A-Body 1968 Barracuda / disc brake spindles which tyres will fit better

[Joerg]

Hi my name is Joerg from Germany,
I need help in deciding tyre size in front.
I have A-Body 1968 Barracuda / disc brake spindles which tyres will fit better
on 15X7 rim 4.25 backspace, 1973 disc brake spindles without rubbing:
- 225/60 r15
or
- 215/60 R15

Please give me advice ;-)

Only for info, in back I will run 325/50 R15

 

[junkyardhero]

on my 69 fastback i have 73+ discs w/ factory cop wheels (4.25 BS) and run 215's up front and they only rub the top of the fender on very hard turns, such as into a driveway and only if i'm going too fast. everywhere else they clear fine. also, my car is very low in the front.

225's are likely to rub the front lower edge of the fender.

 

[arvzj]

I used tire and wheel size info from Tire Rack.com to help me figure out the best upsize for my '65 Valiant V200. I made up a spreadsheet which I would be happy to share if there is a way to send a Libre Calc spreadsheet or PDF through this media.

My Valiant friends and I ended up using tires that did end up rubbing a bit on full lock turns; the tread edges wore a little faster, but we didn't care. The stiffest torsion bars and KYB shocks kept things calm. I actually lowered the body about 3/4" for better handling on curves. This car handles great!

I used wheel spacers to precisely locate the wheel center relative to the wheel bearings on the mag wheels I found at a garage sale for $5 each. They just happened to fit.

The original tire size was B78-13 with a 4.5" wheel. The picture shows a 205/65/15 on a 6x15 mag wheel, mounted on a '76 disc-brake spindle and control arms. I put about 20K miles on this setup, but the tires did wear faster.

I put over 300K miles on several sets of 195/70/14 on stock 6x14 '76 wheels that did not need spacers. These only rubbed a little on one edge and I got close to full life out of those tires. This setup handles great on curves also.

Today I am running 185/65/15 on new 6x15 Rallye wheels with stock setback that do not need spacers; these do not rub at all.

This spreadsheet is helpful for sorting this out, but I don't know how to send it.

 

[mvh]

Everything I have heard indicates that 225/60-15 tires will rub on the front fender at full lock and/or full spring compression. 215 seems to be safe.

 

[Ottmundr]

Everything I have heard indicates that 225/60-15 tires will rub on the front fender at full lock and/or full spring compression. 215 seems to be safe.

I have 225/60-15's on the front of my 68 fastback. They DO rub at full lock.

All suspension components are 50 years old. I do not know if they would rub with a complete front end rebuild and proper tuning.

 

[Joerg]

Ok thank you all, I want to be on the save side and will take the 215/60 R15 ones