need help purchasing street radials for my 74 dart sport

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matthew robertson

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Hi there, new member to this group here. I'm looking to buy some mickey Thompson et street strips tires for my 1974 dodge dart sport. I think I have my order spec'd out correctly but am nervous that I may make a mistake and have to pay to send my items back. After hours of research and shopping I've come up with this;
Rear wheels: 15x8, 4.5' backspace, 0 offset
Rear tires: 275,50,15 MT ET Street
Front wheels: 15x7, 4.0' backspace, 0 offset
Front Tires: 215/60/15 BFGoodrich
Has anyone ever ran this setup? I'm worried about how fitment will look. I'm trying to make the rear tires sit almost in line with the fender but not perfectly in line (I like a bit of tuck). I've also chosen the front tires to be 215/60 because I don't want the car to have too much of a lean forward. Any help is appreciated!:) thanks in advance.
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Everything "should" work
I'm a little nervous of the 4" front wheel backspace. I know 3.5 will work . But by 4", alloy wheels are getting daymn close to the UBJs . And, the rubber may hit stuff at full lock, depending on where it is in the suspension cycle.
If you have front disc brakes,make sure those front wheels are designed for them.
Hang around for a while, other more knowledgeable fellows may show up.
I have a 68 Barracuda, which most guys say have the same inner tubs as Dusters and Demons.I have been able to fit 325-50/15s into those, for straight-line action; but I have to behave myself around turns. 295/50-15s are anything goes, if properly fitted.
275/60-15s with up to a 4.5 bs, even, are easy . These are 28" tall and fit into my Barracuda tubs. I have heard that they don't always fit. The easy fix is to just move the axle back a bit.
 
Wow ! Thats a great looking Dart !
I like the look of the current wheels and tires but understand the desire to have a meaner stance . I have a second set of 255/60-15 M/Ts on 15x8s for both my cars. ( rears)
 
I am running Vision 521 Nitro wheels 15x7 with 4” backspace (0 offset) up front with 215/65R15 (max size that fits) and out back Vision wheels again 15x8 with 255/60R15 (could easily fit 275/50R15 as those aren’t as tall but a hair wider). My tires are cheaper Mastercraft Avengers (same as Cooper Cobras). I have B body rear axle so my rear backspace is different so I am not recommending backspace for you and I am running Espo 2” lift springs. Up front I did the factory disc brake swap and 1.03” torsion bars set roughly stock ride height. Suspension is firm but not bouncy and nothing is binding as of the few miles I tried this setup.

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Wvbuzzmaster said:
I am running Vision 521 Nitro wheels 15x7 with 4” backspace (0 offset) up front with 215/65R15 (max size that fits) and out back Vision wheels again 15x8 with 255/60R15 (could easily fit 275/50R15 as those aren’t as tall but a hair wider). My tires are cheaper Mastercraft Avengers (same as Cooper Cobras). I have B body rear axle so my rear backspace is different so I am not recommending backspace for you and I am running Espo 2” lift springs. Up front I did the factory disc brake swap and 1.03” torsion bars set roughly stock ride height. Suspension is firm but not bouncy and nothing is binding as of the few miles I tried this setup.

View attachment 1715847185

View attachment 1715847186
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This is the exact look I’m going for thanks a million! Here’s a photo of the wheel setup I’m going with

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mbaird said:
Wow ! Thats a great looking Dart !
I like the look of the current wheels and tires but understand the desire to have a meaner stance . I have a second set of 255/60-15 M/Ts on 15x8s for both my cars. ( rears)
Click to expand...
I do like the look of it and think the wheels match perfectly, but I wanna try out something with a little more grip and scarier stance. The 235’s on it don’t hold up to the amount of power the 360s making haha
 
Matthew- beautiful car! 275's are too big. 255's are the best bet with 4.25 bs for a 74. 255's should also work with 4.5 bs. Another member her Dusterdaddy just made the same mistake of buying tires that were too big. try to find his posts.
 
TF360 said:
Matthew- beautiful car! 275's are too big. 255's are the best bet with 4.25 bs for a 74. 255's should also work with 4.5 bs. Another member her Dusterdaddy just made the same mistake of buying tires that were too big. try to find his posts.
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Thank you! I’ve never bought wheels and tires before so this is completely just out of curiosity, if a 255 works with a 4.25 backspace shouldn’t that mean a 275 will work with a 4.5 backspace? I know a 4.5 backspace will work since so many people run it, and that’s only a 0.7 inch wider tire and a shorter sidewall than a 255/60. That being said, I have no experience so I’m just trying to learn
 
I see no problem in the front.

