Tire size / gear ratio

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Dan the man

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What would be the best tire size for a 3.55 gear ratio for a 1972 scamp? Has factory rally wheels on it now. I'm wanting to keep the rally wheels. This is a car for cruising.
 
I'd say 14

tenor-8.gif
 
I'm unsure a 225 will fit on the front. I've seen where some have trimmed the back of the front wheel opening at the very bottom for a 215 70 14 to fit. The best thing to do is get a Percy's Wheel tool.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I'm unsure a 225 will fit on the front. I've seen where some have trimmed the back of the front wheel opening at the very bottom for a 215 70 14 to fit. The best thing to do is get a Percy's Wheel tool.
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225/70 might be too tall for the front for sure. Great size for the rear if you don’t mind running 2 different sizes.
 
MidnightSwinger said:
225/70 might be too tall for the front for sure. Great size for the rear if you don’t mind running 2 different sizes.
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And therein lies my biggest hangup. I cannot STAND two sizes and I think a 205 is too small. LOL
 
MidnightSwinger said:
Check out the 225/50r15 there are only a few options but They are all performance compounds from mild to track use. Too short for 67+ A body IMO, but killer for an early A.

Jared
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Well I'm kinda stuck having to use what I have. A pretty nice set of 14" aluminum slots. So all I need are tires.
 
Dan the man said:
What would be the best tire size for a 3.55 gear ratio for a 1972 scamp? Has factory rally wheels on it now. I'm wanting to keep the rally wheels. This is a car for cruising.
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225/60/15 here. Front and rear
 
At least I can get a bigger tire. Maybe later on I'll upgrade to different wheels. I don't want to have to cut up the quarter panels just for a tire size.
 
Dan the man said:
I forgot to mention that I let the scamp go, I won't have to be asking any more questions about it. I lost interest in it.
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So we’re answering tire questions for a car you don’t have?
 
5:14 AM- talking about upgrading to different wheels "later on"

7:22 AM- "got rid of it"

Huh. Well, best of luck to you then I guess
 
Dan;
For future reference;
about the tallest tire you can realistically fit on an A-body, without modifications, is 27"; sometimes 28s.
The smallest you might consider is 24.5".
That is a range of about 10%. (27 less 10% =24.3)
That is the same or very similar range as is every gear size from 2.76 to 3.91(skipping 3.73s)..
This means that absolute most advantage you can get in cruise rpm, is the same as swapping out your gears one size.
However, the tires you might consider, and that look good on your car, are gonna fall into a much finer range. I mean 24.5s are pretty small, and 28s are pretty big. Typically you will only have a range of 2 inches before your attractiveness-meter starts complaining; 25.5 to 27 is the typical window. This is only ~6% change. On your tach, this might only be 100 to 130 rpm.
BTW; this is about the same difference as a Lock-Up convertor makes.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Dan;
For future reference;
about the tallest tire you can realistically fit on an A-body, without modifications, is 27"; sometimes 28s.
The smallest you might consider is 24.5".
That is a range of about 10%. (27 less 10% =24.3)
That is the same or very similar range as is every gear size from 2.76 to 3.91(skipping 3.73s)..
This means that absolute most advantage you can get in cruise rpm, is the same as swapping out your gears one size.
However, the tires you might consider, and that look good on your car, are gonna fall into a much finer range. I mean 24.5s are pretty small, and 28s are pretty big. Typically you will only have a range of 2 inches before your attractiveness-meter starts complaining; 25.5 to 27 is the typical window. This is only ~6% change. On your tach, this might only be 100 to 130 rpm.
BTW; this is about the same difference as a Lock-Up convertor makes.
Click to expand...

In the back 27-28" will work without significant modification, maybe a minor adjustment on the front hangers to center the wheel if you're right at 28" (I have 27.3" tall on the rear of my Duster, no real mods for height, just width)

In the front anything past ~26" tall can get to be a problem. If you run super skinny tires well back into the wheel well you can do a little better, but if you start to run wider tires the lower front corner of the fender is a problem once you get close to the 26" mark. 225/60/15's cleared on my Duster at the lower front and lower rear corners, but not by much!
 
72bluNblu said:
5:14 AM- talking about upgrading to different wheels "later on"

7:22 AM- "got rid of it"

Huh. Well, best of luck to you then I guess
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Makes you wonder if someone got a heck of a deal, don't it?
 
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