Hey dudes. I'm looking for a set of tires to go on my 1955 chevy. I like the size which is on it now, but can't seem to find it anywhere, nor an understandable equivalent. Its rolling some Bridgestone RD-603's in a LT185R14. Im not super familar with metric BS, so this is throwing me off. any help for what i could use on this? the 185r14's on it now seem like a good fit with the fenderwell headers and whatnot. Thanks guys
LT is a light truck tire...usually around an 85 series profile 185 is the section width Best bet is to measure the overall diameter, then look at a site like tirerack that will have the breakdown on tire sizes in any given line. Here's a link to some http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/searchTiresBySize.do?sortBy=prca&ar=&fqs=true&rd=14&cs=185
That is a Light Truck tire. It is about 25-1/2" tall. It roughly specs out to a 185/80R14. Light truck tires tend, in many cases, to have a few extra plies, and a higher load rating, so they might be a bit stiffer than you need. For example: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?customSizeSearch=&width=185%2F&ratio=80&diameter=14 These are C and D rated tires, which is a little much, for a car. If you were willing to go down a tick over 1/2" in height, you could get a 185/75-14, in a passenger car rating. That will give you a nicer ride, and more choices. http://www.summitracing.com/search/department/wheels-tires/section/tires/part-type/tires/tire-size/185-75-14
Ahhh ok. That makes sense. I see that most "Front runners" are about 25in tall. whats the width of these things like 8in of or?
The with of the tire case, at the bulge, is 185mm (when mounted on the specified wheel), which is about 7-1/4". Wheel width will affect this measurement. A 185 is typically designed to be mounted on a wheel that is between 4-1/2" and 6" in width, although other widths are possible. For a 185, the "measuring wheel", which the size is confirmed on is typically 5". Going up or down in width would change the number up or down.
your chevy probably came with 6.25 (6 1/4 wide) 6.50 (6 1/2) or 6.70 15 inch tires. The 6.25 refers to the widest part of the tire, not the tread width, and the 15 is the rim diameter. These tires were in the neighborhood of 27 to 28.5 inches in diameter. In order to keep your speedo accurate, assuming the rest of your running gear is stock, you want to fit a tire with as close to the same diameter as you can. Modern metric sizes give the section width in milimeters, the second number 60, 70, 75 is the aspect ration or the height of the sidewall. early not metric tires were usually in the 85 to 90 area as far as side wall height to section width. So that leads to these 22 inch rims with 2 inch sidewalls having the same rolling diameter as an old 6.50 15. If you want to keep the skinny look traditional to the 1950's, you probably want to keep to the 70 or 75 aspect ratio. 205, 215, and 225 modern tires are pretty close to the original diameters of the stock size tires, but would be a bit wider.
I could stand to use about an inch taller, but over that i'd be leary of the fenderwell headers. I just like to give um room. What ratings would be recommended for this car? load and speed? It's built to move with a 454 in it.
You will need to know the approximate weight of the car, end-versus-end. A good write up on the new "load index" ratings can be found here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35
Man O man, 14's are limited in selection haha. Ok, so I'm thinking this would be a safe bet & look good. BFG Radial T/A's in a 205/70/14. If the 185r14's are the modern equillant to a 185/75/14 (Ish) than a 205 should only be like what? 0.79in wider? I can live with that, But the two inches taller I'm gonna have to eyeball real good. I'm sure im just paranoid Anyone run these size tires? got a pic? I know 8in wide ain't exactly crazy, but im fond on the skinnyish front runner look. Just dont wanna kill myself doing it.
the lt185r14 is around 25.7 in. tall. thats right about a 205/70r14 thats what i had on my 57 when i got it. i went with a 215/75r14 because its was taller. its actually the closest to a stock size tire. my photobucket is giving me a hard time, but if i can get it figgered out, i'll post photos with the 205's
Yea measuring just now, split the hight differences and I think it will be spot on. The tires on it are about 8in wide now. Sweet. a picture of your set up would be great too
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