What defines a muscle car tire? Super Low Profile or Meaty Tires?

[baggedK]

I'm narrowing down my choices for rims and tires.

Right now I'm on the fence..... but I'm not real sure about going with super low-profile tires. I passed on my chance to go 22's front and rear because of this.

Right now I have chosen the following:

17x7/18x8 with 225/55/17 and 255/55/18

or

18x7/20x8.5 with 215/50/18 and 255/45/20

Which would you choose and why?

Tires chosen are based on lowest available pricing I have shopped around for. I can get either tire package for <$500.

I have had a 28.6" OD tire on the rear before so a 29" OD should fit. I'm alittle worried about the 10" width though. I have also had a 225/45/18 on the front and it looked sort-of anemic.

[Derek69SS]

More rubber, less wheel... but your sizes either way are going to be too tall to get a decent stance.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

tires that give you the grip you need to do the business you want.. THAT is muscle car tire in my opinion.

so fat or skinny.. if it gets you moving faster that your answer.

[68400BIRD]

To me a muscle car tire is a old school BF Goodrich,Mickey Thompson or a similar tire in a 15" diameter and in a 50-60's series. IMHO anything bigger than 17" is not a musclecar look.(flame suite on) I'm not a big fan of the 18-20 size rims. I went with 17's on mine and it was a difficult decision. I wanted bigger brakes but not rubberband tires in my godforsaken pot hole state.

[wmhjr]

"Muscle Car Tire" = big sidewall, like M50s in the good old days. No bigger than a 15" rim, and lots of meat on the rubber.

"Pro-Touring Tire" = Performance, Performance, Performance. The compromise is between streetability and all out performance, along maybe with a bit of appearance thrown in for good measure.

I see nothing about 22" tires that meet either category. IMHO they fall into the "Conestoga" category.

I didn't build a "muscle car". I built a "Pro-Touring" style car. I think they're different breeds of the same animal. You have to decide which direction you're going.

[79-TA]

Are wider tires a possibility? 245's at least maybe?

[1red68]

I like the 18 & 20's myself, if done right. but as stated they are more pro-touring then muscle car.
My Cuz, Jason and I installed 20's and 22's on his Dakota, and i like it. but it come to more then just size, it's performance, ride, stance and the over all look of your ride.

I rolled on of the 22's up to my Mustang just to see what it would look like...

[baggedK]

Ok so I may have mis-spoken/typed.... I guess I meant pro-touring. Some of you are able to go all-in on your builds... but I'm one of those taking alittle at a time. At this point my 14" tires are severly dry-rotted... still holding air but I get white knuckles up to 55mph and avoid traveling above this speed. I want to spend my money wisely and since this aspect needs immediate attention, I want to start my next phase of my build with wheels. Of course I'm on a budget so my wheel/tire combo has to remain $1k give or take a hundred and I'm ever so close.... I have had several combos selected and have narrowed it down to 2 or 3. In the back of my mind, I'll cut what needs to be cut to run 22's, you can see that in photo of my 1995 GMC from the early 2000's. (photo attached)



I do have plans for airride in the future.... the car will moreless be a somewhat modernized cruiser than an all out competitor infact, I have absolutely no plans for it to ever see a race track (even though I'm about 6 miles from Hennessey Motorsports Park in Sealy, TX).

I do not want the true muscle car look.... no 14's or 15's with huge tires.

I don't mind running 17's, 18's 20's or 22's I guess... just wondering what the general concensus was.

Hey 1red68, do you know what tire size your cousin is running on that 22" rim?

By the way, does anyone know when BFG stopped making 14" passenger touring tires? Man these things are getting radial splits in the tread and on the sidewalls.... when you touch them, they crumble into a fine black powder!





Photos of the actual car.... that ole cliche story, "pulled out of some elderly's dusty garage".

[1red68]

Nice truck. and nice project.
It really helps to get some background and know what kind of direction and how fast you want to go with the project.
I think the Dakota has 275/30ZR22 on the rear. I could stop by the shed tomarrow after work and chek to make sure.

[66SuperSport]

Check out Popular Hot Rodding's Project Olds. Rob McGaffin has 245/40/18s on the front and 275/40/18s on the rear of his '65. They look great and do not rub. I have 245/45/17s and 275/40/18s on my wife's '66 Chevelle and that works out nice too. A little more rubber on the front with the 17s.

