I ordered some black steel wheels for my 71 GS, 15x7 in the front and 15x8 in the back, with 3.75in backspacing on both. What tire size will work without rubbing? I'm going for that Mad Max look. It isn't lowered, but may lower in later in the future.
Best back spacing for an 8" wheel on a 70-72 Skylark/GS is 4 1/2". Cancel the order if you can, or modify it. You should have researched this here on V8, it has been discussed many times. You have been a member here for 11 years.
When you say "mad Max look", if you mean the rears looking like this, you may be on the right path. 3.75" bs is going to sit out a bit and severely limit your tire size options unless you jack Jack the rear end up to clear the tires.
I know most people do 4-4.5in BS on a 15x8, but I want to push the wheels out as far out as possible (without poking out of course). Shouldn’t putting a thinner tire compensate for the increased backspacing an still allow it to not rub? It’s only 3/4 of an inch out.
Nobody does that, not on purpose anyway. It’s a 15 X 8” rim made for a wider tire. You want a narrow tire. If that is what you want, you’ll have to mount the rim and measure to see what will fit. I don’t get it, but it is your car.
I don't want that traditional "Old Man" muscle car look, I want it to look closer to a stance look. According to my measurements, they should fit as long as I have 215's in the front and 235's in the back.
wider tires make things look tough. these are not stance cars if you wanted a stance car, you should of bought a honda. a wide wheel with a wide tire is a far better looking stance and makes the car better to. if you dont want the old man look buy some 18's with like a 295/40 rear tire and a 245/45 front tire, gives a awesome stance, not the dumb streched tire craze that people call stance.
There’s not much in the world that looks dumber than a wide wheel with a narrow tire stretched onto it. It looks like some po assed redneck got a deal on 15x9s but all they had at the used tire store was 215/75s. Pick an offensive, politically incorrect word, and that’s it. Well, maybe that combined with ass clown amounts of camber is even dumber, but... Patrick
Tire size and rims are matched within a limited range. If they are not matched up within the width range specified by the manufacturer of the tires, for liability and safety reasons, many stores will refuse to mount the tires on the rims.
It's interesting how people want my car to look a certain way, I thought we were in the land of the free?
I believe they are trying to help you keep it to a safety aspect. The wrong tires will not only make an ill handling car but not fun to drive.I have personally driven cars with too small tires and the ride was like riding on a 2x6 dragged from the back of a car..Rough and not fun..
I did check the min tire size requirement and sticking with that, I have no desire to compromise safety for aesthetics.
Like I said, it is your car. I'm not really clear on what you are after, which is why I asked you to post a picture of your car when you have it the way you want it. You mentioned stance, and that to me is the front to back height difference. Not sure what back spacing has to do with stance. Proper back spacing allows you to tuck a big tire under the car, it doesn't affect the stance which can be manipulated by tire height and suspension modification, hence my confusion. This is my car with 15 X 8" wheels out back, 15 X 7" wheels in front. P275/60R-15 rear, and P255/60R-15 front. 28" tall tires in back, 27" tall tires in front. You want a different stance?
You need to check this chart. http://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre-wheel-calculators/wheel-rim-size-calculator BTW, what the is an "Old Man Stance"? Careful cause I am old....and wise.
I want to push the wheels as close to inside finders as possible and have a flat sidewall on the tires. I want the car to have a modern stance rather than looking original from the 1970's. I've done this to my 3 other cars and want to do it on my GS as well.
I give you two, my Miata and Camaro 1LE. Yes, the 1LE is stock, but even from GM they stretch the tiers.
