17's and 15's

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72Duster440

72Duster440

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Does anybody run a 17" wheel up front and a matching 15" wheel out back? I currently have 17" Torq Thrusts and will need new tires soon. I'd like to go bigger out back, but there are no offerings for a 17" wheel that aren't a bias ply slick so I was thinking of swapping a set of 15's on to get the tire size I want.

If you have a Duster with 17s and 15s that match, post up some pics, bonus points if they are Torq Thrusts.

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There are lots of guys running 17s, or bigger, on the front, with 15s on the back. Best race tire selection is in 15s, the guys with big brakes might need to run 17s to clear the calipers.
With a nice tall tire in the back, it looks fine.

There are definitely decent race tires available in 17s that are drag radials. Hoosier, M/T, Nitto, and I think M&H, all make some, some better than others.
They are expensive, and won't last long on the street.
 
Typically if you stagger diameters it goes the other way, because the taller rear tire tends to make the rim itself look smaller. So you run larger diameter wheel in the back with a taller tire and keep the sidewall height similar front to rear. The sidewall height being the same makes the rims look the same size, even though they aren't.

So, for cosmetic purposes you might want to see if there's anything for an 18" rim that would suit your tire purposes. There's a lot more tire selection in 18" than there is in 17".

Now, if this is strictly a drag racing set up then carry on, you'll probably find what you need in a 15" rim. Personally I'd be looking at how much drag racing you do, and if it's worth just have a set of rims/tires for the strip.
 
What size on the rear are you looking for?
If you are just looking for big street tires, not race tires, for your 17s, look into street suv tires. Time to shop a little more.
 
That's my concern, it's not a drag car, that's why I was hoping to see a picture with that setup. It used to be a drag car and is mini tubbed with a very narrow rear end. I went from a 15x12 wheel with a 28x13.50 in its drag car trim to a 17x11 to get a narrower wheel and get away from running slicks, but it really limited my tire choices. The car is setup for handling now, and I run a 315/35r17, it fits, but I'd like to go a bit wider and taller, like a 27-28×12, but there aren't any options. If I went to 18s, I'm looking at a ton of money for custom offset wheels, since I need barely any backspacing to get an 11" wide wheel to make it out to the quarter panel. There is an off the shelf 15x10 with 3.75" of backspace that would work for $200 a piece.

I think what I'll probably end up doing, which is my original plan, is sticking with a drag radial due to size, but go with a 305/45, a little narrower, still works with my 11" wheel and will fill out the wheel well better. I was just looking into other options.
 
72Duster440 said:
That's my concern, it's not a drag car, that's why I was hoping to see a picture with that setup. It used to be a drag car and is mini tubbed with a very narrow rear end. I went from a 15x12 wheel with a 28x13.50 in its drag car trim to a 17x11 to get a narrower wheel and get away from running slicks, but it really limited my tire choices. The car is setup for handling now, and I run a 315/35r17, it fits, but I'd like to go a bit wider and taller, like a 27-28×12, but there aren't any options. If I went to 18s, I'm looking at a ton of money for custom offset wheels, since I need barely any backspacing to get an 11" wide wheel to make it out to the quarter panel. There is an off the shelf 15x10 with 3.75" of backspace that would work for $200 a piece.

I think what I'll probably end up doing, which is my original plan, is sticking with a drag radial due to size, but go with a 305/45, a little narrower, still works with my 11" wheel and will fill out the wheel well better. I was just looking into other options.
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If you are setting it up for handling, going to a 15" rear wheel from 17" isn't the best thing to do. For a drag car setup, 17" front or even 18" front and 15" rear is actually pretty common on late model cars. You really should look for the best combo you can find in a 17" and stick with it.
 
Yeah, I think that's what I will do. I was just day dreaming yesterday. I run a 315/35 now, I'll either go that route again or go to the 305/45, with whatever fronts I need to match the new diameter.
 
72Duster440 said:
Yeah, I think that's what I will do. I was just day dreaming yesterday. I run a 315/35 now, I'll either go that route again or go to the 305/45, with whatever fronts I need to match the new diameter.
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305 is still a ton of tire, and in the "looks" department the additional sidewall will change of going from a ~25.6" tall tire to a ~27.8" tall tire will the look a lot more than the 10mm of width.

In the front you may want to be careful adding any additional height. Not sure what you have on there now, but based on your picture it looks like your front wheels are lacking backspace as well. Making the front tire taller might have a real negative effect on your fender clearance. 26" is about as tall as you can go in the front anyway, unless you're running a really narrow tire tucked way back in the well.

