Wheel/Tire Fit Question

[kustomss]

I'm planning on getting some new wheels and tires for my Monte. 15x8 225/65 in the front and 15x10 255/65 in the rear. I'm just a little worried about clearance in the rear. Anybody else running 255's in the back?

 

[khan0165]

- a 15x8 wheel is pretty wide for a 225/65 tire, might be a nicer fit on a 15x7 wheel, and better turning clearance in the front

- a 255/65 tire doesn't exist, you're thinking of a 255/60 tire. They fit great in the rear. But you will have problems with a 15x10 wheel, it will stick out the sides of the car. And it's a bit too wide for a 255/60 tire.

- my 2cents, go with 215/65R15 on a 15x7 infront. And a 255/60R15 on a 15x8 in the rear. A chevy rally wheel is a good option with 4" backspacing.

 

[87regalkid]

khan0165 is right, 255 tires would be a better fit for the 15x8 rims. If you want 15x7 rims up front, then stick with 225 or 235 tires. As for the rear, I have 15x10 rims on the rear of my Regal with 295/50r15 tires. My 15x10 wheels have 3.25" backspacing so they fit away from the frame but do stick out of the sides a bit without flares. With these big rims, air shocks are recommended. You can get 15x8 rims with 255 or 275 tires for the rear to fit in the wheel well with somewhere around 3.25" backspacing on the rims. "Backspacing is everything"

 

[kustomss]

Thanks for the replies. My car came with 205s on 8" wheels up front, so I figured a 225 would fit better. I did mean 255/60, just typed it wrong. So what if I ran a 235 on a 10" wheel? I tried that combo last week and it seemed to fit. The wheels I'm looking at only come in 8" and 10"

 

[kustomss]

87regalkid, do you have any pics of your car? I had some the same size tire and wheel on it last week too but had a ton of tire sticking out. I have no idea what the backspacing was.

 

[kustomss]

Just realized I mis-measured the wheel with the 235/60 on it I tried. It's a 9" wheel.

 

[Randy_W]

Just realized I mis-measured the wheel with the 235/60 on it I tried. It's a 9" wheel.

Did you measure outside to outside or the actual tire bead rim? If the outside measure is 9", it's an 8" wheel.

 

[kustomss]

I measured 10" outside, so it's a 9"

 

[khan0165]

the 255/60 in the rear won't be a problem, they fit great. The problem will be the super wide 10" (or maybe 9"?) wheel.

I'm curious to see how your tires look on such wide wheels. Typically don't see any skinnier than 235/60 on a 8" wheel, and skinnier than 295/50 on a 10" wheel
I think your tires may actually bulge inwards

 

[kustomss]

They do a little, but they're snow tires so rather than float on snow and slush,they sink in and dig. I'll probably end up with the 215/65 on 7" front and 255/60 on 8" rear that you suggested.