15" Wheel And Tire Information

[geordie]

Hello Guys,
I know that there is a wealth of information out there on wheels and tires for classic Mustangs. Too much information.....some of it conflicting. I've tried some of the major wheel and tire retailers and have been disappointed with the feedback...or lack of it.
So, I am looking for new wheels and tires for my 1965 Mustang coupe, 5 lug, V8, specifically 15" American Racing Torq Thust D, gray center, VN-105 and BFG Radial TA's......classic set up. My suspension appears to be stock. I have modest disc brakes at the front, drums at the back.
After trawling through a wealth of information, I've boiled it down to the following set up.

Front: 215/60R15
Rear: 225/60R15 or 235/60R15

What do people think of this. I'm looking for out of the box fit, no rubbing, no need to roll fender beads etc.

Thanks in advance for your feedback / comments.

 

[geordie]

After many measurements I have determined that using 15" Torq Thrust D wheels, with -6mm offset:

225/60R15 front tires will not fit, the inner tire wall contacts the upper control arms.
215/60R15 front tires fit, but have only 3/16 - 1/4 inch clearance between the inner wall and the upper control arms
205/60R15 front tires fit, and have 1/2 inch clearance between the inner wall and the upper control arms

To me 3/16 - 1/4 clearance between the inner tire wall and the upper control arm is too little, I feel more comfortable with .5 inches......

Comments welcome.

 

[tos]

You'll want to make sure you can clear your disc brake caliper too. Depending on what caliper setup you have, some 15s won't clear. Yeah 3/16 clearance is a little close. You may make contact with the tire as you compress your suspension and the lip on your upper CA will move outwards as it pivots

 

[geordie]

Thanks for the feedback TOS. I must admit that this process has been far more difficult than I could have imagined, there's a lot to think about. The so called 'experts' at some of the major tire retailers (shippers) have not been much help. You get the impression that they are more interested in selling wheels and tires rather than making sure that the will fit.

I confess that I'm close to the point of just going to Discount Tire or somewhere similar and having them measure up etc, but my car is my 'baby' and I'm concerned about 'rough handling'.

 

[RacerJames]

The Discount Tire here in Kingman are great guys who take a personal interest in their customers. I have a factory stock Crown Vic which has to run street tires. I was looking for the stickiest tires I could get for the lowest price. While I was in having the rotate and balance done on my DD, they spent 45 minutes with me on their computer lookup system finding exactly what I needed to know, All the while I could watch through the window as their tire busters gently rotated and balanced the tires on my driver. The tires we found weren't available through them, and they sent me to their competitor down the street. Who does that nowadays?

 

[geordie]

Thanks for the feedback RacerJames......I think that I'm going to pay them a visit. I've got a pretty good idea what I want, I just need a little expert advice to fine tune my selections....I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Realmongo]

I leaning towards 15" 205s for my '65 coupe.