I have a 1971 Buick Skylark and am thinking about buying a set of Weld Wheels the front are 15-5 with 3.5 back spacing the rears are 15-8 3.5 back spacing what size tire would go with the 15-5 and how big a tire could i run with the 15-8 i am thinking about going with Mickey Thompson drag radial 275-50-15 i need to run a 26 in tall but they are 10.5 wide would they rub the outside wheel wells or should i go with a 235-60-15 they are 26 tall and 8.5 wide what do you guys think. Thanks
Junior You should be able to go with 4.5 front and 4.5 rear backspacing - run 275-60 on the rear - they should not rub or scrub. on either the front or rear. Not sure about why you want to go with 26 tall other than to artificially change the ratio...
The wheels that i can buy are 15-8 with 3.5 bs and i need the 26 in tall tire because i have a 2.73 gear.
I would do some more research and take some measurements before making your decision on the rims and tires. The backsapcing (bs) is critical with the tire/rim decision and 3.5" bs might not be enough. I have been trying to decide myself what size tires and rims to go with. Most guys go with 15x8 rim with 4.5" bs and a 275/60/15 tire for the rear and 15x7 rim and 4.5" bs and a 245/60/15 for the front. Although, there are a lot of different rim/tire combos I have seen guys using from reading this forum the one you mention I haven't seen so I would be careful. I think you might get into trouble with rubbing on the fender on the rear with only 3.5" for backspacing but I don't know for sure. It will be tight. You might be ok with that tire but not with anything bigger. Personally, I have decided to go with 15x10 rims 5.5" bs and 295/50/15 tires for the back and 15x8 rims 4.5" bs and 255/60/15 for the front on my 70gs. The backspacing is critical so the tire gets centered in the wheel well. Use the search function on this site to do some research before making your decision, it might save you some grief. Hope this helps!!!
