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  #11  
Old 02-03-2018, 02:49 PM
x33rs x33rs is offline
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Originally Posted by Survivor 69/Z28 View Post
Hello,

I am looking to replace some tires on my 69 Camaro SS/RS with some bias ply. Right now I am running 215/65/15 in front and 255/60/16 in rear on SS wheels, 15/7 in front and 15/8 in rear. I am wanting the same size tires but in bias ply. I was looking at F60's in front and G60's in rear as a possible option. Need to be around 26" tall in front and 27" tall in rear or close to this.
Anyone running these tires sizes in bias ply on a 69 Camaro? Wondering if F60's will rub in the front? Wish Firestone would make the Wide Oval in a G60 radial. They just don't have a lot of options yet. So looking at the Goodyear's....

Thanks in advance.
RS's are a little tricky on the front. Too tall or too wide and they'll rub the plastic headlight actuator covers.

On our 69 RS Z, at stock ride heights, we run a 215/65-15 on the front (26" tall), and a 255/60-15 on the rear (27" tall).

I'm not totally happy with the front though. That tire is still an inch shorter than the rear tire. Factory was an E70-15 which is almost 27" tall. The 215/65's are pretty darn close to everything up front.

The equivalent radial size for the stock E70 is a 215/70-15. I'm either going to buy a pair of those or possibly try a 225/70-15 which is a 1/2" taller and wider.

If I were going for the bias plys, on mine the E70's are factory and they fit the front, but I tend to think I could squeeze an F70 in there....maybe.

I'm pretty certain the F60's in the front aren't going to fit, they'll rub the actuator covers.

Last edited by x33rs; 02-03-2018 at 03:46 PM.
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  #12  
Old 02-03-2018, 03:46 PM
x33rs x33rs is offline
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Hopefully this will help some. I didn't explain that very well above.

E/70-15 is 8.4" section width - 26.73" dia - 6.63" tread width

F/70-15 is 8.4" section width - 27.09" dia - 6.34" tread width

F/60-15 is 9.23" section width - 26.27" dia - 8.25" tread width

Radial 215/70-15 is 8.7" section - 26.9" dia - 6.5" tread width

Radial 225/70-15 is 9" section - 27.4" dia - 6.9" tread width

Radial 215/65-15 is 8.7" section - 26" dia - 7.1" tread width

Running that 215/65-15 radial on my RS, clears the actuator cover, but it will sometimes lightly rub the very top inside of the fender when backing up and turning sharp over a bump. All those stipulations have to be met to have any rub. Otherwise works fine, it's just shorter than I want.

Given that info, on mine anyway, I could go straight to the 215/70-15 and it would work. Tread width is less so it would clear the top of the front fender, and also give me more clearance for the actuator cover, even though the tire is slightly taller, less width makes up for the room in that area.

The 215/70-15 is also the closest radial match to the factory E/70-15 Z/28 tire, and we know that fits. Going to the 225/70-15 radial may also work but it's probably pushing the limit of height and width for clearance on a stock RS Z ride height. These things sit lower than other 69's, and the RS stuff takes up room in front of the tire.

Looking at that F/60-15 bias, I'm pretty certain there is no way that would work, not without raising the front of the car with more spring...maybe. At stock height though, it's too wide for sure.
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  #13  
Old 02-06-2018, 08:23 PM
Survivor 69/Z28 Survivor 69/Z28 is offline
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Looks like I would need to go with an E70's up front and a G60 in rear in order to come close to what I have. I really like the stance of this car and don't want to mess with that. So the L series is out because its a full inch taller than what I have. But they do look nice. Or I just go back with the awful BFG's. Wanting to pick tires before getting Torq Thrust wheels, that is really what this is all about.
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  #14  
Old 02-06-2018, 08:26 PM
Survivor 69/Z28 Survivor 69/Z28 is offline
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Is this someone's car on the site? I have had this picture a LONG time and is the whole reason why I want Torq Thrt wheels with Bias ply's.
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Old 02-06-2018, 08:32 PM
x33rs x33rs is offline
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Yeah looks like Mike Kaisers place to me. He swaps those wheels on a lot of his cars for pics, see them at the Pavs once in a while.

I'm actually in the same boat as you. I'm going to do the same torque thrust wheel setup on our Z since it's more of a day 2 car for me anyway.

Based off the sizes I posted above, I'm torn between E's or F's on the front, worried about the actuator covers. My originals already had holes worn in them from larger tires previously. I want to avoid that happening again.

Last edited by x33rs; 02-06-2018 at 08:42 PM.
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  #16  
Old 02-07-2018, 01:45 PM
Survivor 69/Z28 Survivor 69/Z28 is offline
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Wish the F60's wouldn't rub in front. There are some 69's on line with Torq Thrust wheels mounted to F60's in front and G60's in the rear and they look perfect IMO. But not so perfect if they rub.

