I am looking at these tire sizes for all four wheels on my car:

235/60r15 - These a solid choice, any specific tire/brand recommendations?

225/70r15 - I have seen these on a few second gens, and really like the stance and look. Different platform, so wondering if they will fit a third generation without rubbing?

 

The 70s are too tall. 235/60s are ideal. A 245 fits the wheel but may rub a little on turns...

 

Stick with the 235/60/15.

 

I plan to go with the 235/60r15’s, and would like any feedback/experience you all have had with certain tires in that size. Selection seems a little slim no matter what.

I am curious though if the 225/70r15 size would technically fit a stock car with stock suspension on stock rims. I know it is too tall compared to the “correct” sizes 216/65r15 and 235/60r15. I just want to know if they will fit without rubbing, or by “too tall”, did you mean physically too tall to fit the car at all?

 

I'd think 225/70-15 would make the car look like it's riding on balloons, kind of like a COPO. Oops, bad example! But it would feel like it's on balloons, too, and would raise the chassis quite a bit, which means you'd have to lower it to make it look "right" again. Would they fit inside the wheel well? Probably, but it wouldn't leave much, in any, room to lower the car back to a more appropriate ride height.

235/60-15 is a factory-correct size and probably best, but there aren't many options still available in that size.

Or for a more "performance-oriented" size and feel, 225/60-15, with its 25.6" diameter, slightly stretched on a 7" rim to give it the same width as a 235/60, would probably fit, look and handle better than 235/60. Not many options available in that size, either, but for BIG MONEY, there's ONE specific tire that nobody probably remembers has been available for years, and you'd be the only person on TGO to have it: brand new Goodyear Gatorbacks.
225-60-VR15 Eagle Gatorback BSL (kelseytire.com)

Most realistically, though, 235/60-15 would be the way to go.

 

How many options do you need? Get a set of Cooper Cobras or BFG Radial T/As. It's not like you'll be driving the thing 170mph...

 

No, definitely not very fast, the car is just a weekend cruiser. The reason I asked about the few options available, is because I have had BF Goodrich tires on other vehicles, and they started to dry rot and crack prematurely, (less than two years old, less than 15k on them) leaving me with not much confidence in the brand. Same brand, different tire, different vehicle, so maybe the Radial T/A’s are better, I don’t know.

Face it, the car is not going to be driven more than a couple thousand miles a year max anyway, so I am not going to be wearing them out quickly. I am just looking for a good tire that will last the time lifespan more than anything.

I will be going with the 235/60r15. I asked about the 225/70r15 because I like to know what sizes fit if I am ever in a jam and have to make a temporary substitute with what is available on hand.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

245/60r15's may rub on the front. I have had that size on the rear, and with a small spacer ( 3/16-1/4"), it puts the tire just a hair out past the quarter panel. Gives it a nice stance, imo.

 

I finally got the new tires I was planning to get. The 235/60r15’s were more expensive and out of stock at the shop I went to. So I did end up giving the 225/70r15’s a try after careful measuring of the wheel well and such. They do fit a Z28 with stock suspension and ride height. May be a little big for some, but it fills in under the fenders nicely and gives it that classic muscle car look and stance. They even had Goodyear SR-A’s in that size, which don’t look that much different from the original gator backs.

Car handled very nicely and rode much more comfortable than it had with the cheap, undersized tires that were on it. I am content with these for now.

 

Keep in mind that your speedometer will now read slower than what your actual speed is, due to the tire diameter being almost an inch and-a-half bigger...

 

Well, that was one of the reasons I went with this size tire. Speedometer was reading off by about 10-12mph to begin with. So if I was going roughly 65mph, the Speedo was reading 76-77mph.

Original owner ordered car with limited slip differential and the more aggressive rear gears from the factory, but day car was built they were out of the rear gears. It got shipped to the dealer with the open diff and the correct gears were installed at the dealer once the parts came in at a later date. That is what I was told when I bought the car.

I assume the speedo gear did not get swapped, and the combination of that and smaller than factory size tires that were on the car contributed to the speedo being so far off by the time I got the car.

It now is only 3-4mph off. So if I am going 65mph, it reads 68-69mph. Still reads faster than actual speed even with slightly larger than factory size tires. The speedometer itself is not the 84 twin needle MPH/KPH one, but an 86 or 87 140mph Z28 one retro fitted into the older instrument cluster.

So, to be quite honest, there are a number of things that could be off or misaligned that I am more concerned of breaking if I mess with it than just dealing with it as it is. So, at least in my case with this car, the slightly larger tires are more of an improvement even in that sense too.

I do appreciate the heads up on that, as it is something a lot of people might overlook.

 

im running 235/60/16 on two vehicles. 1995 S500 and daily drive a 2003 Crown Vic right now. (Vell eventually the Firebird I’m getttig I two days will be in the rotation at some point.) . Both cars are using Michelin tire as for brand. The tires are quiet, last a long time and grip well in dry and wet. The crown Vic has 40,000 miles on the tires and they are about 60% worn. I’ll get another 20k out of them easily. I drive about 130 miles a day to work.
prior to that I had Nittos on the Vic. The grip wasn’t as good cause the compound was harder. And they were noisy as hell. The tread also separated. The Mercedes always had Michelin’s.

 

Which Nitto were you using that had tread separation? I am running Nitto Motivos on another car of mine. No issues yet, but only about 10k miles on them so far.