I know this topic has been kicked around a lot, but I'm having a difficult time trying to decide on tires for my 69 Z/RS. I'm going to be using stock YH wheels. Before my resto started, I had BFG Euro 235/60-15's on the front and 255/60-15's on the back. (Put on by previous owner) Yeah, the 255's rubbed the outer edge of the wheel opening on big bumps with four people in the car, and the front left touched the frame on hard left turns. I can atribute the rear rubbing to tires that were just too big, and the front left touching the frame, I think was because of poor frame to body alignment, because the right front didn't even come close to the frame. I now have the frame in perfect alignment and don't think I want to blow $1050.00 plus tax and shipping on 5 new original E-70-15 Goodyear Polyglass tires (even though it would solve my size problem). What it's down to are BFG's (almost everybody uses them) or Goodyear GT 2's. What I can't decide on is size? I've read that some guys have used 235/60's all the way around (which is what I think I would like to do) but I'm afraid these would cause rubbing on the front. I would go down to a 225/60 on the front, but I would like to rotate the tires once and a while and won't be able to with the different sizes. Also the 225 Goodyear tire isn't available with raised white letters. I dont really want to use the BFG's (not because they're not good tires) but because everybody uses them. I would like to hear from guys running stock 15 Inch 4.25" backspace rims how theirs fit and problems they encountered with different sizes used.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :confused:
Thanks
Jim

Hi Jim, Hows your resto coming? Did you ever find that mainfold? I run the exact combo you are talking about, YH Z28 15in with 235/60 on all four corners...no rubbing problems so far, althou I haven't had 4 people in the camaro yet. Hope this helps with your choice...Mike

My experience is 225/60's never rub on the front and 235/60's are about a toss up whether they will rub or not. Under ideal circumstances they won't but one minor problem (saggy springs, poor alignment, etc, etc.) they will rub. IMHO go with 225/60's in front and 245/60's in rear and don't worry about rotation unless it is a daily driver.

You should also look at the Goodyear Firehawk Indy 500. It's a muscle car style tire with raised white letters. I am about to put 235/60s on the front and 255/60s on the back, just like your car. I'm not using stock ralley wheels though.

A 235/60/15 will run you $65 on tirerack.com. My local Firestone dealer priced them at $87 a tire. Read the feedback on Tire Rack's website. The Firestone tire gets very good feedback and is highly rated. The BFG Radial T/A gets pretty poor feedback and is not rated very well.

Gene, Firestone tires better BF Goodrich radial T/A's ????? Are you serious? No way! Oh yea, that's right, as long as you're not worried about blowouts and rollovers, you're in good shape........... :rolleyes:

FWIW, I run 245-60-15's on all 4 corners and I have ever so slightly modified the front fender extension for them to fit. They will rub on the subframe at full lock but that does not bother me at all. I would run the 235-60-15's next time if these ever wear out only because they would look a little less "chunky". I prefer a closer to stock apearance. My car is at correct Z/28 factory ride height. Hope this helps.

-Mark.

Thanks for the replies guys.

DW Another reason I want to go with same size tires is, what if you get a flat? What size is the spare? If you have 245's on the back and get a flat and you have a 235 spare, you risk smokin the posi if there isn't a service center nearby. I think there is about 1 1/2" difference in tire height. If you have a 245 spare and you need a front tire, it won't fit. I plan to take this car on some road trips and I would like to avoid problems. But for a cruiser that's not going far from home, I like the idea of the different size tires.

gheatly
I had a look at the Firehawks but I'm leaning towards the Goodyears because I like the idea of the Goodyear white letters. They look a little closer to the original polyglass tires. I know It's not the best reason, but I'm stickin with it.

Mike (zuma1211)

How are you? I was going to e-mail you and ask about the tires and how they fit, but didn't get a chance. Your car looks real nice. Have you looked under the car with the wheels turned fully in both directions to see how much room there is between the frame and tires? I have some Crager rims on the car right now with 235/60-15 BFG's just to move the car around with. The rims have a 3-3/4" back space and the tires scrub the wheel opening moulding bolts on just the slightest turns. I'm hoping that this is not the case with my YH's and the 235'S. If you're not having a problem then I guess they fit. I don't remember mentioning a manifold on this site. Mine has a little crack in it but can be repaired, I would like to find a nice one though.

stingr69
Holy smokes! 245's! all the way around. I'm convinced, 235's should fit!
Thanks for all the help.
Jim

Jim, Life is good, I haven't checked my clearence yet lock to lock, but no rubbing problems...Jim you emailed me a while back looking for a local camaro dealer that had a manifold...no biggie, Take care and the YH 15s with the goodyear eagles will look great! graemlins/beers.gif Mike

Ive always wondered about different size tires with our Posi's but I forgot about those cans of tire fix that fill up the tire with air and plug the hole at the same time, presuming its not a gash.
I carry 2cans of it now along with a spare that fits the rear tire sizes. Just in case.
graemlins/thumbsup.gif

KZ, after all of those lawsuits, I can pretty much guarantee that Firestone makes some of the safest tires on the road.

I thought about the 275/70/16 Firestone Wilderness ATs, but their outlined white letters didn't look as good as the solid white letters on the Indy 500s.

I will have to second the opinion of Stingr69. I am running the exact same set-up with the exact same "minor" problem. It was an oversight on my behalf when ordering. I actually wanted the 235's on all four corners. BTW, I agree with you 100% in respect to rotating the shoes once in a while.

I have a stock 69 with P235/ 60's on all 4 corners. They are on 14x7 rims. When I first put them on, the left front rubbed the brake line in the wheel well. By bending the brake line to curve up instead of down it solved the problem. Good Luck.