r66sd wrote:

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I have 235/60/R15 on front, and 255/60/R15 on rear. Thefronts rub occasionally when turning out of a parking lot if the car is leaning a bit. If I am on a trip with the car and have say 300 pounds in the trunk and a passenger in the back seat the rears will occasionally rub a little on a turn out of a parking lot, but are fine on the highway. What size tires have anyone with a 66-67 Beaumont used that have been satisfactory? I am thinking of going 235/60/R15 all the way around or else maybe 225/60/R15 on the front.

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 I'm quite sure that I have the very same set up on mine.  Haven't had any rubbing problems, and I do like the way that they fill the wheel wells. 

Your set up looks flawless in my opinion.  235's all around would probably be the way to go.  (Or 235's on the rear and a slightly narrower tire on the front.)

I have 235 60 15 on 15x7 wheels all around and have never had any issues

Paulish wrote:

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I have 235 up frong and 255 in the rear.

No rubbing here. Maybe it might be the wheel offset is wrong?

 

I will be changing to 17 inch rims with 275 up front and 315 in the rear.

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 Oooooohhhhhh...Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh...  Sounds good.  (Steel wheels with dog dish?)

F70-14's looked great on my 67 but stock was 7.75-14 on a 66

See attached. This is a summary of tire/wheel combos used on 66/67 Chevelles by the folks over at Team Chevelle. If you have other years, you can download the spreadsheet (they cover 1964 through 1972).

It seems 275-60R15 rear and 235 60R15's up front are common on 66 & 67 Chevelles. Our cars should be the same as the Chevelles. Note that these tires can generally be run without having to trim the inside lip of the fenders.

The key is backspacing on the wheels.

From what I've seen, with stock suspension components, you want zero offset wheels. That means 15 x 8's on the rear with 4.5 inch back spacing. Fronts are typical 15 x 7 with 4 inch BS.

If you have a newer rear end ('68 - '72) they are about an inch wider. You'd need to adjust your BS accordingly. If you have added disk brakes, you need to check. Some of the disk brake conversions will move the front wheels outboard 0.5 to 1 inch. Back Spacing would need to be adjusted accordingly. If the rear quarters have been replaced, the inside lip on the fenders are often wider than stock and you may need to compensate or trim the excess metal.

You'll notice in the list that some people are running 295's on the rear and up to 275's up front.... I think you need to do some measuring to nail these sizes, but it looks like zero offset is still preferred.


From what I've seen, most of the stock 15 x 8 inch rally wheels were 3.5 inch backspacing. This put the tire too far outboard and you would rub on the fender (which is why we all needed skyhigh air shocks or spacers when we ran Vette rally wheels back in the late 60's and 70's). With a 4.5 inch back spacing an 8 inch wheel fits inside the rear wheel well with stock ride height.

If you have the correct rear end (stock width) You can get up to 15 x 10 inch to fit in the rear wheel housing with a zero offset wheel (5.5 inch BS). In this case though, the wheel might rub on the lower shock mount. Some people used a grinder to take a little metal off the lower shock mount. There is also a 'bump' on the inside (trunk side) of the wheel well that might need some gentle massaging (with a 5 lb sledge). Larger diameter (16+ inch) wheels are big enough that they miss the shock mount.

Our cars have been around for awhile. It is possible a previous owner swapped the rear end out or some other component has been changed. Before you spend big $$ on rims (and you may need to special order to get the BS you want), you should probably get a few measurement to be sure. I built a jig that mounted on the axle that would allow me to measure the backspacing and clearances. Just a piece of wood and some cardboard cutouts - real simple. It worked for me. I think I still have it and can post pictures when I get home if there is interest.

I ended up with 16 x 8's with 4.75 inch BS on the rear. 4.5 inch BS would have been better but what I have (4.75") was what was available. The extra quarter inch moves the tires even further inboard away from the wheel well. So with 255-50's I have a good inch between the tire and the inside lip of the fender - almost too much. I would like to try some 295's on the rear if I could find some 295-50-16's!!

Wes

PS  I am having trouble attaching a PDF file.  I have converted it to a jpg but the resolution is poor.  Hopefully you can still read it.

I should add my car is mini tubbed with a narrow 9 inch rear end. That's why I can cram such a big tire in her rear.  Room for 13 inches of tire.