Tire guys ... 8" of tire width on a 5 1/2" wheel ?

[1967coronet]

Getting ready to purchase some Cooper tires for my 67 Coronet.
I have in the past had 14s on but am making the switch to 15s.
I have 15x7s for the rear with 4" back space. I will run 255 60 r15s on those.
My question is the fronts are 15 x 5 1/2" I am wanting to run a 205 70 r15 on those.
That is shown to be a 8" wide tire. Is that going to to far on a 5 1/2 wheel ?

 

[toolmanmike]

I gave 255's on 7's and that should be a minimum.

 

[pnora]

I just did a quick google of the size and recommended wheel width is 5 to 7 inches. It may work but I will bet it will want to crown.

 

[R413]

Will be fine if it's a new tire and it hasn't been on a wider wheel. The tire will speed out on a wider wheel
I run 225/70R14 on 5.5" wheels and they are good to go.
Here is a comparison chart
Tire Size Comparison

 

[1967coronet]

Will be fine if it's a new tire and it hasn't been on a wider wheel. The tire will speed out on a wider wheel
I run 225/70R14 on 5.5" wheels and they are good to go.
Here is a comparison chart
Tire Size Comparison

Thanks for the chart and the info on yours.

 

[1967coronet]

My old 14s,
The BFGs have several years on them and it's time to go.
They were old enough the lettering stayed white .
Thanks guys ,

 

[j-c-c-62]

My old 14s,
The BFGs have several years on them and it's time to go.
They were old enough the lettering stayed white .
Thanks guys ,

Both will work, IMO both are a poor choice. Both will not take full advantage of the tire you have chosen. With 70% of braking normally handled by front tires, on a full size car on the street be sure and maintain adequate following distance.

 

[33 IMP]

A 205 is about the biggest I would run on a 5 1/2 rim. So, imo, a perfect choice if you wanna keep the 5.5 wheel.
Maybe you should run the 255/7" combo on the front to make jcc happy.lol

 

[cosgig]

215 is the largest “recommended” width for a 5.5” rim. However, I just put 225/70/14” on my small bolt rallyes, which are 5.5”, and they didn’t even mention it at the tire store.

 

[YY1]

I have 215 70 14 (8.5") on 14x5.5 and they are fine.

I also have 255 60 15 (10") on 15x6.5 and they are also fine.

They look "right".

 

[#41]

I have 205/70s on 5 inch steel wheels on the front of my 60 Plymouth. Not only to they look right, a 205/70 recommended installation by the manufacturer goes down to 5" wide so they are within spec.

 

[R413]

Here are 5" wheels with 205/70R14. Does this look right or does it look out of place? And last one is the spare, tread is just under 6", the sidewall is 8" total. Anything wrong with a 205 tire on a 5" wheel?

 

[j-c-c-62]

Here are 5" wheels with 205/70R14. Does this look right or does it look out of place? And last one is the spare, tread is just under 6", the sidewall is 8" total. Anything wrong with a 205 tire on a 5" wheel?

View attachment 1834616

View attachment 1834617

View attachment 1834618

View attachment 1834619

That looks fine, but in the pic it does not look like a 5" wide wheel, and for clarity, where exactly are measuring the tread width?
Cameras up close often distort what we see.
While we are at it, does this tire pictured also measure 8" wide?

 

[R413]

The wheels are absolutely 5" wide. I mounted all 5 tires. Look at the photo, they are claiming 5.0 also.

Yes the camera does change the look of things a bit. These tires look small and not oversized at all for the 5" wheels.

I'm measuring the tread where I can see the wear from the road. I used the tire for 6 months. All measurements are from the spare, I didn't lay on the ground to measure a tire on the car.

 

[cosgig]

Here are 5" wheels with 205/70R14. Does this look right or does it look out of place? And last one is the spare, tread is just under 6", the sidewall is 8" total. Anything wrong with a 205 tire on a 5" wheel?

View attachment 1834616

View attachment 1834617

View attachment 1834618

View attachment 1834619

205 on a 5” rim is totally acceptable.

 

[MoparLeo]

Tires are all sized metric not inches.
The first number of a tire size is the section width, or the widest part of the sidewall bulge. Nothing to do with tread width. a 205 sized tire is 205mm thru the section.
The next number, 60/70/ what ever is the aspect ratio or the height to width ratio. It means 60%, 70% as tall as it is wide.
A 205mm tire is 8" thru the section. The tread width may only be 5-6".

 

[33 IMP]

The wheels are absolutely 5" wide. I mounted all 5 tires. Look at the photo, they are claiming 5.0 also.

Yes the camera does change the look of things a bit. These tires look small and not oversized at all for the 5" wheels.

I'm measuring the tread where I can see the wear from the road. I used the tire for 6 months. All measurements are from the spare, I didn't lay on the ground to measure a tire on the car.

View attachment 1834677

Why the tube?

 

[BSB67]

I have 235s on 6” rims, and 255s on 7”. They drive perfectly fine.

Years ago I ran 255s on 5.5” rims. The center wore faster, but still nothing noticeable in handling and driving. And way better than what the car was originally equipped with.

I’m thinking about putting 255s on the 6” rims I have now. If not, I’ll buy 7”.

 

[Cranky]

Without reading all the posts...a wheel width should be at least the width of the tire tread for good performance of the tire.

 

[R413]

I put down measurements in inches so us USA guys can relate to the measurements.

Why the tube?

No tube, it's a valve stem