 and it currently has 245 60 15 on it.
The current problem is that the current tires are smaller in diameter so at freeway speed that car is turning 3500 - 4000 rpm. That is a lot of RPM to turn for a long ride.

What sizes has anyone had success with? 255 60 15 would give me the same diameter, but I don't think they will fit work on the front. The stock size is still wide but not as wide as I would like to see.

Also, any suggestions on a trans change or an overdrive unit?

Don

 

[Paul T]

Don, I just put Dunlop 255-60-R15s on my 79 and there is no problem with the bodywork. l have had this car for over 20 years and have put nothing but the 255s on it. Your choices of brands is now somewhat limited with primarily Dunlop and Goodyear your choices. The Dunlop Eliminators were cheaper and seemed to be more performance oriented than the GYs. I think you will be happy with them.
Paul

 

[jon79flavette]

I just put on new 275/60/15 that is a "taller" tire and would give you less R's at highway speeds, they look awesome being 7/10ths of in inch wider, still fit on the factory 8.0" rim, I have new 255/60/15 on front, Only because my new 255/60/15 that were on the rear with about 1 mile on them got slashed, But the 275 IMO were the way to go, I will email a pic on sat. Jon

 

[jon79flavette]

sorry john, I ment to put the dimensions thay are:

The overall dimensions are

255- 27.1 o.d. / 8.2 wide (tread)
275-28.0 o.d. / 8.9 wide (tread)

 

[Bob_K]

I'd love to see pics of that as well. My '79 will need tires before too long I think adn I haven't decided what to do about it yet. May do larger rims and tires, may stick with stock aluminum rims.

 

[clar2001]

BFG's 225/60/15 front 255/60/15 rear

 

[6shark9]

Going from a 26.6" diameter to a 27.1" has a circumference factor of about 1.019 (245 60 15 => 255 60 15)

So 3500 RPM at 65 MPH will go to 3435 RPM.
However MPH is driveshaft RPM based which is then wheel RPM based. So the RPMs and speedo MPH are linked no matter what tires you have.
RPM will still be 3500 at 65 (on the speedo) however you will now be going a little faster (66) than before the new tires. You would need to adjust the speedo, but now the tire diameter is the same as the orig 225 70s. so the speedo is back to "correct".

Go for the looks not the RPM change. Change the rear end gears for the RPM drop. I drove a 72 LT-1 I was interested in buying, 3300 RPM @ 55 MPH. Great off the line, but not a highway car.

Clar2001, looks like your rear tires would rub the fender edge...
I'd like 255s on my 69 but don't want to rub going over bumps..

 

[clar2001]

No they don,t rub at all ,just the way the pic looks & believe me in so.Ca. I have hit a few pot holes to testify to that.

 

[jon79flavette]

don, these are some pics 255 front - 275s rear

 

[jon79flavette]

front

 

[jon79flavette]

rear/side

 

[jon79flavette]

side Rear get "slightly elevated" with the 275s which I like.

 

[clar2001]

Nice toy like the meaty look ot the tire ,with that engine you need some rubber to bite the road.

 

[donwroth]

Thanks for all the replies and pictures, this is my first experience with any question forum and it is great to get real answers to my question.

I will go with Firestone Indy 500 255 tires all around.

 

[clar2001]

If you do a 255 on the front have them fit one first and sit the car down to check clearence turn you whell full both ways to check for rubbing.
One thing I found was that with a bigger tire in back the car handeled better with more tire on the ground will up size in front latter.

 

[jon79flavette]

Don. you will be pleased with the 255s on all four, Car looks great, going with the raised white letters I hope :cool