Time for new rear tires questions

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witteman

Test & Tuner
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My 68 DartGTS has p245/60r14 that need to be changed. I would like to get the biggest widest tire possible but am not sure what is available. I don't know how wide the slot rims are or even how to measure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks In advance, Tom
 
14 and 15's are getting hard to find, forget decent rubber. If your fine rocking roller skates with big power, get some BFG T/A just don't sue me when the grim reaper comes knockin.
 
255 is as wide as you can go on a Dart without moving the springs, and then only if your backspacing is dead on. A 1/2" spring relocation should get you to 275, but that's it without a 3" relocation and mini-tub.

What you end up with for tires really depends on what you do with the car. I won't run BFG T/A's on anything I drive, but that's just me. A lot of folks don't like 17" or 18" rims either, but if you actually want good, street legal tires that's pretty much what you have to do.
 
Thanks for the info. so correct me if I'm wrong I will most likely have to go up to 17" rim? If so is that some thing I can just buy and use? once again thanks
 
just curious whats wrong with the bfg tires? i thought they were a popular tire
 
I'm curious about the BFg tires as well. I have ran them for eight years now and never had an issue besides being bald from too many Burnouts.
 
BFG radial TAs are popular and good looking, I have ran them myself.

But the reality is, they are just a low performance, basic, radial tire. Not a good or bad thing if that's what you are looking for but if you want a real high performance tire, BFG radial TAs are not it.
 
Unless your car has been up-graded to large bolt pattern wheels,, a lot of the above info won't apply as to wheel sizes etc..

You need to measure your wheel bolt distance, ie..

Measure the center to center distance between two studs directly across the hub from each other.


5lugs.gif


hope it helps​
 
I'm rocking bias ply tires so I can't help too much. Just picked up a set that had been stored inside since the early 80's. Nice and flexible.

But I liked BFG's when I had them on a previous car. They had awesome grip but they did wear a little faster. Maybe my old tires sucked bad enough that anything would have seemed better.
 
BFG T/A's were good tires for their day. Which was almost 40 years ago.

Compared to the BFG KDW2's I have on my Duster, they might as well be hockey pucks. Modern tire designs and compounds are light years ahead of the technology that went into the T/A. There are worse tires out there for sure, but the T/A is just your basic low to mid-range tire.

If the rest of your suspension is the basic low to mid-range stock stuff, they're ok. You're matching 40+ year old suspension technology with 40 year old tire technology, and you'll get the same performance as 40 years ago. But by today's standards, that's pretty poor. Start upgrading your suspension to have a more capable car, and you'll need to upgrade the tires as well.

As far as rims, you'll need to know whether you have the 5x4" bolt pattern or 5x4.5". Stock would be 5x4" for a '68. There was a company making SBP rims in 17" and 18", but I haven't looked for them recently as all of my cars are 5x4.5" or will be before they see the road. 17x8" all the way around would be a decent way to go, you could run 255/45/17's all the way around. You'd want 5.3-5.4" backspace up front, and about 4.5-4.75" backspace in the rear. In the front you're limited by the tie rod end, which gets usually to be an issue at around 5.5-5.6" of backspace on a 17x8.
 
inertia said:
Unless your car has been up-graded to large bolt pattern wheels,, a lot of the above info won't apply as to wheel sizes etc..

You need to measure your wheel bolt distance, ie..

Measure the center to center distance between two studs directly across the hub from each other.




hope it helps
Click to expand...



you do not measure center to center on a 5 lug bolt circle...


tech-boltcircle.gif







.
 
Sorry, but I just can't take it - big oversized wheels and short sidewall tires on a vintage Mopar look like &*@%$! They look great on the new Mopars, but the whole body was designed to use them. They make 60s and 70s muscle look like a cheap toy. The only good thing about them is that it only takes a little bit of time to get them off the car...
 
i disagree. it all depends on the size. a 17 or 18 inch combo looks great compared to what a tiny goofy looking 14" wheel/tire combo looks like on the old cars. now if we are talking 20" and things like that then in most cases i have to agree..
 
I'm running 295s on my '69 Barracuda but I did move the springs 3/4". The 295s have 10 in thread. As wide as they are they still don't stick out beyond the fender well. If I can find some 12" rims with the right offset I plan to go to wider tires.

Treblig
 

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str12-340 said:
Sorry, but I just can't take it - big oversized wheels and short sidewall tires on a vintage Mopar look like &*@%$!
Click to expand...

Yeah, big man, talkin' s*it, until you lose traction and wrap your baby around a pole. It's not just about holding a pose for the camera or sunny day performance dude, well maybe for you it is. I'd rather be able to drive my big power in the rain, in the snow, on top of a mountain, in a hole, any day I choose, stress free. All because I don't wipe my ride with a diaper, nor do I have an antiquated attitude towards one of the most important parts of my car.
 
Been driving and drag racing a 70 340 dart for 35 years without wrecking one. Perhaps some driving lessons are in order...LOL
 
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