Project

I got some BRAND NEW 295/50's (I had to take 3 of them! Not 2 but 3!) for $150, I got them put on today and they rub when I go over tiny pot holes and have maybe an inch of clearance all the way around. Airshocks are out, not going to do that, but would airbags work?

Anyone have a clue on how I could jack the rear end up and stop this rub for good?

Thank you

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

beat the wheelwells in with a big hammer to make clearance, or you probably have the wrong backspacing on the rims causing them to stick out.

Project

It is 5.5inch backspacing! They just barely poke out, the tires are HUGE

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Yeah do a bit of massaging for 295s...

Project

It is the fender hitting it, not the wheel well, do you think air bags would fix it?

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Roll the fender lip. I don't know how to do it, but I've heard its fairly easy.

CrazyHawaiian

What size wheels are we talking here? And where is it rubbing? (front/rear, inside of the tires, bottoming out, etc). Also, what springs/dampeners are you running?

/\/3\/\/l8l3

Not sure on springs, but they are rubbing on the OUTSIDE of the fender well. I should get a picture but I don't have a camera

The lip is really sharp and has gouged and cut the tires pretty bad in one spot.

Any help is appricatied

spartyon

putting bags on the car will greatly reduce your "great deal" as they are quite pricey to do.

Project

/\/3\/\/l8l3- mine are similar in rubbing but the lip is not gouging them, it is really just leaving a line around where it rubs.

I have stock rear suspension, should I take out the rear fender mess? the plastic lining?

I understand airbags also help with launch during drag racing correct?

I do have a camera and will try and post pictures of what I'm talking about tonight.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

295/50 are not "that large" you're still running a 26" tall tire. I'm running 28x10.50s and all i did was roll the lip and beat in the front of the wheelwell. Rolling the lip is easy by sticking a baseball bat between the tire and the fender and pushing down on the bat to push the lip up.

CrazyHawaiian

Ok, well either the wheels/tires are mismatched (too wide or too tall), or the suspension is dead causing excessive travel which causes the tires to bottom out. The less ammount of info you give us, the less ammount we'll be able to help.

Project

There is nothing else I can say? The tires are just too wide and rub on the fender? Maximum backspacing is used, and tires are very tall and only have 1" maybe of clearance all the way around.

CrazyHawaiian

Let us know what size wheels you're talking about (15's, 16's, 17's, 18's, etc). Let us know if it rubs in the front or the rear or both. Let us know what part of the fender its rubbing on (inside, middle, or the lip). Let us know the widths of the wheels the tires are mounted on (we got the backspacing).

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

he's got 295/50R15s. he has 15x10 rims i'm sure with that 5.5BS. it should fit fine no problems unless his suspension is not right. Roll the fender lip and it should be fine or get new shocks and springs to stop it from bottoming out (which shouldn't be an issue). I've put taller and wider tires on my car with no problems, you just have to massage the body more. And 295/50 is still not a 28" tire like i run so he should have lots of room.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Your rear suspension must be shot. Bad sagging rear springs, Way past worn rear shocks, etc etc.

a 295/50-15 aint tall at all it's 26.61" tall x 11.61" wide

I run 255/60-15's on the rear of my 88 (27.05" x 10.04")

I have stock 1988 v-6 rear springs, stock rear shocks, and I dont rub at all, very little clearance from top of tire to wheel well lip (1/4-1/2") pushing down on car. 7/8"-1" with car sitting

Project

Ill get out my ruler tonight and measure but remember i'm new to this whole hotrod scene

83 Crossfire TA

iTrader: (2)

You can’t always go with the sidewall labels when comparing tires, for example, a set of 275 50 15 BFG DR’s is wider then a set of 275 60 15 BFG DR’s or even a set of 295 50 15 BFG R TA’s. For example, these are a set of the 275 50 15 DR’s on a set of too narrow rims and they still look very wide:


FWIW, these tires on some t-type rims (0 offset) hit the bump stops on the inside when you jacked the car but did not hit on the outside, probably mostly because they are fairly short (26” tall)

That being said, 255 60 15’s all run very similar to each other, and they fit perfectly on the back of 3rd gens, even when lowered as much as 2.5” they still fit well. The trick is to stay with the stock 3rd gen offset wheel. They’re hard to see here, but again, they couldn’t look and fit any better, and this car is LOW, as in pretty close to 2.5” lower then stock, maybe more (it sits over an inch lower then the formula in the other pictures with these tires on it which are over 27” tall with the formula having some trimmed eibach pro springs and 25.5” tall tires when compared):


275 60 15 DR’s (which are bigger then 275 60 15 radial TA’s…) fit well on the same offset rim, but I’ve found that they contact slightly on the front of the inside fender on the driver’s side and in the middle of the back on the passenger side (where the spare tire lump is in the wheel well) . It’s not that bad and you wouldn’t damage the tire if you did nothing, but it’s easy enough to clearance what doesn’t fit with a hammer. Again, on a lowered car, again, stock offset wheels (and somewhat small for the tires):

Unfortunately, I think that these tires are really too big to look right on the car, unless it was setup to look like a drag car.

