Here's another view that shows the difference between the H78-14 tires and the 295/50-15. What a difference!!!:grin:
I will have my new rims for the 295/50's in the next couple of days and I will let everyone know the outcome!!!! Wish me luck!!
I didn't measure it, but it looks to be around 3-4 inches, from the widest part of the tire, where it bulges. It looked like I could fit another tire up in there.p I've decided to go with 255/60-15 in the rear and either 225 or 235/60-15 in the front.
I am going with the 295/50/15, but I am putting them on 15X8" rims witha 5 1/2" backspace, that "should" center the tire in th wheel well. I will keep you posted, I should have them by Monday! Tim
Hey, Phillip....glad you said that.....I just received my15x8 Buick wheels from Specialty Wheels and I ordered them with 4.5" BS....was worried there for a minute!:TU:
Gosh, finding the right size wheels, to go with the right size tires can be complicated!!! I went out Saturday and got 2 Radial T/As for the car. I got 245/60-15s and installed them on the front, but I'll be darned, they rub in three places!!! They rub when the wheels are turned, at the front edge of the wheel well on the fenders and also on the inner fender, at the rear. They also rub somewhere inside the wheel well, when I hit even the smallest dip in the road. I guess I'm going to put them on the rear and go with something smaller in the fronts. I'm thinking of 215/60-15s in the front, but am wondering of they will fit okay on my wheels? They are listed as having a recommended wheel size as 6-7.5" in width. Would they fit on an 8" rim, or would there be some problems with them seating? They are 1.4" shorter and 1" narrower, so that should clear everything (keeping my fingers crossed) and it will also level out the height of the car. Has anyone ever used this size tire for the fronts? I like narrow tires up front, but I want to make sure that I have enough rubber on the ground to stop the car and make it handle a turn at normal road speeds. Should I go with maybe a 225/60-15 up front? Those are listed as being okay to use with an 8" wheel and are about a half inch taller and the tread is .2" wider, but for some reason, they are much more expensive. I guess they don't get as much of a call for that size, so they price them higher. Thanks, Scott
I run 245/60R15's up front on stock 15" Buick rallye wheels on my car right now with no problems at all. I did totally rebuild the front suspension with new springs, polygraphite bushings and Edelbrock IAS shocks. The only rubbing issue I ever had was on the passenger side the tire would rub the 1.25" sway bar I have on at full lock turn. But that was with lowered springs. Since going back to stock height springs, no rubbing at all. Your car may be sitting a little low in the front.
It does look a bit low, but not like it is dragging the ground or anything.p It is in dire need of an alignment, since I replaced some of the front end components. The tires look like they are out a considerable amount at the bottoms. I still have the 14" wheels and tires on the rear, Discount Tire didn't have another set of T/As in any size that I wanted to go with, so I have to go back today and see what came in on the delivery truck today. But, I was having issues with the car wondering all over the road, like it was "floating" sometimes. With just the two tires that I got, it made a 1000% difference!! I know that an alignment and the last two tires will help even more. I wanted to wait until I got the new tires, before getting the alignment, don't know if going from the Polyglas to the Radial T/As would make a difference on the alignment, but I thought it couldn't hurt to wait. I saw another thread about the correct alignment settings and the success that people have had with those numbers, so I'm gonna ask the alignment shop to use those numbers. Scott
I got my rims and tires on and they look great! I have 15X8" with a 5" backspace from Specialty wheels. I tried the BFgoodrich TA's 295/50/15 and they fit fine, no rubbing on either side with no airbags, stock old springs and new shocks, I have about 3/4" from the outside lip and about 3/8" on the inside. I then put on the Firestone Firehawk 500 295/50/15, they are supposed to be the same size however when I measured them side by side the TA was 12.4" wide as listed but the overall width of the Firestone was only 11" and listed as 12.4". I don't know why but that's what it is! I am going with the Firestones, they are ranked higher in traction, ride quality, wear, noise and they are a little cheaper! So for those of you that want to put those big 295/50/15 meats on all you need is a 15X8" rim witha 4 3/4 to 5" backspace and you will have no rubbing and no modifications needed to your fenders!
Just to help everyone understand wheel width... As a general rule, the BEST wheel width for any given tire is the same width of the tread at its base. So a 295, which has a tread width of 10.25" inches, it should be on a 10" wheel. Another formula that is used is to take the total tire width and subtract 2 inches. Note a 295 is actually 12.15" wide at the widest, so thats a long distance to suck the beads in mounting it on an 8" wheel. With that short of a sidewall there can be some issues with longevity on the tire if you go to narrow with the wheel. The tire isnt designed to handle that much of a twist getting the beads sucked that close together. A 10 wheel works a lot better. Here is the recommended wheel widths for a few size tires I would recommend for maximum traction, tread-wear, handling, and tire life. Number is ()s is the full tire width. 295-----10 (12.15) 275-----9 (11.00") 255-----8 (10.25) 245-----8 (9.75) 235-----8 or 7 (9.45) 225-----7 (9.00) 215-----7 (8.70) 205-----6 (8.25) 195-----6 (7.90) Tire should look like this (____) not \___/ or /____\ .
