295/40r18 on 66' chevelle

[Sicaz66]

Already have the tires need to order wheels. What back Spacing? Also putting 245/40r18 on front. Don't mind a little inner lip rolling. Just don't want to hack into the body. Wanted to order the us mags ramblers. ( cheap ones).. But the backspacing may not work.18x8 bs4.5" front. 18x9.5 bs5.25 rear

[USAZR1]

5.25"bs may not enough,for a 295,on a 66. 5.5" or 5.75" is closer to what you need.
18x8's w/4.5"bs will fit like a glove on the front.

[Sicaz66]

Can't really find any info? Did a search here and also Google.

[Sicaz66]

They fit..minor fender lip rolled up.

[ignaro]

My '66 Pontiac Tempest (also A-body) currently has stock-ish 14" wheels and tires. I'm in the middle of measuring to find what can fit. I will say I still don't understand how to pick what width wheel for a given tire.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ has been a really valuable tool. Comparing my 225/70r14's to your 295/40r18's gives me an offset of +34mm to get the outer sidewalls to line up. The inner sidewall would be 2.7" closer to the suspension. My Tempest only has 2 11/16" extra room on the inside so that would probably be too tight... unless my 14" wheel size means I have a lot more sidewall bulge than you'll have.

Personally I want a much taller rear tire but will go with something narrower. I'm trying to see whether a 275/55r18 will fit in the back. That's 1.9" further in and +1.75" radius, giving the car a much needed rear lift and burying more of the wheel under the fender. I didn't have a speedometer for a long time so I'm not too worried about it being 5-10mph off.

In front, I dont' have much room so I'll go with something similar to stock. Haven't measured that properly yet though.

Let me know what you wind up getting please! I'm having trouble finding places with these sizes and bolt patterns who will let me try them on!

[andrewb70]

My '66 Pontiac Tempest (also A-body) currently has stock-ish 14" wheels and tires. I'm in the middle of measuring to find what can fit. I will say I still don't understand how to pick what width wheel for a given tire.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ has been a really valuable tool. Comparing my 225/70r14's to your 295/40r18's gives me an offset of +34mm to get the outer sidewalls to line up. The inner sidewall would be 2.7" closer to the suspension. My Tempest only has 2 11/16" extra room on the inside so that would probably be too tight... unless my 14" wheel size means I have a lot more sidewall bulge than you'll have.

Personally I want a much taller rear tire but will go with something narrower. I'm trying to see whether a 275/55r18 will fit in the back. That's 1.9" further in and +1.75" radius, giving the car a much needed rear lift and burying more of the wheel under the fender. I didn't have a speedometer for a long time so I'm not too worried about it being 5-10mph off.

In front, I dont' have much room so I'll go with something similar to stock. Haven't measured that properly yet though.

Let me know what you wind up getting please! I'm having trouble finding places with these sizes and bolt patterns who will let me try them on!

A 275/55-18 tire is almost 30" tall. That will look ridiculous...I wouldn't go more than 28" (MAX)...

Andrew

[USAZR1]

Try this: http://www.chevelles.com/forums/17-w...your-info.html

[Sicaz66]

Fit perfectly. 5.25" backspace on rear works and looks great.just did a 40 mile round trip with 4 large adults.. On my worn out stock shocks and springs.. I rubbed only on big dips on nothing important or tire damaging ..that's with over 1000lbs of people in my car...thinking when I do a performance suspension upgrade it will be perfect...

[USAZR1]

Are those the US Ramblers you talked about using, the 18x9.5's w/5.25"bs? Did you have to roll the lips any? If not, that's a good thing.
How well are the wheels centered in the wheelwells?

[Sicaz66]

Yes.they are the rambler wheels. Driver side lip rolled.( done by previous owner.)passenger side untouched..

[ignaro]

A 275/55-18 tire is almost 30" tall. That will look ridiculous...I wouldn't go more than 28" (MAX)...

Andrew

Oh, you think so? I had read that the Ring Brothers' Chevelle was on 30" tall tires and I like that height a lot-- though I just looked up the car on their site and it says they're 345/30r20 which is 28". Maybe I should go for that.

