70' Skylark Tire Fitment

[Yanchik]

Hello, I recently bought my first car (70' Skylark 350) and I'm buying new tires/wheels. I've been doing a lot of research and have a general knowledge on the topic now. The only thing I am worried about is rubbing/fitment. Since A bodies share similar wheel housings, will my tire choice fit without issues?

18x9 Front: 275/40/18 6.15 inch backspace

18x10 Rear: 295/40/18 6.50 inch backspace

if they do fit, the next thing im worried about is height. The height for the front will be 26.66 inches, and the rear will be 27.29.

Will this +.60 inches give my car the stance/look where it is angled downwards like a drag car? Cause this is what I DO NOT want. Or is this half an inch negligible to the overall look of the car? I want the car to look as level as possible. Thank you for reading :)

[USAZR1]

Honest question: where did you find the info that an 18x10 wheel with that much backspace is needed to fit your car? My 70 Elco has 20x10's w/5.75" backspace and 305/30/20 Nittos & if my wheels had any more backspacing, my tires would rub the inner fenders. Also, why do you need so much backspacing on those 18x9 fronts? 5" is a zero offset and a +12 offset/5.5"bs should be plenty, unless you plan custom brakes that will widen the track. If you know something I don't, I want to learn.

The tire diameter difference would be negligible, all else being equal.

[Mr Nick]

http://www.forgeline.com/customer_gallery_view.php?cvk=824

http://www.forgeline.com/customer_gallery_view.php?cvk=787&dir=p&product_key=15

[USAZR1]

http://www.forgeline.com/customer_gallery_view.php?cvk=824

http://www.forgeline.com/customer_gallery_view.php?cvk=787&dir=p&product_key=15


We already know that an 18x10 will fit,Nick. Right? My question was; is 6.50 backspacing too much,for that width, for that car?
Do you know the answer?

[Yanchik]

I should've clarified a bit more. The wheel I'm buying isn't the same wheel bolt pattern as my Skylark. The fact that it has a bigger backspace doesn't hurt me because I'm going to buy an adapter/spacer to match the same bolt pattern as the wheel I want and to get the backspace to come within normal range for an 18x9 and 18x10 wheel.

My main concern is having too big of a tire in front wheel housings. I've seen Speedtech's Chevelle and the car has 315/35 in the front and rear! It looks so frikkin awesome! But I don't know how to fit such a big wheel in the front which is why I'm jumping back between 275/40/18 and 295/40/18 in the front.

[csouth]

Speedtech's Chevelle is on their eXtreme chassis, DO NOT use that as a reference. I would do the 275 to be on the safe side.

[andrewb70]

For what it's worth, I ran 295/40-18s on my 70 GTO on 10.5x18 wheels with 6.25" backspacing. Never rubbed.

Andrew

[Yanchik]

@csouth

Thank you for the heads up, I didn't know that their xtreme chassis enabled them to run a tire that size

[Yanchik]

@andrewb70

Ok awesome, now I know that it'll fit. What size tires did you run on the front?

[USAZR1]

For what it's worth, I ran 295/40-18s on my 70 GTO on 10.5x18 wheels with 6.25" backspacing. Never rubbed.

Andrew


Thanks for the meaningful feedback, Andrew. Just to give you some of my own, I ran 17x11's w/6.25" backspace and 315/35/17 Michelin Pilots on my 68 El Camino. 68-72 Elcos are almost identical from the doors back yet I'm not 100% sure the same 17x11/315 combo would fit my 70. My 70's 305/30/20's are almost 2" taller than a 315/35/17 so that might play into the equation.

What tires and wheels are on your 70 GTO,now?

[csouth]

@csouth

Thank you for the heads up, I didn't know that their xtreme chassis enabled them to run a tire that size

And just to be clear, I was only referring to the front setup. The rear of that 70 should be able to handle at leas 10.5 before modding would be necessary.