<VV> Tires for Greenbrier & 2 new Rampsides

[Joel McGregor]

I've gone through several tire and wheel sizes on my Greenbrier in an
attempt to fix the wandering rear end.  The first thing to check is the toe
in.  I set mine as close to 0 as I can.  You have to back up and pull
forward between each adjustment to get the suspension to settle.  The
biggest help I've found is to use aluminum wheels.  They are much more rigid
than the factory steel wheels.  I have 16x8 Z-28 wheels with 245/50/16s on
mine and the stiffer wheels and short sidewalls make a HUGE difference.  I
used 15x7 Z-28 wheels on my '64 Greenbrier with 215/65/15s and they also
cured the problem.  I tried some steel 15x7 wheels with the same size tires
and they didn't help as much.  The 15x7 Z-28 wheels won't fit on the front
and the 16x8s require some tie rod mods in the front.  The lip on the frame
around the spring pocket has to be ground off in a few places on the rear
for the 16x8s but they fit perfect with about 1/16" clearance between the
tire and the fender lip but they never touch since any suspension movement
pulls the tire away from the fender.
2 new rampys in the family today.  '61 & '62

Joel in Keller, TX (DFW area)
'66 Corsa w/air
'63 Greenbrier 4spd
'63 Greenbrier 8dr 4spd "Bob"
'63 900 Convertible 4spd
'67 Monza 4spd Posi
'62 Monza Wagon PG
5 Rampsides
12 others
 

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org [mailto:virtualvairs-admin@corvair.org]
On Behalf Of Bruce Schug
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 8:55 AM
To: Mikeamauro@aol.com
Cc: virtualvairs@corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> Tires for Greenbrier

On Oct 12, 2004, at 10:43 PM, Mikeamauro@aol.com wrote:

> I'm presently running standard passenger car 205-14s.  Won't be that 
> many
> more miles until it's time to re-tire (the van, that is). I'm 
> seriously thinking
> about going to a multi-ply truck or SUV tire....the reason being to 
> gain a
> little more highway-speed stability (due to stiffer side walls). 
> Finding a
> high-performance water shedding tire, also meeting the criteria first 
> stated, would
> be a plus: my wife drives the van on a daily basis, and I'd like to 
> give her
> every safety advantage possible. As the vehicle is equipped with Addco
> anti-sway bars, the clearance room at the front--inside tire wall 
> area--is a little
> tight.... Wouldn't want to go much wider. Has anyone out there heard 
> of or used
> a true truck tire (8+ ply), or SUV tire on FC vehicle? Safety and 
> performance
> counts more than $$$.
> Thanks,
> Mike Mauro
>

I don't know anything about truck or SUV tires. I buy all my tires from 
the Tire Rack. If it were me, I'd call them and discuss it with them. 
There may be a good car tire that would work good too. A high-speed 
rated all-season tire might be what you're looking for. Be ready to 
tell them the exact tire size you're looking for. I doubt that you're 
really using an old 205-14. Is it a 205/70-14? This would be a small 
diameter tire for an FC; about an inch small. It's getting harder and 
harder to find good tires for smaller wheels. The larger your wheel, 
the better chance you have of getting a good tire.

Bruce

Bruce W. Schug
CORSA South Carolina
Greenville, SC
bwschug@charter.net

CORSA member since 1981

'67 Monza. "67AC140"
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