Staggered tire sizes - 215/225

[shlby66]

Biggie,

Is the backspacing of the stock Cragar wheels the same as the American Torq Thrust D's? That's the big question of the day.

Note: It's quite unlikely that you would have spacers on there as it would only worsen the lip-rubbing problem.

  The back spacing on my Shelby Cragars is 4 1/8".  Don't know what back spacing is on the Torq Thrusts.  I currently use PSE 15 x 8's.

[427heaven]

I run 235 BFG'S EXCENTIA GTs on my 66 with shelby cragar wheels 2 inch drop no rolling fender wells, on the front I run 215s same wheels and tires 3inch drop slightly rolled inner fender wells all fits very nice also 620 springs on front.

[Helmantel]

  The back spacing on my Shelby Cragars is 4 1/8".  Don't know what back spacing is on the Torq Thrusts.  I currently use PSE 15 x 8's.

What really matters is the wheel offset (whether the center of the wheel is inward of outward of the hub flange). 15x7 TTD's for example have a 3.75" BS and since (almost all) wheels are ~1" wider than their "advertised" bead width, that means that the center of the wheel is 1/4" offset outwards relative to the hub.

The 15x6 Cragar wheels are 7" wide and with 4.125" BS, they are offset 5/8" inwards, relative to the hub. The tire center is therefore 1/4 + 5/8 = 7/8" more inwards.

In case of 15x8 PSE wheels with 4 3/8" BS, the wheel center is 1/8" offset outwards, relative to the hub (slightly more inward than the TTD's and consequently slightly more tire room)

[ITHERTZ]

I went ahead and installed 215/60/15 up front and 225/60/15 in the rear.  Plenty of room for both.  I could have gone bigger yet in the rear.  I could have also likely had no trouble with the 225s in the front with my particular setup/car.  I'm glad I went with the 215s, though so I don't have to worry about entering my driveway (uphill 90 degree turn) all the time.  As for tires, I chose the Cooper CS4 - made in the USA and wonderful reviews of this tire.  I like the looks of a blackwall BFG better (smoother sidewall), but this tire is better in every way and I don't have to black out the inside of the tires with paint like I would have needed to do on the BFG.