I am in the process of trying to decide what size tires/wheels to order for my 32 roadster... I would like to stay with a 6" wide front wheel, as they have 4" backspacing vs. 3.25 for a 5" wheel. I have discs up front I'd like to keep tucked inside the wheels as much as possible. I currently have 165R15 radial tires up front and wonder if 560-15 bias plys will be too skinny to work on 6" wheels. Coker recommends a 4" to 5.5" wheel width, but will an extra 1/2" still be ok? Also, Is it "acceptable" to run 16's in the rear with 15's up front? I'm thinking a tall (31") 7.50-16 tire in back on a 7" wheel to fill out the wheel opening.
In answer to your question about 560-15's on a 6" wheel - I would go with a 5 " if at all possible. I mounted my 560-15 bias plys on a 6" wheel and it really stretched the side wall quite a bit. I ran about a 2-1/2" white wall and by stretching it - it didn't look right. I ordered some 5" rims and it looked a whole lot better. Also - bias ply's don't like being stretched that far and it will affect the ride with the tread width on the road. For bias plys, it is important to get things balanced. Hope this helps. Cob Cl***ified Editor
A 560 will fit a 6 inch wide rim, It might not be the look you want though. I have seen them put on a set of 6 inch wide tru cl***ics and it looked clean, but it might not look like what you want.
Any chance of having any pictures? I am planning to run Firestone blackwalls on them. I know what you're saying about them looking better on a 5" wheel, but then again my front brakes look better on 6" wheels, as they don't hang out the back of the rims. The wheels I want to use are Wheel Vintiques "gennies" painted black, Do you think it would be possible to have 5" (or even 5-1/2") ones custom made with 4" of backspacing? Or does that not leave enough on the frontside for a trim ring? One more question, whats the next size up from a 560-15 that may work on a 6" wheel for the front? Thanks in advance for the help! -JB
"acceptable" to who......it's your car Look into a 6.40 X 15 they are 27 inches tall with a 4.45 tread width.
Goto cokertire.com they have a list of recomend rim/tire size. They recomend 4.5 to 6" rim Terry AKA dirt t
They fit to air them up without tubes or even with tubes it helps to put a strap around around the outside of the tire to help the sides smoosh out to the rims. The lowrider/bomb guys use 6 inch rims cuz they like the look of the rim edge stickin out past the tire. Not a great look on a hotrod but its all opinion. LTR dave
Thanks for the advice guys... So how about a pair of 600-16's up front on 6" wheels with 700-16's on the rear, mounted on 7" wheels? Both are sorta pushing the width issue, but the cross section of both tires is wider than the rim width, so they will hopefully look ok. I'm thinking Firestone blackwall Deluxe Champions with black wheels... here's a photochop DennyW did of my car to provide a basic idea of what I think it should look like with these wheels/tires on it. Think I'll be ok with the sizes mentioned?
Just so you know... A 5:20 tire will fit a 7" wide rim, but that is the "true lowrider" look!! I have 5:20's on my 13X7 wires for my Impala, BUT I am POSITIVE you DON'T want that look!!!! So just widen up the tire or narrow up the rim, or go with the advice the others have said. I am just letting you know it WOULD work...Ken
I agree. I've ran them on 6" rims and the "cool" bias ply look wan't there. Instead of looking tall and skinny, they look roundish and streched. The rim lip sticks out too far as well. The car had fenders which seemed to help a little.
Ok, what's the general feeling toward running a 15" in front and a 16" in back? I'm thinking I'd like a nice rake front to rear, with 560-15 fronts and 750-16 rears... ( 25.79 tall fronts, 31" tall rears) Is there too much of a size difference there to look right? In my mind I think it would look killer and fill out the wheel opening in the body out back nicely, but I don't have any "real world" examples to look at. I'd like to decide on what sizes to get so i can have Coker deliver them to Carlisle next week to save on the shipping.
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