Tire size Buick 48

Hi,

Im on the way on getting new tires to my Buick Roadmaster 48. Im not a fan of the Coker L78-15 that the previous owner put on it.

I would like to go with the Goodyear Super Cushions but their largest tire is 710 and I guess that would look a bit to small. Has anyone seen how a 710 tire looks on a big buick?
The alternative and safe way is to go with the firestone 820-15 with the wide ww.



Im going to lower the car a little bit, at least the back of it.

 

The original tires on that were 8.20 x 15's, so IMO the 7.10's would be too small.

Don

 

Im aware that the orignal tires were 8.20 x 15. But the load on a 7.10 would be ok and then its more a matter on look and how it fills.
If the car is lower than it was from the beginning I guess that a smaller tire will look "bigger"?
But the difference between 8.20 and 7.10 might be to big.
I havent seen this so it may be wrong.

In my opinion the tires is a big deal in how the car looks and therefore I just dont want to buy the standard stuff before I know if there are better alternatives (like dont use the same size as original).

Thanks for you quick answer.

 

The tires of that era were 80 to 83 percent sidewall height So, it should be possible to roughly calculate the diameter of the tire if that info isn't available from the supplier. An 8.20 for instance @ 80% would have about 6.56 sidewall x 2 = 13.12 plus 15" for 28.12 unloaded diameter. 83% would, of course, yield an even taller tire.

Doing the same exercise for the 7.10 would provide a comparison that may be useful in judging which would satisfy you. My opinion is, anything more than an inch smaller would not look quite as good.

But that too is based on two things. One, my personal preference for tires that fill a wheel well and the "style" of the car under discussion. The Buick is a voluptuous car, lots of full fenders and curves and rounder body lines. The fuller tires fit that style theme better than an undersized tire, at least in my mind.

Ray

 

Thanks for good information. I do agree that the tire should fill the wheel well, especially on a big buick.
Sometime an opinion from another person is needed even if you are almost sure what you will do/think in the end. I got few people to get reflections from around here.
Time to order some firestones I think. Will be realy exicting to put them on.
The l78s are ugly without the pie crust and they are to wide.