In the long run, I think I would strongly consider going to a custom offset wheel. That narrow rear end really only suits the kind of wheels you find in 15" diameters, and with a handling set up you're not going to find wheels or tires that suit your purposes. You're already running drag radials, which aren't ideal for a handling set up. There are a bunch of options in the 335/30/18 size, an 18x12 would work great for that. But off the shelf you're not going to find an 18x12 in anything less than a 0 offset, and +20 or more is much more common.

The only real other option is a different width rear end. If you wanted to run an 18x12 +20, for example, you'd want your rear axle width around 56.75" WMS-WMS. If I remember correctly, that's almost exactly the width of an 8.8 with two "short side" axles.
 
72bluNblu said:
305 is still a ton of tire, and in the "looks" department the additional sidewall will change of going from a ~25.6" tall tire to a ~27.8" tall tire will the look a lot more than the 10mm of width.

In the front you may want to be careful adding any additional height. Not sure what you have on there now, but based on your picture it looks like your front wheels are lacking backspace as well. Making the front tire taller might have a real negative effect on your fender clearance. 26" is about as tall as you can go in the front anyway, unless you're running a really narrow tire tucked way back in the well.

In the long run, I think I would strongly consider going to a custom offset wheel. That narrow rear end really only suits the kind of wheels you find in 15" diameters, and with a handling set up you're not going to find wheels or tires that suit your purposes. You're already running drag radials, which aren't ideal for a handling set up. There are a bunch of options in the 335/30/18 size, an 18x12 would work great for that. But off the shelf you're not going to find an 18x12 in anything less than a 0 offset, and +20 or more is much more common.

The only real other option is a different width rear end. If you wanted to run an 18x12 +20, for example, you'd want your rear axle width around 56.75" WMS-WMS. If I remember correctly, that's almost exactly the width of an 8.8 with two "short side" axles.
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My fronts are 7" wide with 3.5" of backspacing and the tires are 24" and some change, I figured I can go an inch taller and adjust the torsion bars if needed.

The rears are already custom made, based on what they are charging for custom wheels now, it is definitely not in the budget.

I was trying to get more of a street tire out back, which was the reason for this thinking. But based on my current budget, there aren't really any viable options. Maybe next set of tires I'll look at it again.
 
72Duster440 said:
My fronts are 7" wide with 3.5" of backspacing and the tires are 24" and some change, I figured I can go an inch taller and adjust the torsion bars if needed.

The rears are already custom made, based on what they are charging for custom wheels now, it is definitely not in the budget.

I was trying to get more of a street tire out back, which was the reason for this thinking. But based on my current budget, there aren't really any viable options. Maybe next set of tires I'll look at it again.
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17x7 with a 3.5" of backspacing? Yeah that explains it.

Those rims would stick out 17mm further than the 18x9's on my Duster. Any additional height you add to the tire will need to be compensated for by raising the front end further.
 
This may be a left question.. Does anyone have a photo of a 275 60 15 next to a 295 65 15 or even a 295 55 15 side by side?
 
Anyone have a photos with 295 65 15 on their car? Im thinking about getting them I like the tall tire look..
 
duster44d said:
Anyone have a photos with 295 65 15 on their car? Im thinking about getting them I like the tall tire look..
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That's a 30" tall tire. That would require a full tub in the back and quarter work. For stock outer wheel wells and quarter openings the limit is usually around 28" tall, and even that usually requires shifting the rear axle back to center the axle in the wheel opening.
 
72bluNblu said:
That's a 30" tall tire. That would require a full tub in the back and quarter work. For stock outer wheel wells and quarter openings the limit is usually around 28" tall, and even that usually requires shifting the rear axle back to center the axle in the wheel opening.
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Thank you for the info, 28s it is ,now Hoosiers or MT
 
If anyone just needed to see for themselves.. (295 65 15 )
Well I broke down and did it anyway... bought 295 65 15 with stock welds on 10 inch reverse centerlines.. so the front needs a little bit of massaging the back has a 1/4 of an inch space so I will work on that, here are some pictures. This is only for those who are wonder how they would look on your Duster. It is not on jack stands it is sitting on the ground.

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duster44d said:
If anyone just needed to see for themselves.. (295 65 15 )
Well I broke down and did it anyway... bought 295 65 15 with stock welds on 10 inch reverse centerlines.. so the front needs a little bit of massaging the back has a 1/4 of an inch space so I will work on that, here are some pictures. This is only for those who are wonder how they would look on your Duster. It is not on jack stands it is sitting on the ground.

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Looks like you’ve got some cutting to do. Or lifting.
 
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