1973 Dodge Charger wheel/tire upgrades

[fairlanefastback]

Hello,

This is my first post. I have a 1973 Dodge Charger that currently has the following tire sizes:

235/70/15 in the front and 255/70/15 in the back.

The rims as far as I understand them to be currently are from a mid-90s Mercury or Lincoln. From what I have gathered on the web they are probably 6.5 inch rims.



Anyway I have been thinking about reducing sidewall height and also increasing rim width, but at the same time though I'd like to maintain "filling the wheel well".

I've used the 1010tire.com calculator and was thinking of doing these sizes based on tire availbility:

255/50/17 in the front and 275/55/17 in the rear with I am thinking 17x8s in the front and 17x9s in the back. Probably would do Dunlops all around as far as tires.

The rims I have in mind have a backspace of 4.5 inches for the 17x8s and 5 inches for the 17x9s. Both tires can be mounted on 17x8s so I am open to doing 17x8s in the rear. For rims I am considering doing Cragar Black Soft 8 Wheels. I really don't want to have to do any spacers.

Anyway I am looking for comments/suggestions on this. The only Dodge info I see out on the web seems to be A-body related and if it is a B-body at all there has been major suspension mods that throw off knowing what would work with a relatively stock suspension like on my car.

Thanks in advance,
Joe

[bnickel]

my best friend has 73 charger se that we are going to be restoring soon. a 9" wheel is going to be a tight fit on the rear, but i think it can be done without any rubbing issues 8" in the front might have some clearance issues with the fenders. he is actually looking at using the same rims you are, but it will be a while down the road. he is going to shooting for a nascar-touring kind of car. current plans include major front and rear bumper re-work, fiberglass hood with six pack style scoop custom aluminum spoilers front and rear and lemon peel paint with flat black hood and some kind of black stripe, not sure where or what yet though, also will have black vinyl half roof and completely dechromed except for maybe the bumpers.

[vanzuuk1]

Bnickel, that really sounds cool. I posted that as one of my alternate car ideas a while back, i love those cars done nascar style.

[68Formula]

From what I could find, those tire sizes are for sport trucks and SUVs. If that really means anything as far as performance I don't know. Might want to talk with a couple manufacturers first.

Personally there are two options I'd consider. Change to 255/45R18 front with 275/40R20 rear or lower the car and use 255/45R17 front with 285/40R17 rear to get the "full" effect.

Luckily with Mopars, dropping the front is easy. For the rear I've heard lowering blocks up to 1" are okay, but if you need more de-arch the springs.

[fairlanefastback]

From what I could find, those tire sizes are for sport trucks and SUVs. If that really means anything as far as performance I don't know. Might want to talk with a couple manufacturers first.

Thanks Mike.

The tires are
Dunlop SP Sport 5000 (symmetrical) Ultra-High Performance All-Season Radials on the rear size and


I think I misquoted the front, should have been 245/50/17 on the front which are Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Ultra-High Performance All-Season Radials also but apparently with a different pattern.


The problem with going above 17" rims is then you can't get cheap Cragar steel rims. Since this is not my only car going too big on the budget is probably not the best thing but also don't want to waste money for no good reason. Its really hard to picture what something is going to look like. It seems alot harder to find pictures of Mopars setup with larger wheels.


Joe

[bnickel]

Bnickel, that really sounds cool. I posted that as one of my alternate car ideas a while back, i love those cars done nascar style.

yeah now i just to get him off his lazy ass to work on it, then again i have to get me off my lazy ass and finsih putting my car back together

[68Formula]

Thanks Mike.

The tires are
Dunlop SP Sport 5000 (symmetrical) Ultra-High Performance All-Season Radials on the rear size and


I think I misquoted the front, should have been 245/50/17 on the front which are Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Ultra-High Performance All-Season Radials also but apparently with a different pattern.


The problem with going above 17" rims is then you can't get cheap Cragar steel rims. Since this is not my only car going too big on the budget is probably not the best thing but also don't want to waste money for no good reason. Its really hard to picture what something is going to look like. It seems alot harder to find pictures of Mopars setup with larger wheels.


Joe

True. Not only will the wheel size set you back more coin, but the tire size as well. And if you're budget limited (as many of us are) that's a factor that needs to be considered.

Now, as for steel rims of 17" in size, you are adding a lot of mass to your rolling stock in doing this. This will affect braking, handling, and acceleration. I purchased my billet aluminum rims for less than $150/wheel directly from Centerline in their "overstock" or "discontinued" section. Or you can try eBay. Or you can look in the "for sale" section here. There are other options than steel rims.

Glad to see the Mopars getting into the act. Good luck with your project.

[viper11]

hey fairlane
i have a 74 charger se which has been lowered 3" which currently has 295/60/15's on the back, but i have a set of boss 304's 20x8" for the front and 22x9.5" for the back with a 20mm offset or 6" backspace which fit perfectly in the centre with a1" clearance either side
will be running 295/30/zr22's when they arrive, there is plenty room for more but thats the widest tire for the rim
jason

[bnickel]

viper11, have you got any more pics of your car? i really need to light a fire under my friend's a$$ to get him started on his

[viper11]

hi bnickel

this is my site with all my pics and some of my other projects
http://members.shaw.ca/viper11/
hope you can motivate your friend
we need more mopars
jason

[bnickel]

sweet, thanks viper