[Hotrod_Haven]

(Tires are going to be BFG Radial T/A's)

What would a good size for the front be to achieve a slight rake effect? Of course I do not even know if a 275/50/15 will fit, remember I have 15x8 rallys with a 4" offset I'm trying to keep the speedo as accurate as possible.

 

[artmalibu]

If you want rake from the tires you will need small ones. the 275/50 is about the same height as the 235/60. Do you have the 275s on the back at this time? If so I would love to see some pics.

 

[Mike McMasters]

i have bfg 275/50/15 on 15x8 4"bs on my 66. 245/60/15 on 15x7 4"bs on the front. fwiw, my car sits about 1" higher in the front. both are 26" tall.

mike

 

[artmalibu]

The 245/60 and 275/50 are close, but the 245 is .7 on an inch taller. That would give you a nose up look, not rake.

Here is a bfg spec chart.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec....false&fromCompare1=yes&partnum=46SR5RADTARWL2

 

[Hotrod_Haven]

So, by reviewing the above chart this is what I came up with

If I do not care about accuracy on the speedo it would be:

255/60/15 Rear, 27.1" tire w/10.2" of tread on the ground
235/60/15 Front, 26.1" tall (1" shorter) w/9.5" of tread on the ground

or if I want to keep speedo as accurate as possible:

275/50/15 Rear, 25.9" tire w/11.2" of tread on the ground

with either

215/60/15 Front 25.2" tall (.7" shorter) w/8.7" tread on ground

or

205/60/15 Front 24.7" tall (1.2" shorter) w/8.2" on the ground

So, with 255/60/15s R and 235/60/15s F we are looking at .7" difference in the width between front and rear or with the 275/50/15s R and the 215 or 205/60/15s F we are looking at either a 2.5" or 3" difference between widths and anywhere from .7" to 1.2" shorter from front to rear.

Its a 68 Malibu (currently 307 soon to be 383) with the only suspension mod being 1" drop Hotchkis springs and F. disc brakes from a 70' Monte Carlo.

Any thoughts????

 

[artmalibu]

When you look at the chart the section width is not the tread on the ground. You need to look at thetread with to know how much rubber is on the ground.

I think that 245s up front look good, 235s ok but anything smaller leaves alot of empty wheel well. IMO 245 up front and 275/60/15 in the back would give you what you are looking for. As far as rake goes that combo would give you about 3/4 inch tire rake.

 

[Hotrod_Haven]

Thanks.

 

[Mr Chevelle]

You probably know this already but in most cases the speedometer can be calibrated without opening the transmission.

It might take a speedometer gear and/or cable adapter that changes the ratio.

The up side is more tire sizes and the down side is $$$$ and work.

There are good sites that will help with picking the gears.

 

[72 Malibu Charlie]

This is my 72 Malibu with 235/60/15's on the front and 275/60/15's on the rear using 15 x 8 inch wheels all the way around.

 

[artmalibu]

What is the rear wheel backspacing?

 

[JWA]

IMO the 275/50/15 is too small for a 68-72 Chevelle. I have a pair of drag radials in that size and they don't look big enough to fill the wheelwell in the rear. Just my opinion. I have them on a draglite 15x8 and 4.5 inch BS.
Charlie's 275/60s looks right in my opinon

 

[1966_L78]

IF you plan on running 275/50/15s and want a slightly smaller front tire, then why not something in a 50-series in front too?

I run BFG 265/50/15's on the front of my Chevelle, with 295/50/15's in the back...

 

[JodysTransmissions]

(Tires are going to be BFG Radial T/A's)

What would a good size for the front be to achieve a slight rake effect? Of course I do not even know if a 275/50/15 will fit, remember I have 15x8 rallys with a 4" offset I'm trying to keep the speedo as accurate as possible.

My Chevelle is old school for now and I am changing tire sizes but, if you want to see what 275/60R15s and 215/70R15s look like. Check out "My Chevelle" pics. These tires are on when she was black.