It turns out the guy did not communicate correctly in his add. He stated they were s10 wheels. When I spoke to him they were wheels that he put on his s10 project truck as rollers. Nice guy but he can barely communicate through text. These are actually classic Eagle wheels that had the original badges removed and replaced with Chevy badges. Those things pop right off with little effort. They are almost bare aluminum, so some wet sanding and good polishing should bring them to a mirror finish. Clear powder coat from there. I am trying to create something not too fancy but also original. I don't see these wheels polished and fitted on cars too often. Thanks!
Like I said, not enough back spacing. Depending on tire size, you may not have enough clearance on the outside of the tire.
So this brings me back to the original question. Is there a viable tire size for this rim? If not, what back spacing do I need to a 15x8 rim? Thanks!
For an 8" rim, you need a minimum of 4 1/2" of back spacing. So that rim will be 1 1/2" further outboard towards the fender lip. It isn't a matter of what (viable) tire size fits the rim, it's will you have enough clearance for any tire size? Honestly, I don't know, and I am unwilling to recommend a tire size to you if I am unsure.
I see what you are saying. I definitely don't want to put any time into these rims prior to figuring this out. I'm sure I can reasonably unload them for what I paid if needed. Is there a procedure for figuring out tire sizes? Other than hoping my tire guy picks the right tire? It seems like a bit of trial and error for some folks. Thanks again for your help, I do appreciate it.
Mount the wheels on the car, then get your ruler out and start measuring. Like I said, the problem will be on the outside. First eyeball it from underneath, then measure from the edge of the rim to the fender or quarter panel lip. An 8" rim will actually measure 9" edge to edge. The tire will only extend further out from the rim edge if the section width is wider than the rim. The section width, in millimeters, is the number after the "P" in the tire size, so a P235/60R-15 will have a section width of 235mm. There are 25.4mm in 1 inch, so the 235 tire will be 9.25" wide. If when you mount the rim, you have clearance between it's outer edge and the fender lip, see how much and go from there. Honestly, I wouldn't have bought those rims in the first place. IMO, nothing looks better than the stock Rallye wheels. I would look for some second hand 15 x 7" Buick chrome wheels, plenty of them out there, they used them into the 80's. You can easily fit P245/60R-15 tires on them. That tire size approximates the G60-15 that was the optional tire on the 70-72 GS.
It’s easy to calculate tire size from the numbers. Like Larry said; 235 is 235/25.4. Next step is aspect ratio; 60 is the percent of that width in height. So a 235/60/15 is 235/25.4, times .6, times two (there’s a top and bottom), plus 15 for the rim. The tire is 9.25” at its widest and 26.1” tall. Once you mount the wheel you can see what room you have above snd beside it and use a little math to fill in the blank. (Don’t forget bumps and turns!) That said, if you stick with the factory wheel or GM wheels from rear wheel drive cars of similar size (Corvette rallies, 80s Regals, even S10 trucks, you should be able to run a 255/60/15. Patrick
Thanks guys! I will check this out. I'm not ultra attached to these rims, I was just hoping to do something a little different. I knew the wheels were a gamble, I found them as I started this conversation and went for it (I saw some cool potential in them). Worst case scenario I will clean them up and try to unload them for what I purchased. I will try to work on this in the next couple of weeks. I found another set but these are not as unique. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/wto/d/dacula-american-racing-torque-thrust/7054307975.html Thanks again for your help.
