28-29in OD Tires

[CTX-SLPR]

Howdy,

Working on developing an upgrade path for my '64 Riviera I've pretty much determined that I'm building a Grand Touring type of car, something like a Mercedes CL/S-class coupe kinda car. Because of it's weight (4000lbs unloaded) I'm sticking to braking options from the new HiPo SUV trend specifically from the VAG Q7, Cayenne, and Touareg family so that means 18-20in (and on past where I'm interested to 22in) wheels. Since as I mentioned this is a GT type car vs. a cone chaser and if anything I'm more interested in devouring mountain roads vs. parking lots; I'm looking to keep a good amount of sidewall on the tires. Experience with the Rivera platform suggests that I can't really get beyond a 29in tall tire before clipping the back of the front fender.

Basically I'm interested in what y'all opinions are on 18-19-20in tires with an OD in the 28-29in range with a 245 or 255 width. Car definitely will be driven in the rain and I'll be running the same tires on all four corners.

Thanks

[dontlifttoshift]

15" brakes fit inside of 19" wheels. 255/40-19 is 27" tall. That's plenty of sidewall.

[CTX-SLPR]

15" brakes fit inside of 19" wheels. 255/40-19 is 27" tall. That's plenty of sidewall.I tend to disagree on the sidewall though more on style grounds. Do you have a particular brand that you'd suggest for a more road than track car?

Thanks

[USAZR1]

15" brakes fit inside of 19" wheels. 255/40-19 is 27" tall. That's plenty of sidewall.

I agree. Anything taller is going to look like a 4X4.

[CTX-SLPR]

Stock tires are 225/75R15's which are 28.3in OD and I don't think it looks like a 4x4 on them.
147746
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I'm pretty happy with the ground clearance as well.

Another factor is that there will be almost no dish to the wheel with the VAG wheels since they are high offset which I want to help fix other suspension issues like terrible scrub radius that pushes the wheel around a point almost at the inner sidewall and make wider tires hard to fit. Lacking a dish I think the thin sidewalls would make it look like a hot wheels car with their flat faced wheels and thin black tires. I'm OK with a rim that's out to the OD of the white stripe and am fond of both BBS basketweave types and the "tuning fork" found on CI and FI wheels.

[dontlifttoshift]

soooooo, you really didn't want opinions?

[CTX-SLPR]

soooooo, you really didn't want opinions?Like most things in life, I'm looking for options that fall inside of a spec range. There are 3 different wheel diameters, 2 widths, and a few different aspect ratios that could meet the OD specs if you wanted to get specific on the size (don't mind if you do). If you want to broadly give opinions on a tire family or type (Nitto NT555 or Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06, etc. for example) being great tires for the application, that would be great as well. Being a primarily street car I've pretty much made up my mind on the OD range that I think looks best at filling the wheel wells.

[CSG]

My dad has a white 63 on 18/20 Ramblers. Nothing like what you want but if a pic would be of any use for you I can send one.
NT555: Suck for grip but overall a nice cheap tire for what you are wanting to do. No experience with the Continental.

[CTX-SLPR]

My dad has a white 63 on 18/20 Ramblers. Nothing like what you want but if a pic would be of any use for you I can send one.
Pictures would be great. I've seen 63-65's on bigger wheels before with low profile tires and just not liked them that much and they generally have really deep dish wheels (low back spacing as original).

NT555: Suck for grip but overall a nice cheap tire for what you are wanting to do. No experience with the Continental.
I was really just picking names that I've seen on TireRack for tires more than giving a specific list. I clarified in the original post. Brands and models to both avoid and/or try to fit is what I'm really after.

[CSG]

PM me your cell and I will send the pic that I have.

[CTX-SLPR]

I'm a big enough man to admit I might be wrong. I decided to look at a bunch of google images of 63-65 Rivieras with 18 and 20in wheels and saw a lot that looked horrible and remembered that I have the HD springs in my Riviera which make it sit ~1-1.5in lower to help with its stance vs. a lot I see like these:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/01/298382_8109b77760_low_resJPG-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/01/1963BuickRivieraAmerican20ClassicsCar100-1.jpg

Then I came across this car:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=13923

Dig as I might I can't find what size tires are on the front because that or a fuzz more is really what I'm looking for. I choose the Engine Swap Depot link for it since it shows the chassis which as a custom frame with different front end in it so they've fixed a few of the issues I'm after resolving though I bet they aren't going after scrub radius as hard as I am. Anyone know what size tires ended up on this thing in the front? I can't read the stickers well enough to be sure but it looks like a 255/45R1* from this picture:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/01/1965BuickRivierawitha62LLSAV812620x827-1.jpg
That would give me 4.5in of sidewall and a 27 or 28in tire depending on 18 or 19in wheel; I'm betting 19in. Either way I can live with it.

[andrewb70]

Looks like a 255/40-18 wheel with a "fat" outer lip.

Andrew

[CTX-SLPR]

So got a chance to measure the white bands on the wheels in the above picture of my car (the white one with with no front wheel covers) and they are 20in OD on the stripe. The stripe is around 3/4in wide so a 19in wheel would be just a bit into the stripe on the inside edge. That sounds like the size wheel I'm looking for while keeping the overall OD of the tire about the same. As noted the 255/45R18's are a little shorter and thanks to DontLifttoShift for pointing out that you can fit 380mm brakes inside of 19in wheels so that pretty much allows all but the most ridiculous VAG SUV (Q7/Cayenne/Touareg) brakes.
Found these on the local craigslist and the 275/45R19's might even fit on the front (though probably rub at full lock).
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif