Tire size thoughts (17" wheel on dropped '68)

[One Big Rush]

I feel like my tires just aren't big enough, especially on the rear. The truck has been dropped as you can tell. 3"/4" with coils. The tires are 215/60/17 and 235/60/17. I'd really like to go bigger all the way around, perhaps a 245 and 275 set up (both 60's). Unfortunately, there are very few if any options out there that offer both sizes from same make/model. I could mis-match tires and keep my current 235s by moving them to the front. Then buy another brand tire for the rear. I just feel like the rear needs more tire to fill the wheel well better. Thoughts or experiences are welcome and appreciated.

[big mike71]

My truck is not lowered yet, but it will be soon. My tires 275-50-17 on the back and 255-50-17 on the front. They're Falken tires I got from discount tire. com for about $500.00 for the set.

[Codez67Chevy]

Originally Posted by One Big Rush

I feel like my tires just aren't big enough, especially on the rear. The truck has been dropped as you can tell. 3"/4" with coils. The tires are 215/60/17 and 235/60/17. I'd really like to go bigger all the way around, perhaps a 245 and 275 set up (both 60's). Unfortunately, there are very few if any options out there that offer both sizes from same make/model. I could mis-match tires and keep my current 235s by moving them to the front. Then buy another brand tire for the rear. I just feel like the rear needs more tire to fill the wheel well better. Thoughts or experiences are welcome and appreciated.

Your truck is amazing! Love the color and wheels, it looks great.
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[Howitzer]

if you're going to get rid of those Vintec's let me know!! Exactly the size i'm looking for.

[One Big Rush]

Thanks guys. I love the wheels, so I'll be keeping them. I am really just considering a tire size increase. I've found a 275/60/17 that looks relatively close to what the current tires are. That should allow me to put my current 235's up front, then put the 275 on the rear - filling the wheel openings and keeping the rake similar.

[68Stepbed]

This may not help much as the rear tire size on mine is no longer available, but here it is anyway.

255/50/17 front 275/55/17 rear 4.5/5.75 drop





BTW, that's a good looking truck.

[msgdsrf]

I went with 235/60-17 and 275/55-17 (about 28"-29"). Filled in wheel wells nice. May bump up to 60's in rear for more stagger in future.

[68Stepbed]

If you're willing to spend the dough for them, Pirelli makes a matching set of 255/55/17-275/55/17.

[Mike C]

Funny, right before finding this post was searching Tire Rack trying to decide what to run myself on my '69. I think I've decided that 275 55 17 rear and 235 55 16 front. Hankook Ventus looks pretty decent and less than $600 including shipping.

[GCncsuHD]

Keep in mind, with the sizes you mentioned, you will have a larger sidewall, and therefore a taller tire in the rear, by about 1.5". 245/60R17 is 28.5" and 275/60R17 is 30". You could drop down to a 275/55R17 in the rear and it would be 29" tall, not as much of a height difference, and will still be about an inch taller than what you have now.

Personally I like to do it that way, I like keeping the same sidewall height front and rear, no matter the width difference.

[knomadd]

Changing the back tire from a 235/60/17 to a 275/60/17 will do a couple of things. First, the tire is wider (1.5") which is exactly what you're after. Second, the tire will be taller (30" instead of 28.1") which will make your speedometer read faster than you're actually going.

In case you don't know, the 60 part of the tire size is used to identify sidewall height and is measured as a percentage of tire width. In this case, 60% of 275mm (or 165mm = 6.5") where your old tire was 60% of 235mm (or 141mm = 5.55") If you want to keep your speedometer close to the current reading, a 50 series sidewall or a 55 series would get you closer since they are closer to the height of your existing 235mm tire.

Check out this tire size comparer for some more information and to compare other sizes you may want to use. This also allows you to compare different wheel sizes if you change your mind about wheels.

I hope this helps.

[Zoomin]

What width are your wheels?

[54belair]

I dont know man, I like your truck the way it is! I think bigger tires will take away from its overall look. Now, your Whole truck says "look at me"
Bigger tires are going to demand more attention than the rest of the truck--Big tires, especially on a lowered truck make it look like a farm wagon-----just my opinion.