Question: Will F60's rub only when backing out in certain situations or will they rub during normal every day type situations? I mean if they rub only rub once in a blue moon while turning the wheel a certain way while maybe backing out of a sloped driveway then that may not be enough to worry about. Since these are basically 235/60's these are only a fraction wider than a 225/60 which doesn't rub. My buddy has an RS with 225/60's and they have never rubbed.
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  #17  
Old 02-07-2018, 02:34 PM
x33rs x33rs is offline
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Well, I'm hesitant to recommend, then not working, lol.

I know for sure on mine a 235/60-15 won't work. I'm currently running 215/65-15's and those 235's are .7 of an inch wider tread, .8 wider on section width and a tenth taller. Right now the 215's on mine as I mentioned will on occasion rub the top inside of the fender. That's all. Doesn't touch the actuator covers. I can go with a taller tire on the front, but definitely nothing wider. Matter of fact, I'd rather have something a little narrower and taller at the same time hence why I'm going with a 70 series next time around.

Where my 215/65's are rubbing currently I can deal with. It's just barely touching the top inside inner fender when I back up over a bump or weird incline, I can hear a slight tire rub at full lock. I can back off the wheel 1/4 turn and it goes away. It's nothing drastic at all and it's a rare occasion it even happens. But it would certainly be worse and more frequent if I put a wider tire up front.

Now a 225/60 would probably work on the front of mine. It's only .3 wider on section width and .4 wider on tread width than a 215/65, but where I would gain clearance with that 225/60 is the fact that it's shorter by almost a half inch. So the gain in width, but shorter tire would likely clear the top inner fender.
My issue is then the whole car sits even lower in the front, LOL. What I would like to have is more ground clearance (without changing the original springs) so I can maneuver over some of the huge speed bumps around town. Right now with 215/65's it's borderline low and I have to be careful. It sits much like your picture, probably mine is slightly lower up front. I'd like a 70 series up front to gain an inch in height, and give me another 1/2" ground clearance. Doesn't sound like much but sure helps. The factory tires on a Z are almost 27" tall anyway, so I'm wanting to stick in that range. Right now the 215/65's are barely 26".

Last edited by x33rs; 02-07-2018 at 02:37 PM.
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  #18  
Old 02-08-2018, 05:41 PM
Survivor 69/Z28 Survivor 69/Z28 is offline
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Surprised more folks on this site have not done what we are trying to do. The easy way is to go with new BFG's like I have and be done with it.
215/65's in front and 255/60's in rear put the stance where I like per my picture. My rear must sag a little so the extra inch on the 255's makes my car about as level as one could get. I had the factory Poly style GY's on the Z I had and liked them a lot. But was wanting a little attitude with this Hugger car.
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Old 02-08-2018, 06:43 PM
x33rs x33rs is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Survivor 69/Z28 View Post
Surprised more folks on this site have not done what we are trying to do. The easy way is to go with new BFG's like I have and be done with it.
215/65's in front and 255/60's in rear put the stance where I like per my picture. My rear must sag a little so the extra inch on the 255's makes my car about as level as one could get. I had the factory Poly style GY's on the Z I had and liked them a lot. But was wanting a little attitude with this Hugger car.

Yep, yours looks good with the 215's and 255's. That's exactly what I have at the moment. The 255's do a nice job filling up the rear wheel wells while still maintaining the near stock tire height of the original Z tires. I may go to a 215/70 on the front that is 27" tall to match the rear but I'll have to wear out the 215's first.

Wife drives it daily so I'll likely end up sticking with the BFG's for the time being, but I am switching to the Torque Thrust.

One thing we haven't talked about is back spacing. Looking at the Torque Thrusts, the original design is what I want to run in a stock 15x7 size for the Z. Back spacing has me a little concerned. They come in 3.75" back space as seen here. https://www.wheelsforless.com/VN3095761

Pretty sure my original rallys also measure 3.75" but I'll have to check again. At $100 a wheel with centers, lug nuts, and stems, it's a bargain, and looks fantastic. Has to be more than just us that have done this.
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  #20  
Old 02-08-2018, 07:26 PM
Survivor 69/Z28 Survivor 69/Z28 is offline
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I almost went with 215/70/15's in front but stuck with the 65's. My headers never scrape and there is no rubbing so I went back with the 65's in the summer. My rears about toast.
One thing that myself and some other guys I run around with are finding out is that the newer BFG letters turn from white to brown very rapidly. My older 255's on the rear stay snow white and my fronts turn brown after 2 trips out in the car. They are very hard to clean. My buddy has some new rear BFG's and they are doing the same thing. Very strange....

I posted a message on here a while back about which Torq Thrust to buy and someone gave me a part number. Will try and dig up my old post and put it on here.

Found it https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1269975
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Last edited by Survivor 69/Z28; 02-08-2018 at 07:50 PM.
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