Tire Size?

[72vetter]

Hi all.....

I am going to put some new tires on my '72 vette and need some input.
I'm looking at Kelley 255/60 but was told that they may rub. I have the standard 8" rally rims on my vette and am running 225/70 right now. I want something with a little more meat.
The Kelley tires are priced reasonable and seem to be a good tire but I don't want them rubbing.
Anyone running 255/60...Do they rub?
Any suggestions?

Thanks, Bill
72vetter

 

[cruzer99]

If you are going to buy a set of tires anyway, have them mount one, put it on the front and back. Make sure you turn the front wheel lock to lock. Check for possible rubing. Remember when you change the tire size you change the speedometer. Most tire shops will do this for you to sell a set. And they don"t rub on my 82.

 

[page62]

The 255/60s don't rub on my '79...

 

[a69vette]

245 Rub on the front of a '69. I wanted all 4 to match so I had to use 235/60's. Several friends I know have put 235/60 on the front and 255/60's on the rear. If you don't mind no tire rotation, that's a choice. Good luck.
Rick

 

[billybob]

I've currently run Dunlop GTQ's 255/60/15's and have no issues with rubbing on my 75.

Its a far better fit as you dont need to adjust the speedo

At 60mph your travlin 59.2mph

stock sidewall is 6.2" new is 6"
radius is 13.7" new is 13.5"
Diameter is 27.4" new is 27.0"
Circum is 86.1" new is 85"
rev/mil 736 new is 746

Bill

 

[72vetter]

tires

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I'll try'em out and see what happens.
Bill

 

[Eric]

One point, keep in mind that just because tires don't rub on a 78-82, they may very well rub on your 72. The inner lip on the fenders was trimmed off in 78 to make room for wider tires.

 

[Greekman]

71Shark is right!

On the '79 also the inter fender needs to be trimmed for the wider P255/60 tire. Mine came with the P225/70 tire so I don't know how much trimming is required.



.

 

[resto75]

I have 245/60 Dunlops on my 75 and the right tire will just barely rub on the lower inner edge of the fender in a tight turn on occassion. The other side is not a problem.

You need to check both sides in the front.

 

[mst]

tire size

What I've found is a lot will depend on your suspension. Is it stock? Old and sagging a bit? I just replaced all the suspension on my 71 and plan to use 245's on the stock rally wheels. May be a trial and error deal with tire size. I've seen a few of these series cars with 245's but not too many 255's. I'm curious now too.

I've received some not so good info about what will fit under certain vehicles when it comes to tire/wheel combos. I tend to try it myself and see what works.

 

[cruzer99]

I run 255/60 on my 82 with stock suspension and no rub.

 

[BlueL36]

Is there really that big a difference between 225R70x15 and 255R60x15 in handling? I kept stock size on mine (215R70x15) and have no rubbing, wandering or speedo issues at all. The tires- Firestone Firehawks- handle superbly and look great.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[GerryLP]

Same here

My 81 came with 255/60R15's tires, but I often wanted to fill the fender gap with something slightly taller...Is there a 255/65R15? just slightly taller for looks only. . . :L

 

[billybob]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Yes its a miata site but the tire calc is cool.

I lowered the car 1/2" to remove a bit of the 'Dead Air' had originally dropped it a full 1" but didnt like the look, didnt even try the handling so not sure if there was rubbing.

At the 1/2" only on really sharp turn do I get any rubbing, but the corvette is designed for a straight line IMHO

Bill

 

[akfox1]

Just bought Yokohama Avid ST's in 255/60/15 for all 4 corners on my 1969. No rubbing whatsoever, and they ride GREAT. Quiet, and they have a improved resistance to hydroplaning, according to TireRack.com. Good price too.

$56 / tire x 4 = 224, +40 shipping +10/ tire installed = $304.

Good luck.

 

[GerryLP]

Bill,

I tried the link, but came back unknown. Maybe is my 'puter.

 

[billybob]

GerryLP,

I tried the link again and it still seems to work, I believe its a .jsp enabled page so you might require a function JVM on your machine.

Bill