what fits

[Torrance00]

Hello all

OK, I have a 74 Dodge Dart swinger.
stock....
It has 205\75r 14 on it... and I'd like to go a bit bigger, but trying to figure out how big
a tire you can go is not easy. Many posts give huge numbers, then say they had tubed
the car... or moved the springs.
So this morning I took the time to take A tire\wheel off my 62 wagon project and
see how it fit.. BTW the wheel is a 5 x 5 bolt pattern so I used an adapter with 1.5" thickness
Don't ask, its a long story.
So knowing that the rear wheel well on the Swinger is "tight" I mounted the Adapter
and wheel there... when I lowed the car, it upper fender lip hit the tire right below the
tread.. So taking into account the 1.5" forward offset the 8 + - x 15 Rims fit with plenty
of space. As does the tire, oh yes the tire is a 225\70R 15... Eagle GT
sorry for the double pic, for some reason when I take photos with my Iphone
and import using (preview) I get double or triple the pic....
But you can see the spring to tire clearance clearly, and also the spacing to the lower
back fender...
Given that the rim is sitting 1.5" farther out then it would be without the adapter
I would say that a 245\70 or 60 x 15 would fit easy
My plan is to find two 15 x 8" rim 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern and mount the eagles GT on
the back.. they still have 20K good miles left on them..
Well thanks for reading this thread, if you have any constructive comments please
jump in...
BTW since the car is what 41 years old now, I'm doing a lot of repairs, updates,
I rebuilt the front end about 4 or 5 years ago, brakes are in great condition
just small things like door light switches, cig lighter, map light, fuel, temp gauge
trying to repair the plastic inside trim.... I'm fiber glassing it from the inside, the sand
it smooth, should keep it from cracking in the future.
Best

 

[DartVadar]

I have a set of 255/60r15 tires under my 73 dart swinger. The rear rims are a set of 15x7 steelies with a 3.5 backspacing I believe. The car has an 8 3/4 and the tires fit absolutely perfectly without any modifications to the car! There is lots of clearance everywhere so its never rubbed.

The car used to have an 7 1/4, and with that rear end the perfect rim was a 15x8 with 4.5 backspacing.

 

[TrailBeast]

On a stock wheel well 73 Swinger hard top.

I have a 7.25 with 15x8 steel wheels with 4.5 inch backspace and a 235-70-15 and it is all I can get on there because it would hit the springs.

If I had a 4 inch backspace I could get a 255 on there and be about centered in the well with about a quarter inch or less of clearance inside and out.

1/4 clearance means it would probably hit somewhere when cornering.

 

[dano]

So your spacer pushed you out and you need to find a rim with more offset. The spacer added 38mm of positive offset. the good news is you can find modern rims with 38-42mm (or more if needed )of positive offset. Look to the Modern Mustang stuff or just do a search at Discount Tire. Honestly, I'd look beyond a 15 or 16. Tires for decent compound 15" tires are as much or more than 17".

 

[69_340_GTS]

'69 Dart GTS, basically stock suspension, 15x7 wheels, 4.50 backspacing, 225/60-15, fit great all around. I would recommend this for anyone who does not want to modify the suspension or body. Some cars have more room than others though.

 

[Torrance00]

First to all, thanks for the replies. In my situation I found out for myself what will fit
Dano, I only used the adapter to mount the wheel to the Darts 4.5 spacing.
and my point was that being spaced out an extra 1.5" shows there is a lot of space in
the wheel well..
I am going with a US wheels 8 x 15" chrome wheel with a 4" backspace..
a moonie...
and the price is (OK)
I'm going to use the 225 off my other project car and buy new tires for it, since that
car will be my road car.. 62 Ford wagon...
the adapters were needed to use my 2 of my existing wheels on the rear of the wagon
as that year axle had a 5 x 4.5 spacing. the Front rotors (mod) are from a 79 Lincoln and
are 5 x 5" spacing...
hope that clears everything.
My only problem now it deciding on which USA made brand, (Goodyear or Cooper) and
which model tire, (Cooper Cobra or a Trendsetter, or a Goodyear Eagle GT or
something like a Assurance) Like I said the wagon will mostly be used for road trips..
and I'm not street racing the car.
It has my mild built 351c with a 4r70w trans... final drive is about 2.73... + -
Best

 

[roccodart440]

9.65" section width fits with no mods assuming your backspacing is correct. You can't just say a 225/60/r15 fits because they aren't all the same size.