73 charger wheel measuring

[chargerrt340]

Absolutely not trying to be like others and looking for the holy grail of backspacing answers, I tore the back wheels off and measured my backspacing. From the outer surface of the drums where the back of the wheel touches drum, to the outer most part of the leaf spring, (the first thing rims or tires would touch) I have 6 3/4 bs on both passenger and driver side.

Wheel vintiques aftermarket 500 rims are 15x10 with 5.5 bs. Adding what I guess is 1/2 lip length to inner and outer rim I get a total of width of 11.

My tires now have about a 1/2 inch of outward extension or bulge. If i take this into consideration my 15x11 would be more of a 15x12 inside the fender. If tire bulge pushes bigger say 1” I’m at 13 and my backspacing clearance is .25”……. I want a tall whitewall but know this might not work with front and back spacing. I might have to add spacers, grind down the lip and so on. I’ll customize a thin spacer but not to cut the lip. Not really what I want to do.

orrrrr…….

I give up the white walls and take a chance on the American racing 17x9 with 5” back spacing and know my tires are centered. Give me a 1/2” lip on each side for a total of 1” and 1/2 - 1” inch more for tire bulge and make them as tall as I can without any trouble. Lip 1/2” x2 for 1” and my 9” width becomes a 10 and the tire bulge max of 1” per side totals 2” for a width of now 12”. I’m still 6” from center within the 6 3/4 gap. 3/4 between the back of the tire and outside of the spring sounds correct.

I'm leaning towards 17x9 with 5” bs in back with 17x8 and 4 1/5 bs in front.

Reading all your guys amazing posts, I want to make sure I’m doing this right. Any impute is appreciated.

 

[#41]

Suggest that you don't guess on the tire bulge width. Look up your tire on specs using a site like Tirerack.com. That said, I'd be pretty confident your second option (17 inch rims) above would work well.

When a manufacturer says there wheel has 5.5 inch BS, it's 5.5 from the mounting surface to the innermost rim of the wheel. You do not need to add that extra 1/2" in your calculation. So, in your example you say that you have 6-3/4 inches from the brake drum surface to the spring. With a 5.5 inch BS wheel, the outermost lip of the wheel would then be 1.25 inches from the spring. This changes your outer measurement too.

Not sure what you mean by a "tall" tire? I don't think you'll find much in "tall" performance tires in 17". Everything is around 26 inch diameter or smaller except SUV or truck tires. 26 inches is about the diameter of the tires on your car when it was stock brand new. If you want a car tire with more sidewall and/or diameter, you should probably stick with 15 inch rims. Then you can get a 28+ inch car tire.

 

[chargerrt340]

By tall tire I want to fill out the fender well. I like tall side walls like the 14 or 15 offer but I don’t think it will work with MY goal of fit and performance. I’ve got a 500hp stroker I’m dropping in and want good hook up. I’m leaning toward wide over tall…… or a balance of both. Street car not racing…..

 

[chargerrt340]

Thank you #41 for the tire bulge / size recommendation. Found https://tiresize.com/tiresizes/275-50R17.htm to give me actual width of tire and other dimensions.

Update, after comparing my 14”s against 15’s and 17’s, the 14’s and tire combos are nearly as efficient as the 15’s and 17’s. I would love to have a new rim and bigger tires but I don’t think the inch of tire width or hight I would gain would really justify the extra money I could put into the running gear to make it all work.

I would love to see a sticky with all of these factors to help individuals make a good reasonable decision. Lol and to help people measure their own BS

Thank you #41 for saving me a grand or more….

 

[64fury74charger]

I run 255/70R15 all around on A/R 15x8 wheels. I prefer having some sidewall height between the rim and the road.

 

[chargerrt340]

I run 255/70R15 all around on A/R 15x8 wheels. I prefer having some sidewall height between the rim and the road.

View attachment 1147743 View attachment 1147744

I agree. Comparing tire sizes I am going to stay with my 245 60 14” and magnum 500 wheels. At least for now.

Wow, you are 29” in the air with those tires. What’s your fender to tire clearance?

For those reading, his tires and rim combo for spacing purposes are 29.1” in diameter with 10” total width and 7” side wall on 15’s. My 14” x7 will be 9.6” wide with a 25.6” diameter and a side wall of 5.8”.

His tires and hight do look good!

 

[64fury74charger]

I agree. Comparing tire sizes I am going to stay with my 245 60 14” and magnum 500 wheels. At least for now.

Wow, you are 29” in the air with those tires. What’s your fender to tire clearance?

For those reading, his tires and rim combo for spacing purposes are 29.1” in diameter with 10” total width and 7” side wall on 15’s. My 14” x7 will be 9.6” wide with a 25.6” diameter and a side wall of 5.8”.

His tires and hight do look good!

The 3rd gen Chargers have large wheel openings and for me this really fills that up and rotating tires is a must for me as well. This car has a real good foot print and handles nicely. The tires are wide enough but don’t get the wear problems associated with the super wide low profile tires and these Cooper Cobra tires really handle wet roads and keep the car stable.

 

[ChargerChad]

245/60-15 front and 275/60-15 rear on 15x8 with 4.5” backspace. I got the Coopers which I am overjoyed with on ride quality.