[SR71]

1" of stagger front to rear looks good....but 2" of stagger in wheel diameter front to rear is too much and looks funny.

[robertjra]

ok tires is what i do good old school muscle car tires and wheels = less wheel more side wall now you are on a pro touring site so 17" 18" and some 19" and 20" combo's are the way to go now for me and my 1969 camaro it will be 335/35r-18 on the rear and 275/40r-18 front so i can have a car that will stop now i did a mini tub kit to fit the rears. what you need to do is ask your self what kind of driving are you going to do and what you want you car to do. any ? call me Robert les schwab tire center Eureka ca. 1-707-443-3507 or e-mail me [email protected]

[79-TA]

If he needs that big of an overall diameter to "fill" the wheel well, maybe he should consider lowering the car. At any rate, I like the first package, not just because I like 17's in general, but because it gives you a slightly wider front tire. I'd be much more concerned with getting at least 245's up front if I was going to get an entirely different wheel/tire combo.

Any package focused on performance could benefit from a smaller overall diameter just for the sake of total mass and moment of inertia.

Just for the sake of contrast, I'm currently running tires with an overall diameter of 25.2 inches, 265/40/17's, on my Trans Am.


You said you thought the 215/45/18 looked anemic. A 17" with the same or larger diameter will likely look better to you then. That's also a pretty small overall diameter relative to what you're running in the rear. I recommend against that. It's not like your car needs anymore forward weight bias than it already has. Try running an overall diameter more similar to whatever you run in the rear.

I don't know what particular tire you're looking at, but 500 doesn't grab me as an incredible price. Check prices on tirerack to make sure that it's actually a deal. Remember, most tire shops charge about 20 dollars to mount each tire. If you want a deal on NT05's, a nice 200 treadwear tire, give the guys at Driverzinc a call.

[DriverzInc]

If you're asking what is a good pro-touring size, then I think the majority of guys here will tell you either 18s all around, 18/19s or 19s/20s. The 2" stagger in diameter can be a bit much, and I think looks more "hot rod" or "street rod" then pro-touring, but then again, not every wheel comes in every size, so you could be limited because of the wheel brand you are considering. And when I say "hot rod" I mean 61 Impala, or 55 Bel Air, where 18s and 20s tend to look a little more at home.

To each their own though. The question I think you should ask is,what suites your taste, and what serves the type of driving you are going to be doing?

[ed1le]

My brother had a ''68 Chrysler Newport 4-door that he dropped a couple inches w/ 20's. I don't remember the tire size..255/45/20 maybe? Tall tires, at least 28" tall, but the car was so big it worked. I definitely wouldn't go with anything narrower than a 245, what's on there now look lost on that big thing. Although it is a cool ride!

[Roadrage David]

Insted of going to a larger rim from my 17 inch wheels i whent smaller to a 16 inch rims.
Rear 16x13 with 6.75 backspacing with a 13.5 wide Hoosier tire 27 inch tall .
And front 16x11 with 4.75 backspacing and a 12 wide Hoosier tire 25.5 tall!!.
kinda like the Gulf Camaro!!. i iven bought the same wheels!!.
To me it sais Pro-touring-G-Mashine-Street fighter- Muscle car all in one. and these wheels stil carry a 13 inch brake system..


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[wmhjr]

David, I LOVE that car of yours!!!!!

Where exactly are you in the Netherlands? Every once in a while (as infrequently as possible) I get to Eindhoven and Amsterdam. I'd sure love to see it in person!

Also for the OP: PLEASE don't put 22s on your car! They're sometimes neat on the right show car build IMHO, but I think they cross the line by a mile where you are completely sacrificing performance for the sake of a low rider look.

[ed1le]

Insted of going to a larger rim from my 17 inch wheels i whent smaller to a 16 inch rims.
Rear 16x13 with 6.75 backspacing with a 13.5 wide Hoosier tire 27 inch tall .
And front 16x11 with 4.75 backspacing and a 12 wide Hoosier tire 25.5 tall!!.
kinda like the Gulf Camaro!!. i iven bought the same wheels!!.
To me it sais Pro-touring-G-Mashine-Street fighter- Muscle car all in one. and these wheels stil carry a 13 inch brake system..


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That thing just screams FUN!

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

the last photo(throw a license plate) it screams STREETFIGHTER!

[elitecustombody]

love that stance