Tires

[Cobain03]

its about that time that i put the first new set of tires on the stang since i've owned it. but was wondering if i should put some "performance" tires or some normal tires...

this is not my daily driver so im leaning towards some peformance.

so the question is... What do you have?Are they worth it? I'd like to stay around 300 or 350 for a set of tires (4) so any suggestions are welcome.

 

[Cobain03]

also, what size should i run? right now, i have 195/70/14s. i dont want the speedo to be off more then it has to so go from that. i also would pefer white letters too. haha im picky arent i? i just think that the white letters + a white car looks great!

 

[coolblue65]

Your not going to find a set of real performance tires for that price range and in 14" size.

When I had the 14" wheels still I ran BFG Radial T/A's, they are a good quality tire, pretty inexpensive and have the white lettering.

 

[iskwezm]

Put a decent tire there, a 195 is only 7.5 inches wide. At least a 225/60/14,dont be afraid to go bigger.

 

[Cobain03]

if i go any wider, it will stick out past the fender. that = more dirt plus looks worse

 

[iskwezm]

if a 225 sticks out of your fender,you have the wrong wheels,my 275's dont stick out.It depends on your wheels offset,im guessing those are 14X6 wheels.

 

[70vert]

What do you use the car for?

I'm with iskwezm in that I want to get as much performance out of this car as I can get, biased more towards a "trans-am" kind of ride than a drag racer. I don't drive it that often but when I do I want it to look and go fast. And that will happen in 5 years, I assure you. ;-)

You've got the racing stripes, so it would be good to have some meat on those bones to back it up. Of course, if it's a daily driver and it's more for looks and fuel economy is important, just get something like the T/A in that size with white lettering.

Joe

 

[Cobain03]

my wheels was taken off of a 69 mach 1. i will try to find specs and post it but if you know then you could post

 

[iskwezm]

I honestly dont think you would have a problem going to a wider tire.A 225 tire is only 1.3" wider,divide that by both side,thats .65",you cant spare another .65" on each side from where your at now????

 

[krash kendall]

I think 225 is far too wide for a stock front end to handle. It will pull at every rut in the road and with your power steering you won't notice as it wears out your steering components untill everything is sloppy. I just switched down to 195s on the front last week shortly after replacing my strut rod bushings. Steering is no longer squirrely and the bump steer vanished. You would probably be happy with a 205 at the widest with your stock set up. I'm sure others will chime in with suspension uprades to do as well as the tires to take care of the problems, but you only asked about tires.

 

[65 fastback]

For speedometer accuracy a 195/70/14 is 24.8" overall diameter and a 225/60/14 ia 24.7" overall diameter, pretty much of a wash. You shouldn't notice any real difference in the speedo reading.

I say put some 225/60/14's on the back and some 205 or 215/60/14's up front.

Tryout The Tire Racks website - there is a ton of information on it, including tire ratings.

Tim

 

[iskwezm]

I think 225 is far too wide for a stock front end to handle.

Thats a new one

 

[krash kendall]

No further comment then.

 

[Focker67]

I think 225 is far too wide for a stock front end to handle.

If that was the case my 245s would've exploded my front end long ago.

Get some new wheels...then some real tires. I would move up to 15s or 16s. The decrease in stopping distances is worth it, not to mention the handling characteristics. Some 15x7s with some 225/60/15s would be a noticeable difference.

 

[krash kendall]

You have a '67. Big difference from a stock '65.

 

[70vert]

krash has a point

I explain this to people every day about computer upgrades that the whole thing is a system, if you upgrade one part the rest may not be able to keep up.

Same with cars AFAIK. Krash is probably right about the steering, but if you want to increase the performance but are on a budget, you can just upgrade as you go along and wait for the one part to wear the other one down, then upgrade it. If you've got a sloppy steering box and you get a lot of bump steer and related issues from bigger tires, it could be a safety issue though.

It's a system, but you can overload it bit by bit and eventually you'll have a brand new, upgraded car! ;-)

 

[Cobain03]

most of my stuff on the front end has not been replaced so most of it is...stock. upgrading the wheels to a 15 or 16 inch is out of the question. way to expensive for my budget (unless my dad chips in,hint hint)

 

[cobains_dad]

thanks krash, i been telling cobain the same thing you are saying the front end just wont handle it , maybe after it has been upgraded but not now

 

[Focker67]

It's not that the front end won't handle it, but you can't overstuff narrow wheels with wide tires. It makes for a very sloppy feel that probably isn't the safest thing you can do. I have owned my car since I was 16(now 28). It wasn't until two or three years ago, I could afford to install discs and big wheels and tires but the difference is unbelievable.

 

[krash kendall]

Thanks to all for the back-up! Just to drive the point home a little more, consider sitting in the drive way with 225s on a '65 and turn the wheels lock to lock 20 times. Now a couple days later when the feeling comes back in your arms do the same thing with 195s. It will be much easier because it requires less input force.

When you have to apply more input than the system is designed for, it is going to take a beating after time. On the '65 '66 there isn't room for very much backspace because of the outer tie rods, so wider tires have to go out rather than in. This gives the loads applied by road much more leaverage against the components (especially strut rod bushings).

Again, I'm not against wide tires. The stock suspension just isn't designed for it up front.