Help me pick a tire size!

Which tire size do I get?

  • 225/60R14

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • 195/70R14

    Votes: 5 83.3%
  • Total voters
    6
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BKCowGod

BKCowGod

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'65 Dart with slant and no pretensions of being a race car. It's a daily driver, but I have other vehicles if the weather gets too bad. Will see rain and some frost but it is unlikely to ever see snow. Wheels are a 14x6 Rallye and steering will remain non-power. Eventually I would like to switch to a 20:1 box. I am currently running 185/70R13 (23.2x7.3) and they are definitely skinny and short.

I would prefer to not stagger for rotation purposes and to add simplicity to tire choice. I basically have it narrowed down to three sizes and 2 or 3 brands. I have been running the 235/60-14s on the rear because they happened to come on the used wheels I bought and I like how they fill the wells, but they did take a bit of oomph out of my acceleration. Flip side is they also made my 65mph cruise a bit quieter.

So... do I get:
  • 225/60R14 (24.6x8.9) BFGoodrich Radial TA for the old school look ($505.84 taxed and shipped for 4)
  • 195/70R14 (24.7x7.7) Hankook or Yokohama for cheapness and selection ($348.32 taxed and shipped for 4)
  • or something I haven't thought of yet?

Interesting thing I just learned - the Hankooks are actually made in the USA
 
Slantsix64 said:
235 60 14 on all 4 corners
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Installed that on the front briefly - made the wheel harder to turn than I wanted and also limited my turning radius - it rubbed at full lock. Also, having that size on the rear slows down acceleration more than I wanted.
 
BKCowGod said:
Installed that on the front briefly - made the wheel harder to turn than I wanted and also limited my turning radius - it rubbed at full lock. Also, having that size on the rear slows down acceleration more than I wanted.
Click to expand...
215 70 14 then
 
i had
BKCowGod said:
I was looking at that, same price as the 225 so no monetary reason to go one way or the other.
Click to expand...
i had that size on my 64 its a nice size, 225 60 14 is really short with less rubber under the rim 215 70 14 is a good all around size
 
Slantsix64 said:
i had

i had that size on my 64 its a nice size, 225 60 14 is really short with less rubber under the rim 215 70 14 is a good all around size
Click to expand...

Stealth edit - 215/70 is even taller than 235. Might be a bit too slow accelerating?
 
What wheels did you run when the 235 scrubbed?
 
BKCowGod said:
14x6 Vintique built rallye reps, 4" BS. On factory drums.

May have a saggy front end.
Click to expand...
Did it scrub on the inside somewhere I'm guessing? And yes, a sagging suspension can certainly add to scrubbing issues.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Did it scrub on the inside somewhere I'm guessing? And yes, a sagging suspension can certainly add to scrubbing issues.
Click to expand...

Didn't explore closely enough. May do so, though that still leaves the decreased acceleration. That's why I was looking at 225 and 195 as a good middle ground.
 
BKCowGod said:
Didn't explore closely enough. May do so, though that still leaves the decreased acceleration. That's why I was looking at 225 and 195 as a good middle ground.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a possibility. I'm running 185 70 13s now and plan to go to 235 60 14 all around. But, I'm also planning a world class T5 five speed swap and a Ford 9" rear end. All I have right now is a 3.00 gear set, but I plan to upgrade probably to a 3.50 or 3.70. I've done all the math though figuring tire diameter and 1st gear ratio and even with the 3.00 gear I'll have a lower 1st gear ratio than I do now, so I don't think it will be too bad. Having a manual transmission helps even if it's just the three on the tree now. Just rev it up a little higher and go. lol
 
I have decided to run 215 70 14’s all the way around on 14 in Magnum 500’s (cause that’s what I have on hand) on my 65 Dart sedan delivery.
 
I’m all for 195/70. Less tire to drag around will improve economy on a daily driver.
 
Garrett Ellison said:
I’m all for 195/70. Less tire to drag around will improve economy on a daily driver.
Click to expand...
That's close enough to a 235 60 in height to run the 195 on the front. About 1/8 static height difference.
 
205-70 14 or 215-70 14 Both excellent choices for what you are doing.
The last thing you want to do with the little slant motor is to dog it with a big tire.
Here is a 215 70 14 on a 65 Dart

PS: 70 series for 14" wheels 60 Series for 15" wheels.

Picture 695.jpg
 
Last edited:
Johnny Dart said:
205-70 14 or 215-70 14 Both excellent choices for what you are doing.
The last thing you want to do with the little slant motor is to dog it with a big tire.
Here is a 215 70 14 on a 65 Dart

PS: 70 series for 14" wheels 60 Series for 15" wheels.

View attachment 1715960802
Click to expand...
That looks great...as usual with your stuff....BUT the 215 70 14 is about an inch shorter than the 235 60 14, so on the rear, the 60 would not cut the gear ratio quite as bad.
 
Johnny Dart said:
205-70 14 or 215-70 14 Both excellent choices for what you are doing.
The last thing you want to do with the little slant motor is to dog it with a big tire.
Here is a 215 70 14 on a 65 Dart

PS: 70 series for 14" wheels 60 Series for 15" wheels.
Click to expand...

We may have a winner. That looks GOOD!

I have herd good things and terrible things about the BFG tires for actual driving, what are your experiences?
 
RustyRatRod said:
That looks great...as usual with your stuff....BUT the 215 70 14 is about an inch shorter than the 235 60 14, so on the rear, the 60 would not cut the gear ratio quite as bad.
Click to expand...

I actually had a 235 60 14 all around on this car, which has a slant. The front steering was way to heavy with manual steering. And the back looked cool, but again was way to heavy, and robbed power from the slant. They were on the car for about an hour before I went back to the 215's.
 
BKCowGod said:
We may have a winner. That looks GOOD!

I have herd good things and terrible things about the BFG tires for actual driving, what are your experiences?
Click to expand...

I like everything about BFG's. For what I'm doing they are the perfect tire. However, they have skyrocketed in price.
I believe Coker tire owns the rights now for them, thus the price increase.
 
Johnny Dart said:
I actually had a 235 60 14 all around on this car, which has a slant. The front steering was way to heavy with manual steering. And the back looked cool, but again was way to heavy, and robbed power from the slant. They were on the car for about an hour before I went back to the 215's.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. You're helping me make my mind up. Do you have a good shot of that directly from the side?
 
BKCowGod said:
Installed that on the front briefly - made the wheel harder to turn than I wanted and also limited my turning radius - it rubbed at full lock. Also, having that size on the rear slows down acceleration more than I wanted.
Click to expand...
So you just answered your own question. 195s.
 
This all depends on whether you like a tall sidewall or not. I like the older school tall tire, and I have 5.5” wide steel rims, same width as a small bolt Rallye. If you go with a 60 series sidewall, you can run a slightly wider tire like a 235, but if you like a taller tire, 225 is the wax I’m width you should run on a 5.5” wide rim. This is my car with 225/70/14” on a 5.5” small bolt pattern wheel. I think it’s perfect for my liking

B2C7C00D-AC07-4E38-BD16-6A84FE58142C.png
 
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