Daily driving with a 3.5” front wheel= sketchy?

[440beep]

I’m looking to get some Centerlines and I’m considering the 15x3.5” front wheel with maybe a 205 tire (or smaller), but how sketchy would it be driving on a skinny front wheel/tire? Any chance the car would push through corners?

Or would it be ok?

 

[#41]

When the pro-street craze hit you'd see front runners all the time on street cars. It didn't take long for that to change because everything your senses are telling you are true.

 

[496 polara]

Back in the 90's for a short time I had skinny's on the front of my 72 Nova. It did not instill any confidence turning at any speed above parking lot mph. I couldn't imagine skinny tires on the front of my 73 Charger at the time. Much more weight. I have 6" on the front of my 72 Duster now and wouldn't want much narrower.

 

[Aron Gleason]

I'd be worried about cracking a wheel that narrow for street use.

 

[moparedtn]

Just so I understand:
You want to put half (or less) of the tire contact patch on the end of the car that also bears the majority
of its' considerable weight - not to mention, does most of the braking and does all the steering - is that right?
Well...
Yeah, of course it's gonna push - and worse, in anything other than ideal, straight-ahead situations.
I've witnessed more than a few wrecks caused by cars with such setups and sometimes the impact didn't
just affect the owner themselves.

 

[440beep]

I knew my hunches were right, especially after seeing the 980lb load bearing rating. Thanks for confirming!

 

[Don67Satellite]

Pizza cutters are for the track, not for the street.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

I had a set of Pizza Cutters on my 1976 Monte Carlo back in the day, I was 19 at the time and didn't know better... Lets just say they are not for curvy roads. Ended up in a ditch with a 4x4 post through my windshield. I would not daily with pizza cutters.

 

[Kern Dog]

I’m looking to get some Centerlines and I’m considering the 15x3.5” front wheel with maybe a 205 tire (or smaller),

but how sketchy would it be driving on a skinny front wheel/tire?

Any chance the car would push through corners?

Or would it be ok?

Ha ha....I'm just having some fun with you.
In my opinion, going backwards from the already skinny 5.5" factory wheels is a bad idea but then, I'm into handling and street car setups entirely. The drag race look is great but will put you at a disadvantage when you need to steer the car.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Push through corners... Sure Push right off the rim and send you into a pole, wall, ditch etc etc. Its your life do as you please but you have enough info to make a decision based on experiences of other people. I don't need to be told twice not to stick my finger into a meat grinder.

 

[440beep]

Decision already made, no pizza cutters for street.

And Kerndog

 

[71Beeper]

Guys, it's not that bad.
I have the 3.5" Welds on the front of my current Runner. It has a 27" tall tire on it.

I had these same rims on my previous Runner and had no issues on the street.

Now, I made sure I didn't do any corner carving with it, but with regular driving it was fine.
Even driving on the highway I was confident with it.

The downside to having a 3.5" wide rim is tire selection.
With a 4" wide rim you can put a regular 70 series tire on it, which you can't do with a 3.5" rim.

 

[gkent]

I just put 205 75 R15's on 6" wheels ... a better fit than would be on 3-1/2's. Less sidewall bulge and better contact patch.

Had both 3-1/2" and 5" on the car at different times but was always concerned about stopping power (manual brakes) and tire roll over in corners. 205's are pretty close to what these old cars came with from the factory (mine anyway!)

 

[gkent]

For looks, go this more modern route instead - looks way better and much safer !!!!

 

[eldubb440]

speaking as a car guy my entire life............ ^^^^^^^^^^^ that is by far the stupidest (most stupid?) sh*t I've ever seen done to a car; it makes me want to vomit

 

[gkent]

LOL !!

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have run 3-1/2" front wheels on numerous cars over the years since the 80's with no issues. I currently have two cars with them now.

 

[Jeff_383]

I have 4 inch wheels on 2 cars now with 205/75 on one and 215/75 other. I drive them everywhere. Neither are a 911 Carrera. But I know that and don't drive like an *** in twisties, or any turns

 

[Coelacanth]

I wouldn't want to have to make a sudden evasive maneuver with pizza cutters. Sure it's probably fine for drag racing, and possibly daily driving under normal circumstances, but what happens when you gotta stop or turn suddenly? Most of the braking and all of the steering is done with the fronts.

 

[RemCharger]

Lest we forget the 185/185 15. Oem and DOT approved.