215/60 15 Front Tires?

I ran 215/60/15 for more than a decade. Seems to me the standard shoe in the 80s and 90s before larger wheels came along. You're good

JT
Thanks. That helps. Now if those are in stock.

Bob

You might consider installing the 215 cross-section tires on 15x7 wheels instead of 15x8 wheels.

George
Maybe we did not discuss that previously. I assumed 7 and 8s or 8 and 10s, not 7 and 10s.

I assume per tire width recommendations the 215 width is better for the 7" wheel than the 8" wheel if I'm going that route. Seem to remember also reading something about a more vertical sidewall will perform better than a rolled out sidewall or something to that effect although we are talking minimal changes. Guess I shouldn't be referring to a performance issue since I'm considering 15s with BFG TAs.

Just wonder about the appearance of 7" and 10" combination. Am I correct in thinking the 7" wheels still provide the same front track except for the tire offset on the wheel? I have actually thought the taller 215 tire would compliment the 295/50 rear better than the 225 which appears a bit small. What are the risks of 215 on 8" wheels if any?

Dang I just put many hours in refinishing my 8" wheels and my 7"s are early series with round edges.

Thanks for the suggestion and any other comments.

Bob

The rim width range of the BF Goodrich 215/60R15 TA radial is 6.0" through 7.5" as per the Tire Rack web site.

I don't think aesthetics will be an issue. The front track width will increase which is a good thing, the tires will sit a little closer to the edge of the fender, better matching the way in which the rear tires sit in relation to the rear fenders. The 25.2" diameter of those tires may better compliment the looks of the the 26.6" diameter of the 295/50R15 rear tires in the way they fill the fender arch, there's only one way to find out.

We'll need to see a picture of course .

The tire interference in more times than not is not on the fender lips but on the drain tubes from the cowl.

The 7" wheels will move the tire out further away and provide more clearance there than the 8" wheels will.

I don't have any interference anywhere on my '73, spacers removed, 225-50-15 P7's, 8" Campi's with no spacers.

I don't see where you should have any issue with the 215-60-15 tire on either wheel.

George is right though. The 7" moves it further away from the drain tubes.

Thanks to everyone. I'll take before and after pictures and followup when completed.

Bob

Bob,

I am running 215/60-15 and 295/50-15 front and rear BFG tires on 8" and 10" rims, respectively. My car is a 74L with no body or clearance modifications; there is no issue with tire clearance. The diameters are very close to stock with a good stance. It is my understanding, from posts on this forum, that running 8" rims on the front improves low speed steering effort. Below is a picture of my car with the tires listed above.

i am running a 225/60 on an 8 '' wheel/ 1.5 '' lower than stock no clearance problems . lip has been rolled on fender. 4.5 degrees of caster.

Bob, if you go to a performance tire dealer with a tape measure, you'll find quite a variation in tread widths for any generic tire size. Some vary 1/2" or more. Is this for performance or for appearance? When trying to max-out front tire width, you'll also find that about the widest tire for an 8" Campy is a 245-50, and again it will depend on the tire mgr. I'm running 245-50 x 15" BFG Euro T/as on 8" Campys that fit with some easily correctable rubbing issues but are no longer currently made. There are semi-race tires made for competition in 245-40 x 15" which may have more- or maybe less- rubbing issues on some cars. Some rub issues come from using more-than-stock front caster which pulls the entire suspension back towards the firewall, transferring rub-issues to the rear of the fender area, and some from lowering the front end. It all comes down to the exact tire you want or can find/afford and why you want them. All 'issues' are correctable with an hour's work with a big ball-peen hammer- and all are invisible with the tire in place.

As for using 8" vs 7" Campys, the 8" wheels will often steer easier than the 7"s due to less scrub from the wider Campy, regardless of tire width. And as someone mentioned, an 8" rim supports a wider tire better than a 7" for a given tire size. Complicated issue....

Thanks to all for the help. Somehow I missed the last three posts back in October. Wow, how time flies! Still haven't purchased tires due to availability.

BigBockFan I like the appearance of your car and thanks for the picture. Probably go that way if I don't sell the 10"s. If I do it will be 7's and 8's with TA's I guess unless I can purchase a set of 16's and 17's. Personally don't like 17's on front on a narrow body car.

I do have fenders rolled and haven't checked the castor so assume it is stock setup but need to check with alignment when I get tires. I feel I'm limited to street vs semi-race tires in this area so it will be BFG TA's I guess since I don't need anything V rated for my driving anyway.

Yes, a big ball-peen hammer I guess solves these as well as many other issues.

Thanks everyone again for the help and advice.


Bob

The Avon CR6ZZ is made in a 215/60/R15 and a 295/50/R15. This would seem to be a good option for those wanting to run the same high performance tire on 8" and 10" campies. I have heard of people running the 295s on the back with a mismatched set of 225s on the front with good results.

