I’m looking for tire suggestions/experience. I have a vehicle that weighs 3800 lbs and it has a 55/45 front/rear bias. I’m looking for narrow front tires to mount on my existing 15x4 rims. I would prefer a taller tire, something 27” in diameter or larger. Would prefer radials but bias would be ok as well. Changing out the rims is a no go. Tire market seems to be very slim in this area. I could put smaller diameter tires on the vehicle but they look terrible. Any suggestions? It’s an OT vehicle but this also pertains to many vehicles from the H.A.M.B. era as well. I see people racing heavy street driven vehicles (on video) at very high speeds with skinnies up front but I’m wondering how they accomplish this safely.
70/30 street/drag race. I like the look of that 28x6 MT front radial but at 1040lbs. per tire it puts me close to the limit. I suppose the best route is to find someone who has four scales and see exactly where I’m at. Not interested in 100+mph “Oh ****!” moments.
You can try a 185R15 tire. About 26.5-7 inches diam. 4-inch wheel would be a touch small, they are a great fit on a 6-inch wheel. Run that size tire on my 52 GMC fronts. They are a size used on sports cars like Triumph TR6 and I think there are some LT type that may have higher load rating. 185R15 is close to the diam you want and still fairly narrow. A 165R15 is a nice fit on a 4-inch wheel. Common VW size, not sure if they have sufficient load rating. Also shorter diam around 25.5-26 which is smaller than you are looking for. Edit: here I found a 185R15 that is a truck tire with higher load rating: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3551383612...lp:4429486&itmmeta=01HR6C43T3Q8AD2CDG5GSC5THK
Go find a certified truck scale, put front tires on steering axle scale and rear tires on another, should be scales for grain trucks in your area.
Phoenix PD gave me a free (to me) 4 corner weight. The company truck ( 2-ton box) the tags had expired. I got pulled over. But they had me open the rear up, was a box of produce left in it. They then deemed the entire truck overweight. Out came the 4 scales. lol. I did have to appear in court to get the ticket against me discharged, bet my employer paid a hefty price.
I bought a pair of these off a guy whose friend convinced him he was going to die because the 4 ply was not strong enough for his 62 chevy impala. He drove home the 15 miles from the tire shop, then took the tires off and took them back to the tire shop to get them dismounted. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...rxI1D25czRRQgjQVVerWyH***QGrDmHBoCZsoQAvD_BwE He switched to the 8 ply (twice as strong as Charmin) and was able to stand next to the car without fear of the tire exploding and splintering his shin from being overburdened with weight. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mtt-1573?rrec=true The guy was so nervous selling me the tires, not wanting to be responsible incase they exploded. LOL
Years ago I traded for a 40 Ford sedan that came with bias belt tires. I put 155/80/15 BFG radials on 5 inch rims on the front and tucked some Michelin 237/75/15's on 7 inch rims on the rear. I was careful to keep the all 4 tires at 35lbs. Never had any problems. I always thought maybe I was pushing it with those fronts?
I'm guessing the speed rating on actual 8 ply tires ( not just 8 ply rating) is kind of low even at max pressure. If they stay fairly cool the cords and rubber bond stays strong. The opposite is also true. Something like that is related to why tires run soft on the highway "blow out."
We tried the Mickey Thompson frint runners on a 64 Buick Skylark with a 600 horse big block chevy. They lasted a couple years but wore down quick. They did always look like they were gonna blow out or were low on air. My son found these at Jegs and they are the cats meow. They have alot if tread and a good tread pattern. Last year we put them on my sons Nova. They handle very well at low speeds and high speeds, grip the road very good and handle very good. They a very narrow tire like drag style front runners. Even on a heavy car they will look like a normal tire. I will also be adding them to our Henry J when i get to that point. The bottom picture is a cheaper version of the tire. Its available from Discount tire. We havent personally used it however. But if your on budget it might worth a look to save 80 on 2 of them.
It’s been quite a while since I posted this, but I wanted to let everyone know what I purchased and that these tires are readily available from a well known tire website. I bought a pair of 215/70R15’s for my Crager rims and will be purchasing a set of the 205/70R15’s for my Centerlines soon. The 205 size Vredestein Sprint Cl***ic tires are W speed rated (168 mph) and will handle loads up to 1560 per tire. The 215’s will handle even more weight. IMO they’re a good option for a heavy car that goes fast. They also have a 185/70R15 that is W speed rated and will handle around 1250 lbs per tire.
In the 80s we just used moroso front runners on our cars. I had a 75 big block el camino. Who knew I could have died? Same with my buddies.
Another thing is wheels can have a weight and tire diameter limitation. I’ve had a pair of Weld Wheels deflate the tires because the center welds cracked. Had had one wheel completely fail on deadman’s curve ( no **** ) one sunny afternoon.
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