Rear tire height clearance 69 dart

-
purplehazenils

purplehazenils

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
269
Reaction score
162
Location
Sweden
Hey Im about to order new wheels and tires for my dart, my problem is that Im living in Ireland and have by car in Sweden so I cant go out to the garage and measure anything. What Im unsure of is if the rear tire will cause rubbing problems with the wheel well.
Im currently thinking 18*8 inch wheels in the rear with 225/50/18 tires, the overall tire height of these are 26.9 inches. I know that 18*8 rims will fit no problem but its the tire height that that I am unsure about. Im chosing a tall tire so my gear ratio is the same as with my current narrow steelie wheels with 215/75/14 tires. The car is not tubbed and there is a picture below of my ride height. If anyone has any experience in this any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

Attachments

  • WP_20140702_013.jpg
    25.9 KB · Views: 237
Measure the clearance you've got with the tires on it now. The first place it'll hit height-wise is the front edge of the wheel opening. Measure the diameter of the tires you have on it now as well and compare that to the size of the tires you want to buy. Then do the math. That'll give you an idea of whether or not they'll fit. Every car is slightly different, so measuring your car will be only only way to tell 100%. If it's a tad too tight, you can always shim the front spring hanger as needed.
 
mopowers said:
Measure the clearance you've got with the tires on it now. The first place it'll hit height-wise is the front edge of the wheel opening. Measure the diameter of the tires you have on it now as well and compare that to the size of the tires you want to buy. Then do the math. That'll give you an idea of whether or not they'll fit. Every car is slightly different, so measuring your car will be only only way to tell 100%. If it's a tad too tight, you can always shim the front spring hanger as needed.
Click to expand...

The problem is that I cant measure anything as I have no access to the car but need to get the parts ordered. I know each car is a bit different but its not an extreme size so Im hoping someone has some experience.

I should have mentioned this, 225/50/18 tires that I would like to install are the exact same height as the 215/75/14 tires I am running. However the shape of the two tires is totally different, the ones I want to get are modern with a much larger contact patch.
If you took a cross section of the old tires they are an oval shape whereas the new ones are square like. The new tires are around 225 wide throughout their height while the current tires are 215 at only one point half way up the side wall meaning less clearance. Hope Im making sense, not sure how to explain this.
 
You should be fine. I run 275/60/15s (~28" tall) on my 68 and they don't rub the front of the wheel arch at all.
 
I also run 275/60/15 on a 68, had to trim the fender lip a bit, and move the axle back about 1 inch on the springs, but I had some slight inner wheel well rub on hard cornering. Just rub on a smooth surface though, no edges or catching on anything, and was because of width rather than height. I would vote-no problem with a 225 tire.
 
The 215/75-14 is quite a bit taller than any stock tire at 26.9". Typically, they would be more like 25.5 or 26". But there is a fair amount of room for extra height in the rear, and you can always raise it up for clearance (though I don't care for the jacked-up look).

You might want to closely consider the offset on those 8" wheels, to make sure the tire is centered in the well.
 
Thats great to hear, thank you everyone for the help!
As for backspace I should be safe as I will mock this up then order some custom size adapter spacers to get these modern wheels on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top