Panther
Thanks for the additional option information. I was not aware that anyone other than Coker (BFG TAs) produces a matching set in those sizes much less in a high performance tire.

Unfortunately they are $2100 for a 215/295 set on the Avon site not including shipping. $1200 for a pair of the rear 295's. I'm going to look at them closer but not sure they are in my budget considering my needs.

Others may be interested though so it's good to share the info.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob,

I remember pricing them out with similar results from one of the British distributors (Longstone?). I think there was a value added tax which hiked the price up. There are a few US distributors (Roger Krause Racing, Sascosports). Krause gave me a price of 470 per 295 and 353 per 215 which comes out to 1646 a set. Better but still not cheap and presumably shipping would be cheaper ordering from a US distributor. Of course these are a pretty aggressive tire so I'm not sure how many miles you would get out of them. I haven't seen a treadwear rating but I read somewhere that it is 80.

Best,
Evan

Evan,
That sounds better. I first only looked at only two sites and apparently both were British.

I will not be driving it a lot of miles so tread life is not that much of an issue but I am concerned about the durability of street/race tires, especially in the winter months here as you are in a similar climate. Maybe these Avons do not have that issue. For performance tires the price doesn't seem way out of reason considering the limited tire options for 15" rims.

I will continue to investigate the Avons.

Thanks again,
Bob

Finally got tires on my car and since George had mentioned I'm posting pics to show comparison between the original front 225/50-15 on 8" and the new 215/60-15 on 7" wheels. Never thought 1.2" more dia. would appear so much different.

First impression is that it handles better with the wider track although I have only driven a few miles and need to check and adjust the ride height and get full alignment and I suppose fresher rubber helps as well. George help, I've seen but can't find factory spec's on the forum for bumper height but know the important thing is the front/rear attitude or car level position. Seems I need to lower it a bit now.

With the 215's on 7" wheels the tire bulge is comparable to that on the rear tires now where the 225/50 on 8's hardly had any bulge.

Apparently my camera setting is incorrect as I seem to be getting "fish eye" effect on my pics.

225/50-15 on 8"

215/60-15 on 7" wheels

Original with 225/50 front. Unfortunately rears in this pic are spare 275/60-15 8" due to an earlier rear tire blister.

New tire setup.

last pic.

Hi Bob

I don't have a bumper height spec for you. Unless your Pantera is equipped with aftermarket shocks & springs the ride height is not adjustable anyway. The goal is to have a level chassis. That means putting a 24" contractor's level on the door sills, and having the bubble between the lines (level). Or the measurement between the frame rail below the door and the ground is the same when measured behind the front tires or ahead of the rear tires. If the car is equipped with factory springs, the chassis shall be fairly level if the difference in tire diameter between front & rear is 1.7" to 2.3" (nominal 2").

The 215/60r15 front tires are roughly 25.2 diameter. You didn't mention the size of the new rear tires. I'd guess they are 295/50r15 (26.6 diameter). If that's true, that's 1.4" difference in diameter, i.e. about 0.2" outside the "ideal" range. That's not much. What I notice from the side view picture in your previous post is the tires appear to be fairly centered within the wheel arches, and the gap between the tires and fender arches appears to be fairly much the same front to rear. Although the chassis was designed around a bit more difference, the chassis should be fairly close to level from the looks of things. What does the bubble level look like? I think it looks pretty good, pretty much like the Pantera did in 1971, except the tires are significantly wider. But I've only got the one picture to go by.

In the picture before that one, the difference in tire diameters was 4.1", twice what it should be (275/60r15 = 28" diameter. 225/50r15 = 23.9" diameter). If the current set-up doesn't look right, is it possible you had become accustomed to the more pronounced "nose down attitude"?

Hi George

The 275/60's on 8" spare wheels in the previous picture were on the car temporarily in place of the 10" with 295/50 because one of the 295's blistered earlier but the original tires were 225/50 front and 295/50 rear as shown in the picture attached.

I had seen a post or article referring to original bumper height is the reason I asked but true level and measuring rocker panel height is best I agree.

The previous owner had the adjustable shocks down to lower the car with a lot of negative camber in the rear which I adjusted to current height. Rough measurements on my uneven floor indicate the bottom of rear rocker panel is approx. 5/8" higher than at front of rocker. I'll find a level surface and adjust to suit.

Thanks,

Bob

Bob,

Off topic I know but what kind of mirrors do you have? I like their look. Thanks.

Hi Robbie

They were on the car when I purchased it and apparently were installed in it's early years. I saw or read somewhere they were installed in lieu of the square chrome by some dealers/owners. My first Pantera had the chrome ones.

Apparently they were used on some Mercury Cougars and I'm not sure but seems I saw them on Summit Racing site like the square chrome ones.

Robbie

Scott Drake mirrors at Summit Racing.

http://www.summitracing.com/se...keyword=mirrors&ar=1