255 on a 17*8 or 17*9.5 wheel

[68 SuperRam]

Looking to get a new set of rear wheels on the 68 Camaro - looking to go with a 255 size. Better to put them on a 17*8 (4.8 BS) wheel or 17*9.5 (5.5 BS) wheel. Doing the calculation - either one will put the tire in the same location - wonder what would look better - TT II wheel - Thanks

Looking to do 235 on 17*8 (4.8 BS) in the front.

Thanks

[Mr Nick]

Either will work, but I would do the 8" wide wheel in the back with a 255 tire.

If you use a 9.5" wide wheel, that is about 38mm wider than the front, but the rear tire is only 20mm wider. This would result in the rear tire looking a little bit 'stretched' to fit the rim, compared to the front. I like the sidewall fitment to be equal front to rear, or just a touch of sidewall bulge in the back.

[68 SuperRam]

That was my concern as well - the "bulge" look compared to the front.

I have about 4.5 inches from the face of the rear wheel mounting surface to the outer wheel well in the rear - outer fender is NOT rolled.

With a 255 tire - it would be around 4.19 inches and a 265 would be around 4.39 from the mounting surface.

Perhaps I can squeeze a 265 - but what should be the "safe" distance / clearance to the outer fender lip -from the tire? 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch?

BTW - Car is 2 drop in rear - DSE leaf springs

[68 SuperRam]

Any additional thoughts? Looking to make a purchase soon. Thanks

[rchaskin]

You could probably run a 255 on the 8 in the front too??

I have 255/40/18 on 18"x8" front and rear, all are 5.25" BS. (on a Nova)
Mine are a tad bulged.
I think 255 looks best on a 9" wide wheel.

[Mr Nick]

That was my concern as well - the "bulge" look compared to the front.

I have about 4.5 inches from the face of the rear wheel mounting surface to the outer wheel well in the rear - outer fender is NOT rolled.

With a 255 tire - it would be around 4.19 inches and a 265 would be around 4.39 from the mounting surface.

Perhaps I can squeeze a 265 - but what should be the "safe" distance / clearance to the outer fender lip -from the tire? 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch?

BTW - Car is 2 drop in rear - DSE leaf springs


Are you using a generic calculator to come up with these specs based on tire sizes? I can tell you that tires of the same size from different manufactures are not the same size. The height will be accurate, but the widths can vary a lot. And by width(s) I mean... tread width, sidewall to sidewall width, and even mounting bead width.

I am running 284/40/18 on a 9" wide rim, which is a bit wide for just a 9" wide rim. I found that a 285 Conti was almost a full inch narrower from bead to bead than the same size Michelin I was considering. I went with the Conti's because they fit the 9" wide rim better.

[Hotwire]

I'm running Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 255/40/17 on a 17x9 rim if you need a visual for comparison. Great tire, but too hard to really get traction for autocross/dragstrip.

If you go with 8" wheel you may have a little float as the tire is wider than the rim, sidewall has room to move. With 9" the tire is square with the wheel so you'll get better response when cornering.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2020/10/50243570763_d638dffbb9_c-1.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jxRr8r)0818201738e_HDR~2 (https://flic.kr/p/2jxRr8r) by Jeff Bowne (https://www.flickr.com/photos/157865784@N06/), on Flickr

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/yy69/Hotwire454/Project%20Salty/0202201302_zps3xdqmt8h.jpg

[68 SuperRam]

FYI - I have been using the rimsntires.com website to do a size comparison, but agreed that manufactures tires will definitely vary.

Thanks for the pic of the 255 on a 9 in rim - looks like good - to the earlier point the 255 on 9.5 wheel might be stretching from an appearance perspective.

[Bruce1968]

Not sure if you’re still looking for input on this but I am running a 18x9.5 (5.25” bs) with a 275 in the rear of my 68 Camaro. It’s working great and fits with no issues.

[Nick68]

Bruce 1968
I was looking into running a 18x9.5 on my 68 in the rear . I have mainly stock suspension except 2 inch lower in front . What are you running in front and what is the front and rear tire sizes ? I was originally thinking of doing 17’s due to any rubbing issues but like the 18 look .
or I see some people running 17 in front and 18 in rear .

thank you

[nekkidhillbilly]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2024/01/20230630_013047-1.jpg

thats 255 on 8.5

[nekkidhillbilly]

/RJ4jUK1_42c?si=y47aPINulkYm3k9_

at the end you can see what it looks like better. I didnt really have a good still photo.