Narrowed down wheel/tire combos - Looking for opinions/advice and pics

[70StepsideC10]

I've been lurking the forum gathering all sorts of useful info since I bought my truck 3 years ago but this is my first thread. I'm currently in the dreaded process of deciding on a wheel and tire combo for my 1970 C10 stepside. The truck is at stock height right now but I bought an ECE 3.5"/5" lowering kit that I will be installing when the truck comes out of winter storage. I also got an adjustable panhard bar to centre the rear. I believe I have the wider rear end, I haven't actually taken the wheels off to measure yet but I talked to the guys at ECE and they said based on some measurements I took of the housing it seems to be the wider rear end. I currently have 15" Cragar SS wheels on the truck with 255/70/15 tires. I don't mind the Cragars, but I think I am going to have issues with them rubbing on the lower control arm when I lower the truck based on the backspace of the wheels (I think it is 4.25" but have to measure to verify) and what I have read on this site. I would rather not grind the LCA to alleviate the rubbing. I have looked at a lot of pictures on here of different wheel/tire combos, unfortunately some of the ones I like most they don't make those matching tire sizes anymore. So I have narrowed down the selections, and would like some opinions/advice as well as some photos of these same combos if you have them. I am most likely going with TTII's as I like the look and price point. With these options, I'm not sure how a 275 would look on an 8" rim. According to the tire specs it would work, but there might be a lot of bulge. And a 235 on the front might look skinnier than I would like, so again photos would be helpful if you are running them.

Option 1
17x8 front, 4" backspace, 255/50/17
17x9.5 rear, 5.5" backspace, 275/50/17
**might be too much backspace on the rear based on what I have read, I will have to measure my truck to confirm**

Option 2
17x8 front, 4" backspace, 255/50/17
17x8 rear, 4" backspace, 275/50/17

Option 3
17x8 front, 4" backspace, 235/60/17
17x9.5 rear, 5.5" backspace, 275/55/17
**might be too much backspace on the rear based on what I have read, I will have to measure my truck to confirm**

Option 4
17x8 front, 4" backspace, 235/60/17
17x8 rear, 4" backspace, 275/55/17

Option 5
18x8 front, 4.5" backspace, 235/55/18
18x9 rear, 5" backspace, 255/55/18

Option 6
18x8 front, 4.5" backspace, 255/50/18
18x8 rear, 4.5" backspace, 255/55/18
**I could go with 18x9 on the rear here too, but figured it would look funny having less tire bulge on the rear if I'm going with a 255 on the front as well**


Thanks in advance, any info is much appreciated!

[Mike C]

I have the 2.5” ECE conversion spindles and 2” drop springs on the front of my 69 short step. In the rear I did an axle flip since I have a leaf spring truck. That netted just over 7” drop. I have the wider axle swapped in from a 71 leaf spring truck for 5 lug conversion.

Front tire is 235 55 17 on a 17x8 4.5” backspace wheel (zero offset) while the rear is 275 55 17 on a 17x9 5” backspace wheel. A 5.5” backspace wheel would be too much on my truck. Tire would rub the inner bedside.

No body I could find makes a matching tire combo in this size anymore. I’m running Hankook Ventus and will have to decide on a different tire to match f/r in the future. I am really happy with this combo and would do exactly the same thing if I had a do-over.

[Orange Crate]

Here is a calculator to look at different wheel/tire combos side by side.

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.j...0Civic%20wheel

[geezer#99]

That’s quite a list of options.
What method are you gonna use to measure for figment?

[70StepsideC10]

Originally Posted by Mike C

I have the 2.5” ECE conversion spindles and 2” drop springs on the front of my 69 short step. In the rear I did an axle flip since I have a leaf spring truck. That netted just over 7” drop. I have the wider axle swapped in from a 71 leaf spring truck for 5 lug conversion.

Front tire is 235 55 17 on a 17x8 4.5” backspace wheel (zero offset) while the rear is 275 55 17 on a 17x9 5” backspace wheel. A 5.5” backspace wheel would be too much on my truck. Tire would rub the inner bedside.

No body I could find makes a matching tire combo in this size anymore. I’m running Hankook Ventus and will have to decide on a different tire to match f/r in the future. I am really happy with this combo and would do exactly the same thing if I had a do-over.

Thanks for the info Mike. You are running similar sizes to what I am leaning towards. I'm leaning towards the 235/60/17 and 275/55/17 all on 17x8 wheels. I would really like to do the 9.5" wide wheels on the rear but as you said I don't think they will fit with the 5.5" backspace as they would rub on the inside. Do you happen to have any pics of your front wheels, maybe a straight on shot from the front? I'm wondering if the 235 might be skinnier than I would like.

Originally Posted by Orange Crate

Here is a calculator to look at different wheel/tire combos side by side.

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.j...0Civic%20wheel

Thanks for the link, I will check it out.

Originally Posted by geezer#99

That’s quite a list of options.
What method are you gonna use to measure for figment?

Yeah way too many options. I thought wheels and tires would be an easy decision but it's far from it. I'll end up just pulling the wheels off and using a straight edge and tape measure to figure out fitment.

[geezer#99]

You can do that or buy a wheel rite to be very accurate.
Back is easier to measure. Front not so much what with the sweep of the tire.
Likely the best 100 bucks you’ve spent compared to the big cash outlay.

https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...1201/overview/

[Mike C]

Here’s a thread with a pic of my truck from the rear 3/4 shot. Can’t figure out pic postin from my ipad.

https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo....php?p=8343618

And post 6 has mine from front 3/4
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=727283

And here is a thread I found with me asking similar questions before I bought my wheels and tires. This may help.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=554509

[70StepsideC10]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

You can do that or buy a wheel rite to be very accurate.
Back is easier to measure. Front not so much what with the sweep of the tire.
Likely the best 100 bucks you’ve spent compared to the big cash outlay.

https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...1201/overview/

That's a great tool, I may look into getting one to help figure out fitment.

Originally Posted by Mike C

Here’s a thread with a pic of my truck from the rear 3/4 shot. Can’t figure out pic postin from my ipad.

https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo....php?p=8343618

And post 6 has mine from front 3/4
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=727283

And here is a thread I found with me asking similar questions before I bought my wheels and tires. This may help.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=554509

Thanks for the links, I checked out the pictures. After seeing your truck I may go with the 235/60 on the front. I personally would prefer a 255 on the front, but options are very limited.