<VV> Tire Size/Brand Recommendations using 80's era Z28/IROC 15x7 rims

[Bruce Schug]

On Sep 9, 2009, at 9:15 AM, Rob Landers wrote:

> Finally got around to the point of installing these wheels on my 65  
> corsa
> convertible (with the proper bulge nuts from Seth) and in my notes,  
> this is
> the only post that I could find.  I was quite surprised to see such  
> large
> tire recommendations as my memory had 225/50's on the rear and  
> 205/55's on
> the front.
>

Rob,

The above sizes is a general recommendation for 16" wheels, like the  
IROC 16" x 8" wheels. Other sizes can be used, but these work pretty  
well and aren't too much smaller in diameter than original 7.00-13's.

>
> "225/50/15 front and 245/50/15 rear" with 1 degree negative camber  
> on the
> rear
>

These sizes would be extreme sizes for a Corvair, in my opinion. You  
can run them if your wheels are "right", meaning, the offset is  
correct. You may have to cut the inner fender lip, I don't know.

I used to run 225/50-15's as autocross tires with 15" x 8" Corvette  
steel wheels on all four wheels. One thing that's good about this size  
is that it's a small enough in diameter that it fits better than a  
larger diameter (like a 225/50-16) 225/50 would.

As a general recommendation, I think a 205/60 is a good size tire for  
use on 15" wheels, unless you are interested in real wide tires. If  
so, simply study the size charts and take your pick.

Keep in mind the diameters of original Corvair tires. Vary from these  
as you please, but know what you're doing to ride height, gearing,  
speedometer and odometer readings. 7.00-13's were about 25.3" and  
6.50-13's about 24.5" in diameter. For instance, you could run some  
little 205's on the front and 225's on the rear. But if you want to  
drive it on the highway much, you may want a 3.27 rear to bring your  
gearing back down.

> So, the question is posed to those who are running these now. what  
> sizes
> have you found successful and is there a particular brand name that  
> you've
> had a good experience with?
>

As for tire brands, to each his own. I prefer tires made by American  
companies as opposed to tires made by companies with strange names,  
that were never heard of when the Corvair was built. I am not  
interested in "cheap" tires, only good ones. I prefer Goodyears, as  
that is probably what would have been used if GM ever put these large  
sizes on a Corvair, as they generally used Goodyears on the Z-28 and  
IROC-wheeled cars.

Another thing to keep in mind is the wear rating. There's no sense in  
getting a tire with a very high wear rating, if you only drive it a  
couple-thousand miles a year. The tires will "time-out" before wearing  
out.




Bruce

Bruce W. Schug
Treasurer & Membership Chairman
CORSA South Carolina
Greenville, SC
Stock Corvair Group
Performance Corvair Group
bwschug at charter.net

CORSA member since 1980

'67 Monza. "67AC140"