I have the 215's as of now and understand that the 235's were an option. Is there any difference between the two concerning the performance aspects of the tire ?? Will be buying new tires soon and would like to know which would be better. The tires are for every day use with mostly city (non-aggressive) driving. Thanks for any replys !

The 235/60/15 will have a shorter sidewall and will offer better performance. Basically it's a lower profile and wider tire than the 215/65/15.

I've had LOTS of 235/60-15s on my car, back when it still had 15" wheels. Also several sets of 235/55s, from Pirelli, back when they still made those.

Overall they're about the same height as the 215/65s; some maybe a tad taller, it would depend on the mfr and model, but not by very much at all. I'd say that a new set of 215/65s on average is about the same diamter as a wonr set of 235/60s.

They fit fine. It's a far better size than that stupid 215/65 that they invented special just for these cars.

I'm new at this one. do the 235s fit the stock 5 Spoke 15" rims?

Yup.

In fact, my old set of those wheels is now on my 78 El Camino..... with 235/60-15s on them.

BretD The tire will not have a shorter sidewall or firmer one, the sidewall will be exactly the same. The "aspect ratio" between the 215/65R-15's and the 235/60R-15 are tad bit different, but the only reason the 235/60R-15 has a smaller aspect ratio than the 215's is because the tire sidewall width is bigger, thats the only reason why. If you went and measured both sidewalls they would be the same exact height and strength. There is no difference in the sidewalls.


-Tony

I have had both sizes on my 86TA. The 235's are a little wider but as said above depending on MFG, the overall size is the same. I do get a little tire rub from the 235's that I did not get with the 215's, but the speedometer remains the same.If you can get the tires for close to the same price .... Go with the 235's the Gas Mileage was the same as well. Just My .02

Thanks for the replys...........My problem is that i'm having a difficult time locating 235's in my area whereas the 215's are a dime a dozen. Iv'e seen the Tire Rack web site and they offer several different brands of the 235's for a good price but after you figure in the road hazard insurance plus shipping and handeling......plus the fact that it will cost me anywhere from 15 - 20 bucks a tire for mounting and balancing, I'm not getting a very good deal. Anyways....thanks for the replys !

You'll like the 235s a whole lot better. They're worth a couple of extra bucks.

I have 225/60-15 in the front and 235/60-15 in the rear. They are much better then the stock 215/65-15 size.

Hey ME Leigh,
doesn't having the two different tire sizes affect the accuracy of your speedo ?? And if so, by how much ?

No because the speedo works off the transmission which is connected to the rear end and tires.

225-60-15 would be best for your wheels.

225/60-15 is too small; it has a lower load rating than the factory size does. It's actually illegal to downgrade tires like that although it gets done all the time.

My front tires are rated at 1565 lbs and the rear are 1642 lbs. What were the stock 215/65-15 tires rated at?

I went and looked at the specs on a few; what I said is not correct in all cases. Their ratings are about the same, within 10 or 15 lbs one way or the other. Some brands & models the 225/60 has a higher load rating, some it's lower.

I recall some years back, when I still had 15" wheels on my car, whatever brands and models were available where I was to choose from at the time, the 225/60 had a lower load rating than the 215/65; and so, could not be used legally (can't de-rate the tires, for safety reasons). The "Tire Guide" book that the store was using had that size as N/A for these cars, probably for that reason. Although, if you could put whatever weenie size of 14" tires on them that some of them came with, even supposedly "performance" cars such as TAs with those ugly bowling-ball wheels or those "turbo" finned ones, it seems like 225/60-15 ought to pass muster.

My apologies for the over-generalization.

No problem, thanks.

I have aftermarket rims right now, American Racing, and the rear tires are 215-65-15 and the front is 215-35-15. I want to get 235-60-15 but now sure if they will fit on the rim, they should right?
Thanks,
Dan

Probably, ask the shop before though.

yes the 235 will fit. I also had american racing wheels for a bit that i got for 30 bucks (ar747 black ones) and i fit them to 235s. btw youve got 215/35/15s on the front??! thats gotta be one goofy looking firebird.

Yeah, that's how I bought it, I dont know wtf they where thinking

The 215/65/15 tire is approx. 8.50" wide with a side wall height of approx. 5.5". The 235/60/15 tire is approx. 9.25" wide with a side wall height of approx. 5.5". The overall diameter of both tires will be about 26". Go for the wider ones if you can. They'll fit fine and look better IMO.

So what size should I go for, I want the width, and they should all be the same width (front and back) right?
Thanks,
Dan

There are many choices, it's really what you want to do. And yes, you can have different widths on front and rear. My Z came factory with 235/60/R15 front and rear but I changed to 245/50/ZR16 on the front and 255/50/ZR16 on the rear. The new rears are real close to the same diameter as the old 15" so I didn't have to mess with the speedo gear. The new fronts are about as wide as I could go with out any clearance issues. I was amazed at how much the car's handling improved. Not only due to the wider & lower profile tire but to the 'Z' speed rating also.

I've been trying to do the same and put 235/60R15s all round. I'm a bit of a Radial T/A fan, and that size of tire just doesn't seem to be available here in BC. I've tried numerous outlets across the province for 225s or 235s and no dice.... Finally, Costco gave me a call yesterday saying that they could get some 225/60R15s in a week, so I asked themt o go ahead and order them... Now, it's Costco policy NOT to put tires ont he car that were not meant to be on it, so they'll just give me the tires,a nd that's all.. What a joke. Now I'll have 215s up front and 225s in back.

For future reference, what is a good tire for about the price of the T/A tha I might find readily available in 235/60R15 or 235/55R15?

my exact tires are 235/60r15 front and back mastercraft avenger gt. Kauffman tire sells em i know for a fact (since i work there) and they go for about $80-90 a piece. I like em but theyre more cost efficient than performance IMO. i got all 4 for under $180 so i didnt really care but in the future you might want to check out a toyo spectrum version

I used to have 215/65R15s all around. When my rears got bald, I replaced them with 245/60R15s and they look perfect. I can't wait till the treads wear out on the fronts. They'll be replaced with 235/60R15s.