I want to make the car handle to it's capabilities and was thinking about 50's.

Any thoughts??

Bill67

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Been into dirt bikes forever and new to muscle cars. 67 2-dr 300 Dlx, 350/350, posi, rallys.

When I first got my Elky it had centerlines with 50 series tires. It was great handled real good considering the suspension was not in A1 condition. The ride is a little rougher than 60's due to stiffer sidewalls. I know I will be going back to 50's when I get new wheels. The best advise I could give is get all 4 wheels & tires the same size & backspacing, especially if you need to re-do your suspension. You should rotate the tires regularly, with the low sidewalls the tires need to ride very flat on the ground, so the fronts are more susceptable to wear because of the inherent design of the Chevelle suspension. Regular rotation will definitly increase the life span. With the rims and tires the same size, it greatly improves handling due to balanced grip on all corners. I ran 265x50x15's on 10" rims on mine, but the rims had different backspacing so the tires could not be rotated, the fronts wore much more than the rears, even with all the burn outs. The new ones will be 255x50x16's on 8" rims with the same back spacing. I'm currently running 245x60x15's on Vette Ralleys, but I miss the tight ride quality of 50 series tires. With the new polygraphite bushings, Bilstein shocks, Hotchkiss rear control arms & braces, new springs, & heavy sway bars I just installed I think the handling is awesome and with the new low tires & lighter wheels it will only be better. It's GREAT now, but I think the wheel & tire change is going to be a GREAT addition to the package.
I hope this has been helpful, I know it was kinda long, but you asked for an opinion, so there you have it. Good luck with your decision its all a matter of taste on ride quality & handling so if you get a chance, go for a ride with someone that has what your lookiing for to know for sure.

L8tr, Wes O.

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[This message has been edited by 1LowElCo (edited 12-01-2000).]

I guess my 275/50 slicks dont count as handling tires! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif

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Gene Chaas
Gold Member 62/ACES
67 SS 427 (http://www.chevelles.com/feature/october2000.html)

My 327/th350 67 currently has 215-65s on 7X15 and 295-50s on 8X15. The best she ever handled was on 225-50s front and the 295-50s rear. The car is oversteer to nuetral(on throttle) and does a great job of pulling away from imports in the sweepers.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bill67:
I want to make the car handle to it's capabilities and was thinking about 50's.

Any thoughts??

Bill67
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I just picked up a set of Keystone Klassic rims from a guy at work for $80. They're 8" wide with about 3.75" backspacing. I just mounted bfg 275/50's all around, fit perfect. The car is slightly lowered by the means of Hotchkis front springs and a turn cut off the rear coils. One thing to be aware of is the wider the front tire's are the more they'll grab the groves in the road the more you will notice if you have loose steering. Also if the car's not lowered you need to go to a big 50's tire to get enough diameter to fill the wheel well.