I had done a Photoshop mockup and it looked pretty solid with the 30" tall... it's a pain that I can't try wheel+tire combos before buying.

[USAZR1]

Oh, you think so? I had read that the Ring Brothers' Chevelle was on 30" tall tires and I like that height a lot-- though I just looked up the car on their site and it says they're 345/30r20 which is 28". Maybe I should go for that.

I had done a Photoshop mockup and it looked pretty solid with the 30" tall... it's a pain that I can't try wheel+tire combos before buying.

I agree with Andrew. Unless you modify your car like the Ring Bros to be able to run a 30" diameter tire and keep a lowered ride height, it's going to look like a 4x4.
Huge difference between a 28" tall tire and a 30".

[USAZR1]

Fit perfectly. 5.25" backspace on rear works and looks great.just did a 40 mile round trip with 4 large adults.. On my worn out stock shocks and springs.. I rubbed only on big dips on nothing important or tire damaging ..that's with over 1000lbs of people in my car...thinking when I do a performance suspension upgrade it will be perfect...

Jason, what are you running for front tires? Looks good.

[Sicaz66]

245/40r18.

[ponchoblue]

whats on the rear and is it a 12 bolt long or short I'm thinking on the same set with a 255/45 for rear

[wyattroa]

ill tag along for this thread. Just ordered a quick performance 9" that is narrowed an inch on both sides for my 66. Plan on running either a 9.5 or 10" wheel

[kochevy67]

ill tag along for this thread. Just ordered a quick performance 9" that is narrowed an inch on both sides for my 66. Plan on running either a 9.5 or 10" wheel

You can fit a 10 inch wide rim in the rear without a narrowed rear end. I have them on my 67.

[oldsfromyell]

Ignaro have you thought about using a 295/45/18 rear tire? I believe it will be tall enough to satisfy the look you want. The 345 tire you mentioned will require mini-tubbing your car. The 295/45/18 is roughly 28.5" tall and 11.7" wide as measured on a 10" wheel. Going with a 9.5" wheel should narrow the sidewall width to 11.5" .

[oldsfromyell]

Fit perfectly. 5.25" backspace on rear works and looks great.just did a 40 mile round trip with 4 large adults.. On my worn out stock shocks and springs.. I rubbed only on big dips on nothing important or tire damaging ..that's with over 1000lbs of people in my car...thinking when I do a performance suspension upgrade it will be perfect...

Very nice Chevelle. Great choice on wheel/tire size combo.

[ignaro]

Ignaro have you thought about using a 295/45/18 rear tire? I believe it will be tall enough to satisfy the look you want. The 345 tire you mentioned will require mini-tubbing your car. The 295/45/18 is roughly 28.5" tall and 11.7" wide as measured on a 10" wheel. Going with a 9.5" wheel should narrow the sidewall width to 11.5" .

Thanks! Indeed after researching tires, they don't quite make what I want. I also prefer good performance over the "too much is just enough" sizing I had in mind. I wasn't going to go with 345, I had been considering 275/55r18 but no one makes that! I also prefer when the front and back look proportional rather than like a fat Hoosier. In my opinion, the 66 A-bodies look better with a taller tire in back, tucked under the quarter panel. The size I had been looking for (28"-30" tall) would require putting an SUV tire on the back and a car tire on the front. Bad for looks, worse for performance. What I wanted seems to be a gap in tire sizing.

I'm currently looking at Michelin PilotSport AS3+'s in 275/40/18 in front (stock diameter) and 275/40r19's in back (only 27.7" tall). Not nearly as tall as I want but staggered enough to fill the back wheel well. I don't have money for Forgelines but I found Niche wheels on Summit in 18x9.5 and 19x9.5 with +40 and +35 offset-- just what I need, the color and style should look good. I'll put Kore3 brakes up front and wait until I replace the rear end to do the back brakes. The Kore3 kit pushes the wheels out 5mm. I may need an additional 5mm spacer on the front and back but I'll wait until I get them to find out.

However...wife's pregnant (hooray!) which means spending any money on car parts is a touchy subject!(boo! hahaha)

We'll see whether I wind up redoing the seats, getting wheels and tires, or finding a deal on a new 455 first. I'm having a hard time deciding!