But, it sounds like you are mostly concerned with wheel lip clearance in back. You are forgetting, or don't know that the tires have to clear the leaf springs. Pretty sure 255-60 would be ok but a 275 may get into the leafs. Cheap fix is wheel spacers. A 255 also matches your 8" rim width better. A 275 should have a wider rim.

You don't say what you are going after. Big tire drag look? Max traction?
My personal OPINION is a 255 looks best and a 275 looks forced.
 
KosmicKuda said:
I see no problem in the front.

But, it sounds like you are mostly concerned with wheel lip clearance in back. You are forgetting, or don't know that the tires have to clear the leaf springs. Pretty sure 255-60 would be ok but a 275 may get into the leafs. Cheap fix is wheel spacers. A 255 also matches your 8" rim width better. A 275 should have a wider rim.

You don't say what you are going after. Big tire drag look? Max traction?
My personal OPINION is a 255 looks best and a 275 looks forced.
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That’s precisely what I’m going for. Big drag look but not tooooo forced (hence why I’m not going with a 4’ front wheel. Want the nice look, added traction but also the normal capabilities of a street oriented car). maybe I’ll try out a 255 first, had a lot of mixed opinions, some say it’ll fit easy some say ehhhhh try out a 255. Better safe than sorry, a 255/60 should probably do the trick anyways
 
matthew robertson said:
That’s precisely what I’m going for. Big drag look but not tooooo forced (hence why I’m not going with a 4’ front wheel. Want the nice look, added traction but also the normal capabilities of a street oriented car). maybe I’ll try out a 255 first, had a lot of mixed opinions, some say it’ll fit easy some say ehhhhh try out a 255. Better safe than sorry, a 255/60 should probably do the trick anyways
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I wanted a 275 out back but Vision didn’t make a 9” wide wheel and I was also concerned with fender and wheel arch clearances etc. I am happy with the fitment of the wheels and tires I put on my Duster with one exception… it is begging for more width out back and the outside to outside of the rear outside sidewalls is 1/4 inch narrower than the front outside side wall to outside sidewall width… I know I sound crazy but with the 2” lift I can stuff more tire back there lol.
 
What rear axle do you have? Not all A-body rear axles are the same width, they differ by model. 7.25/8.25” BBP rears are narrower than A-body 8 3/4’s with BBP axles. I assume you have the 5x4.5”, BBP.

275’s will fit most Dusters/Demons and Dart Sports with the proper backspace.

In the front it will be close to the fender with 215’s. On a 15x7” a 4.25” backspace is better up front. Again, that’s assuming you have the factory BBP disks.
 
72bluNblu said:
What rear axle do you have? Not all A-body rear axles are the same width, they differ by model. 7.25/8.25” BBP rears are narrower than A-body 8 3/4’s with BBP axles. I assume you have the 5x4.5”, BBP.

275’s will fit most Dusters/Demons and Dart Sports with the proper backspace.

In the front it will be close to the fender with 215’s. On a 15x7” a 4.25” backspace is better up front. Again, that’s assuming you have the factory BBP disks.
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I ended up purchasing the 15x8 with 4.5 backspace for rear and 15x7 with 4 backspacing for front, I figured that it’ll be a safe combo with room for error and can easily be solved with some spacers if needed. I think tonight I’m gonna order the 255/60/15 for the rear and the 215/60/15 for the front. I’m not making Over 450 wheel so I don’t think that a 255 will feel much different from a 275 and I think it’ll look just as good. As I said earlier If there’s still too much tuck in the rear I’ll just buy a couple spacers and call it a day:)
 
matthew robertson said:
I ended up purchasing the 15x8 with 4.5 backspace for rear and 15x7 with 4 backspacing for front, I figured that it’ll be a safe combo with room for error and can easily be solved with some spacers if needed. I think tonight I’m gonna order the 255/60/15 for the rear and the 215/60/15 for the front. I’m not making Over 450 wheel so I don’t think that a 255 will feel much different from a 275 and I think it’ll look just as good. As I said earlier If there’s still too much tuck in the rear I’ll just buy a couple spacers and call it a day:)
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If you have a BBP 7.25 or 8.25" rear axle you very well may need some spacers to get the tires enough clearance from the springs. The 255's should fit easily in the wheelhouse though as long as they're located properly.
 
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