I’ve had some 295 50 16 radial TAs (about 1” taller then the tires you’re talking about) on that same formula on some 16x10” rims with the same, stock like .5” offset, and they appeared to clear everything OK… they weren’t mine and it was just a test fit so I didn’t drive them for more then an hour or so, but…

As far as the actual 295 50 15s on a 15x10” rim, I haven’t actually had them on a car, but I have thought that that combination should be about perfect on a 3rd gen. it should fit right with a .5” offset (5.5” backspacing) and based on my experience with the other tires (as well as dozens of other combinations) I’d expect that they would easily clear everything, with the closest spot being the inside at the bump stop at full droop (I think that this would still clear, but be very close). I’m very surprised that you’re having problems with the outside edge, I suspect that your wheels really don’t have a 5.5” backspacing (measure the total width of the rim, subtract 10 and divide the number that you get by 2. Then measure just the backspacing from the flange to the same place that you measured before, and subtract the number you got after subtracting and dividing), that your rear axle isn’t centered in the car and it’s only hitting on one side, or that there has been some sort of body/frame damage that is throwing all this off.

More info/measurements would be very helpful, and I’m sure that tons of us (me included) would love to see pictures.

Project

I went and bought a $30 digital camera (small one that has no zoom like a webcam) and I need to install the driver on my home pc! I PROMISE I will get the pics tonight. (don't know how quaility will be) Thank you for helping me your info is very helpful and helped clear up a few things for me

Project

Doh camera takes such crappy pics without sunlight that I can't even tell a shadow form the tire

83 Crossfire TA

iTrader: (2)

Halogen task lighting is your friend. If they're dark but sharp email them to me and I'll see if I can clean them up/get a useful image out of them and post them here.

83 Crossfire TA

iTrader: (2)

so, anything happen with this?

Avenger007

so 83 Crossfire TA do you recommend 295 50 15s on any 15X10 rim? how about 295 60s? Ive heard some going with Nitto 315s on 10" or even 9.5" rims but that seems like a bit much. Id like a tall tire but im not really into banging my fender for fitting, so I guess a 5.5 backspacing on any rim will solve this?

Im trying to relate this to the original post as more of a reference to others looking for tall tires or bigger rims. Im personally stuck between a 17X9.5 TT2 rim or a 15X10 rim (different manufacturer). 285-295 size seems to be the widest available that will fit correctly so im not sure if it would be best to fit 295s on the 17X9.5 or just get 17X11s. I think 11s are too wide, as are 305+ tires.

83 Crossfire TA

iTrader: (2)

Well, I thought I did until he said that they didn’t fit on his car. I’m still wondering if he’s the victim of the idiot wheel companies that can’t seem to make wheels actually sized like they are described… it doesn’t seem to be too much to ask that if you ask for a wheel with a specific backspacing/offset that is what you actually get in your hands, but it seems that real world that never happens. The wheels are consistant from wheel to wheel, but the listed offsets/backspacings are just a vague hint at what you’ll actually get.



Apples to oranges. As the profile/sidewall changes the rim width that it will work on changes. Also, tire height has a significant impact on how tall a tire will fit. With the words Nitto and 315 in the same sentence I’m guessing that you’re talking about 315 40 17’s, which are right around 25.7” tall but fairly wide. Those really _want_ 17x11” wheels but 17x10 or really 17x10.5” wheels fit most f-bodies the best (and are hard to get).



again, what size, what size wheel? On a 15x8 with 5.5” backspacing (actual, not ‘this is what they call them’) the wheel will be too far in and you’ll have problems fitting anything bigger, with a 15x10 that same backspacing should allow you to fit about the biggest tires that you’ll slip in there, height and width, without serious modifications. But again, the point here is that we have someone that supposedly has that size and it’s not fitting at all.



Well, you saw the pics that I posted. I personally feel that there isn’t that much of a reason for 99% of people to run bigger then a 275/285 on the back of their cars. If I dropped my bias against 17’s I’d probably run a 275 or 285 40 17 on a roughly 17x9.5 with a ½” offset on the back with either a 245 or 255 45 17 on an 8 or so inch rim with no offset in the front. Those are the biggest sizes that _really_ look right on them, don’t cause other hassles, clear everything…. I’ve already posted what I like in a 15” rim (like I said, my favorite combination is the rather innocuous, some might say boring, 235 60 15 f and 255 60 15 r)…

If you’re road racing/autox you might want to consider something as big as 315 on all 4’s, and if you’re seriously drag racing then there’s all sorts of other considerations, but when it comes down to it the differences will be marginal with the size changes and it’s pointless to go to the effort unless this is an all out racing effort or if you just _need_ to have that size on the car, and even if it’s an all out effort, you’ll find that bigger is not always better.