gyoder

I am putting radials on my 66 BB convertible and want to put the widest I can without making any changes to the car. I have the original knock off wheels on the car. Any past experiences, recommendations will be most appreciated. Also I am thinking of the Michelin brand. Are there any better?

Thanks

SWCDuke

The 215/70ZR-15 Pirelli P4000 Super Touring is W-rated versus the V-rated Michelin MXV4 Energy and is also less expensive.

www.tirerack.com

Search the above size and limit it to H and above speed ratings.

Duke

BarryK

my neighbor has a '67 BB is has 235/60-15's on his standard rally wheels with no modifications or rubbing issues

gyoder

Thanks to all for the information. Lots of good stuff!

bcwaller

I had 235/60/15 tires on my C2 on stock sized repro Knock Off wheels, and they did fit. Be aware that these wheels will be shorter than stock, and if your car is not lowered it might look funny. I did get some monir frame rub when the front wheels were at full lock, but that never bothered me at all.

If you want the car to look more like stock and have more tire, go with Duke's suggestion. If you plan to drive the car very hard, either go with the 235/50/15 tires, or get a set of 17" wheels where you can put on some real tires and then you can really push the car to the limits.

Paul L

Just a brief comment. You can go wide and low profile with some tires and wheel sizes. But in my opinion that takes away from the "look" of the C2. The wheel well is not filled. You are betting that with the low profile you will not hit a bump hard enough to bring it up to the fender lip. And you are probably right. I stayed with the traditional wheel/tire size and look with Pirellis as per Duke's rec last winter. This is an oft-repeated topic but I will say it one more time: those tires are the cat's meow. I did some twisty roads last Saturday on my way to the drag strip and WOW! No fuss, no muss, they just grip the road even with those skinny AR 6" rims. There is no hint of side-wall roll-over.

65air_coupe

Paul, you've convinced me to quit looking ta 16 or 17 inch rims and just follow Duke's recommendation as well, in part because of how good yours looks. I have always felt that to look correct (to me anyway), you have to fill the wheel wells.

And I can even stay with my 'ugly' yellow wheels that everyone's making fun of!!!

SWCDuke

Good choice and Paul certainly does have a great looking car!

If you want to get near modern sports car handling, set the front and rear camber at -1 degree with some hard bushings in the front anti-roll bar links.

Duke

fcabarle

Do I understand that he recommendation is for the The 215/70ZR-15 Pirelli P4000 Super Touring tires? How about white walls? Did the corvettes come with white wall tires in '63?

bcwaller

I don't think so, but they did have red-lines and gold-lines in the later years. I've seen them with whitewalls and I think the puyre black looks MUCH better.

Paul L

I do not know about 1963 but certainly 13,445 went out the factory door with whitewalls in 1967. I went with the Pirellis for performance, not a correct look. And they perform!

Hitch

Aw 17"s are the ticket in my book many more tire choices and options. I know that it's not stock or correct and I know some have an issue.. (I know that's not what this thread is about)... However the mention of 17"s not filling the wheel wells is not true. Paul please don't take offense but a 300 PG car will handle well on skinny's however add more hp and a 4 or 5 spd and I needed more traction.. Dave

SWCDuke

Yes, and most '63s were probably ordered with whitewalls. I ordered mine with whitewalls and shortly after delivery I saw a SWC with blackwalls and realized I had made a BIG mistake!

Within a year I chunked the OE General Jetaires doing hot laps at Kent and had a new set of BLACKWALL Michelin X radials installed shortly thereafter.

I have never had a car with whitewall tires since. It's also interesting to note that both then and now, servious sports cars don't have whitewalls.

If you really want a sidewall treatment, there is an outfit that will order the tires and add a whitewall, goldline,... just about whatever you want. I don't think it's cheap, but if you insist and are willing to pay the price, it can be done.

Duke

bcwaller

According to the Black Book, Option P92 appears to be a popular option, Whitewall Rayon Tires, 6.70x15, 4-ply with 19,383 units at $31.55

Paul L

Just for comparison purposes here is my car with whitewalls. The ralley wheels and tires are in storage. The tires are Dunlop Axiom 215-70R/15.

karista

Paul
Are you using 6 inch or 7 inch Rally wheels?

Paul L

Both the factory ralleys and the American Racing (AR) Torq Thrusts are 6".