Just to cover my bases, I am posting this here as well as TurboPinto.com
I am planning to run T-Bird TC wheels on my '74 Pinto. The tires I think will fit without rubbing anywhere are 205/50/R16, but I'm not sure. FoMoGo has told me that he has used 225/60/15 on a '73 sedan with minimal rubbing.
Are there any differences in wheel clearance between the '73 and the '74?
Has anyone else here used these wheels, and what are the largest tires you've run without alteration to the car or use of backspacers?
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/00012.jpg)
The tire size calculator here: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html says that the 205/50-16's will be significantly smaller than the 225/60-15's Fomogo used. I THINK Pintoman has 16's on his Rallye, maybe he can chime in on what size he uses.
Actually CrazyHorse i am using 205-55-15's on the Rallye.They rub the right front inner fender shield just a smidgen.
Mornblade, by my calculations (with help from mustangii.org) pintoman's 205/55R15s would have a diameter of 23.88". Your 205/50R16s would have a diameter of 24.07" which would make them rub just a bit more than his. Really this isn't much of a difference (.095" in radius) and would probably be fine. If it doesn't work out, you could always try a 205/45R16 which has a diameter of 23.26 with the same width (205mm). I am going to be running 195/60R14s on my 78, which are the same ones I used to run on my 77 Mustang II ( http://www.mustangii.org/gallery/DouglassEKemp/ ). They are slightly narrower than a 205 tire (10mm less actually) and are 23.21" in diameter (only .05 shorter than the 45 series tires)
The wheel offset will also make a significant difference in whether or not they rub, but I would suspect that the 45 series would do fine with minimal if any rubbing.
The 205/45R16s are available from many manufacturers including but not limited to: BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Dunlop and Nitto.
Good luck!
You can also see how the 195/60R14 fit on the rear of my 73 Pinto sedan here:
http://www.fordpinto.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=55&topic=6306.msg38126#msg38126
OK.... People think I don't know what I am talking about when it comes to tires, BUT I will give my input here anyway.
Not all tires the same "size" are the same "size". IOW: A p195 65r 14 from one maker will not be IDENTICAL to one from another. This also holds true for different lines from the same maker.
People have argued TO me about this many times, I will not argue back as I don't care if people don't belive it.
All the PROOF I need, I got when I was hunting tires for my circle track car. I had to run stock street tires, and I was running p195 65r 14's. When I was able to FIND used ones, they had tread widths rangeing from 5.5" to 7.5" AND over 1" in height (depending on wear).
Find the tires you think you want and measure them before you buy. Also, I think the best way to do it is find a used one the same SIZE of the ones you want, mount one and see how it fits.
Bill
The tire I currently got under the rear of mine is a 295/50/15 BFG T/A. No rubbing and no spacers.
Quote from: 77turbopinto on March 20, 2007, 06:56:09 PM
OK.... People think I don't know what I am talking about when it comes to tires, BUT I will give my input here anyway.
Not all tires the same "size" are the same "size". IOW: A p195 65r 14 from one maker will not be IDENTICAL to one from another. This also holds true for different lines from the same maker.
People have argued TO me about this many times, I will not argue back as I don't care if people don't belive it.
All the PROOF I need, I got when I was hunting tires for my circle track car. I had to run stock street tires, and I was running p195 65r 14's. When I was able to FIND used ones, they had tread widths rangeing from 5.5" to 7.5" AND over 1" in height (depending on wear).
Find the tires you think you want and measure them before you buy. Also, I think the best way to do it is find a used one the same SIZE of the ones you want, mount one and see how it fits.
Bill
I TOTALLY agree Bill. My other car happens to be a Subaru Legacy AWD. Those cars are EXTREMELY sensitive to differences in tire sizes. Sensitive to the tune of an $800 center diff replacement. You MUST run all 4 tires EXACTLY the same size. The Subaru Forums are rife with horror stories from mismatched tires & blown center diffs. Ok so they're not EXACTLY diffs, they're clutch packs.
I agree your best bet is to get a used tire the size & brand you intend to run & test it on your car.
Bill is right. Measure twice, cut once.