Ok I have my mind made up on 17 inch American Racing TT2s for my 67 Impala now what tire size and exact rim size should I go with. I want a little deeper rim in the back than the one on the front. I want to get a tire size like the ones on 96 Impala SS 255/50/17. Also will 17 inch rub on anything when Iam turning and such? Also what is the bolt pattern? :wink2:
The 255P50R-17 tires have a diameter of 27.0", a section width of 10.0",
Your stock tire (E78 bias ply on a 14 inch wheel) had a 26.60 inch height and a cross section of 7.65 width (5.10 inch tread width). The tire and wheel will fit on the back but you have to check for clearance as lowering the car moves the wheel, and tire closer to the fender. Up front I would expect it to rub the frame, but check for actual contact with suspension parts which could cut the tire.
As a reference, I run 275/60/15 on the rear of my 66. The wheel is a 15x8 with around 4.5" of backspacing if I recall. The effective overall diameter of my wheel is 28" or roughly 711mm.
Your 255/50/17 is actually smaller at 27" overall or 686mm. The bodies between 66 and 67 are slightly different but since your overall diameter is smaller it should fit just fine in the rear. Just make sure to get the right offset (or "backspacing" as people prefer to call it now) for your wheel.
The fronts will need to be narrower to allow for turning and not rubbing on the frame.
Also, check to make sure what ever wheel/tire combo you intend to buy will come OFF the car with it jacked up (changing a flat). The suspension 'sags' and the location changes in the 'well'.
I'm not a fan of skinny sidewalls however on my 68 I have 17"Cragers wearing 235/45/17's not quite as wide
but no issues with rubbing or clearances and the ride is good and firm but not hard ride height suits me as well ......... :smile2:
Fourteen inch wheels were retained on all Chevy models for years past their practical usage (interfering with disc brake calipers) as a fashion statement. Pre-WWII cars had tall wheels and thin tires because there wasn't a reinforcing fabric for the rubber tires of the day other than cotton fibers. With the invention of nylon during WWII as a replacement for silk from the Japanese empire we had a cheap light strong fabric for high floatation balloon sized airplane tires. Cars after WWII had fins and jet intakes and flames for tail lights as a reflection of styling cues from the jet age. Big side wall fourteen inch tires were part of the look.
Sponge rubber rides were a results of WWII soldiers who rode on the back of 6x6 trucks, 4x4 jeeps and other military vehicles when they were not walking and wanted a comfortable ride. It wasn't until German imports arrived and customers expressed interest in feeling the road and actually requesting a sports suspension that GM changed their collective mindset and offered a firmer suspension in the early eighties.
Tire profiles and wheel size is a large part of this. Bigger wheel diameters allow room for larger diameter calipers which offer more of a good thing (heat dissipation) at little additional cost. Which is why you have fourteen inch rotors on a Corvette with eighteen inch wheels.
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