205 60 15's on center 7" for front 81 Malibu.. Mistake?

[LowBridge]

Well dang, I meant to order 215 60 15's & got stuff mixed up in my cart & ended up with 205 60 15 for the front of the Malibu.

I'm running 265 50 15 on 8' centered rim on the back ~ Good clearence, stock height

I've looked at the comparison repeatedly at https://tiresize.com/comparison/

Currently it has 215 65 15 on the front and on a blue moon turning into a drive it will touch the bottom edge of the fender ~

Question: Has any one run 205 60 15' s on the front and felt they were too small for the wheel well?

Thanks Gang!!

 

[nycutlass]

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205/60/15 on a 7in wide rim in the front, is the smallest i would run i have run that size in the past with no issues at all. as for " looking to small for the wheel well" that's up to personal preference of the person. i feel if the car sits low you can get away with it but if its stock height well i feel it don't look good.

 

[LowBridge]

So the 205 60's are gone ~ I'm getting the feeling the 7" rims are limiting me & another pair of 8" 0 offset up front would allow a 235 60 15's up front?

Other wise as it's a road car, what size would you throw up front on the 7" rims?

Thanks

 

[79 USA 1]

For what it's worth a 235/60 will work on a 7 inch wide wheel. Below is my 79 Monte Carlo with 15 x 7 Torque Thrust wheels. They look good but...



This is the same 235/60 on a 15 X 8.5 Torque Thrust to match the rear wheels.



The tire does have a bit of a stretched look to it compared to the 255/60 rears but when replacement time comes I plan on a set of 245/60's in all 4 corners.

 

[mr evil]

I just changed my 235/60/15 from an 8"/-19offset rim to a 7"/-6 offset rim in front...the only reason being that I am lowered and was getting some rub top outboard side of fenders on the occasional good dip in the road. Otherwise the 235/60/15 did work on the 8" rim, on a Cutlass.
If you are getting rub with the 215/65 on that 7" rim, you might need smaller diameter or different offset...235/60 is same diameter essentially but even wider...
Btw, I love the offset calculator...it really helped me to understand/visualize tire size/rim offset combos

 

[LowBridge]

This is where I get confused ~ I see consistanly where 235 60 15's work up front on near 0 offset rim 7 or 8 (?)

I think what Evil said makes sense but mine is stock height and that rare rub is on a rare occasion turning into a drive,

both tire calculators ive tried actually show the 235 60 15 to be actually .1 taller & .8" wider than the 215.65 15

I beleive.... this could be solved if I "massage" the inner front bottom of my wheel opening where comes to a point and occasionaly ok on a rare occation rubs?? As I remember it's only on one side.....

 

[mr evil]

Possibly the malibu has a slightly smaller wheel opening? I never experienced rub in/out or lock/lock turning. I was getting it up top on bumps because of the way the inner fender kind of slopes in and up...if that makes any sense lol
On the new rim I'm .5" inboard and gained clearance
I did try a 205/65 but found it way too small looking
Edit: Lowbridge try their offset calculator...it may be more helpful

 

[LowBridge]

I think if I knock 3/4 of an inch off each fender at that point closest to the 215 65 15 I'' be in good shape! (?)

Thanks to the reference to the offset tool i haden't noticed it before ~

 

[403Olds]

I ran 235/60/15 with 3.5" backspacing on 15X7 for years with stock springs. Didn't really rub, unless running too fast on back country roads. 4" backspacing works better, but the 235/60 fills the wheel well out nicely.

 

[565bbchevy]

So the 205 60's are gone ~ I'm getting the feeling the 7" rims are limiting me & another pair of 8" 0 offset up front would allow a 235 60 15's up front?

I ran 235/60's on the front of my Regal with an 8" rim at 4.5" of backspace with no issues before going to 17" rims.