wheel an tire sizes

[cb18201]

im getting a fox pretty soon, 87-89 lx, not sure yet, whatever i find first, it doesnt matter to me, i wanna get the bogart flystar wheels:

but i dont know what size to get or what size tire so they wont rub, i know in the front i want a 15x4 or maybe 15x5 and in the rear maybe a 15x10 or 15x9 (if they even make 15x9, not sure if they do) but i dont know what backspacing to get. i want the rim to look dished almost but be flush with the fender lip and not stick out and look like a slot car but i dont want them to be tucked under the car either. i dont know what tire size to get either so they dont rub, i want the mickey thompson et street slicks for the rear an the sportsman skinnies for the front. also what is the deal with the tubes on the et street slicks? im not familiar with them. i know im gonna have to remove the quad shocks too. thanks for the help

 

[Michael Yount]

First of all - if your car is race only, or you're only gonna use the skinnies at the track, then ignore the rest of the post.

A word of advice - if it's a street car, running skinnies is an EXTREMELY foolish idea. The tiny little tires on the front severely compromise both handling, but more importantly, braking. The front tire contact patches are what do 85% of the stopping of the car, and the tiny wheels/tires on the front significantly reduce the braking power of the car resulting in signficantly longer stopping distances.

The challenge is that on the street others do whacky things all the time - and with skinnies, an emergency lane change or stop usually simply becomes a collision.

Do yourself and the rest of us a favor. Don't drive with skinnies on the street.

 

[cb18201]

these are just for the track, maybe a 15x6 would be better anyways because im sure i will drive it at least once on the street with these rims. so can anyone help me out? thanks in advance

 

[cb18201]

anyone?

 

[89MustangGX]

I would say ultimate size depends on what you want to do with the car as it depends on what tires you want to run.

From what you're describing so far, it sounds like you want a pretty serious setup. Bogart will make your rims the way YOU want them, so that's first and foremost. If i had my choice, I'd probably go with a 3.5" front and a 9" rear w/ 6" BS. You can't get that in a Weld or Centerline wheel. I think that's about as perfect fit as you'd get. You can go more or less each way and not affect it too much, but that's about where you want to be.

As for the tubes -- not necessary.

 

[gearheadboy]

I run weld prostars. I also like the 3.5" front wheel with a 165/15 vw bug tire on the front. (not the best street set up, unless you drive normal) I built mine to drive to and from the track, and the occasional Saturday evening cruise in. They do just fine. As for the rear, I run a 15x8 with a 5.5 rear spacing. BUT this requires one of two things: either you can massage (beat) the inner fender in a bit, or run a 5/32" wheel spacer to bring the wheel back out just a bit. Now with this said, I run a 275/50/15 BFG on the rear. It is damn close on the inside without a spacer. Great on the outside. I chose this method for my own personal taste, but some guys run a 15x8 with 4.5 rear spacing. It sticks out too far for my liking. I did not modify the outside wheel opening at all, and my car is also lowered about 1 1/2" in the rear. And yes lose the quads for sure.

 

[89MustangGX]

They do just fine. As for the rear, I run a 15x8 with a 5.5 rear spacing. BUT this requires one of two things: either you can massage (beat) the inner fender in a bit, or run a 5/32" wheel spacer to bring the wheel back out just a bit. Now with this said, I run a 275/50/15 BFG on the rear. It is damn close on the inside without a spacer. Great on the outside.

I'm not sure if the earlier wheel wells are smaller or not, but generally on the later model cars you won't need spacers with a 15x8 5.5" BS. The exhaust will be the closest to hit, and that could even be adjusted if necessary.

Currently, I'm running a 15x10 6.5" BS with no wheel well massaging or spacers and they're about as tight as you can go, maybe even too tight as they rub a little on the inside on some tight turns for me. This is with a 26x11.50 ET Street.

 

[cb18201]

thanks for the help so far guys. tire sizes are what confuse me the most, i know nothing about tire sizes. what should i run on a 15x9 with 6" backspacing that wont rub and will fill up the wheel well an look good, out of these tires http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=2239&prmenbr=361 which ones would be the best. i dont understand all the different tread width options. an on the front i think im gonna go with a 15x4 rim, which size tire out of these http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=2552&prmenbr=361 would be the best. thank you again so much for the help. its a learning experience for me.

 

[89MustangGX]

This is why it's hard -- without knowing your setup, this is all guessing.

You could run a 8" tire or a 26" tire, youcould go all different ways. It would be much better to decide on your setup and then how to put it onto the ground afterwards.

 

[cb18201]

well im putting in a set of 4.10 gears and in the future a 347 stroker, is that enough to decide which size?

 

[89MustangGX]

well im putting in a set of 4.10 gears and in the future a 347 stroker, is that enough to decide which size?

Well, then it sounds like you will probably want a 10" tire vs an 8" tire. So that's a good start. If you plan to do things in stages, I might start with a 26" tire and then go to a 28" if you find you have too much gear or you need more bite.

The downside is, until you need a big tire, it will probably end up slowing you down with extra weight, etc. You might be better off with an 8" tire and then jumping up later if need be. But you're not going to run an 8" tire on a 9" rim. Therein lies the problem of wheels/tires before you have things finalized. You're not going to be 'wrong' with things, but it might not work the best.