Tire size

[Flip]

In a few weeks we should have my '63 Mercury Comet 2 Dr. Hardtop Coupe ready to test drive. I have heard that those cars used 13" wheels, but I believe the rims we have are 14 inch. Any suggestions on what tire size would be appropriate without affect turning radius, etc.? I have looked at new rims that are 14-7.....and the folks at Discount Tire suggested a tire size of 225 70 R 14. My cousin who has a 65 Mustang says his vehicle cannot accept that size and that he uses 205 70 R 14. Any thoughts on what would be best for this '63 Comet? Thanks!

[Groover]

Might want to check this thread:

http://www.cometcentral.com/forum/viewt ... =tire+size

I run 205 75 r14 on my 64. They are snug but fit. If I had it to do again, I might go 195 75 or 205 70

[popscomet]

WAY BACK WHEN,I had a 63 fairlane that had 5 hole 13in whls on it with a 221 cu in v8,,,pop

[redhotcomet]

I run 235/60R14 on the rear, but I have an explorer 8.8 shortened to 56.5" and have the axle bumpstops cut off. I run 205/60R14 on the front. Wheel backspacing is very important for proper tire fitment on these cars. Not exactly sure what backspacing my rims are, but I'd guess 4.25 to 4.5".

[Lip Ripper]

215/70r14's fit nicely. I would think the 225 would be too tall.

Stacey

[Comechero65]

I run 205/70R14's all the way around on my 65 ranchero. I could have gone to 215/70R14's but it would have been pushing it, the fronts would have probably rubbed the frame on a tight turn and been very close to rubbing the fender. Rear would have probably been ok but changing a tire might get a little difficult. As it is I have to lift the rear by the frame and allow the axle to extend the shocks to the max and the wheel and tire just come in or out. Anything wider would be a chore. Would have to disconnect the shock to get anymore room to fit the tire through.
Ron

[Flip]

thanks everyone....i really appreciate all your experience and knowledge!

[popscomet]

215/70r14's fit nicely. I would think the 225 would be too tall.

Stacey

225/70/14's are on the rear of POP's 64......215/70/14's are on the front......been on there for ever...

[Jims65cyclone]

Flip...your car was originally equipped with 6.50x13 tires. That equates to a modern tire of 175/80/13. If you plug that into a tire calculator and compare to a 225/70/14, you're talking almost 2" more in width and almost 2-1/2" in diameter.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.do

A couple of months ago I went through the process of figuring out how much tire/wheel I could fit on my 65 with unmodified suspension (except new stock springs on the rear). Below is the process I used, and it work out well.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a set of wheels and tires for my 65 Cyclone. Like Rocket said, I did a lot of measuring, and I'm pretty confident the combo I've settled on will work. First of all, I used this website to compare tire diameters and widths relative to the 205/75/14's I have all around now:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?ti ... -215-65r15
Second, I measured the rim width and BS on the 69 Mach 1 wheels I have now: 7"Wx4"BS.
Then I got under the car with a straight-edge and a ruler and started measuring. I put the straight-edge against the sidewall of the tire and measured to the nearest obstructions. On the rear, the clearance from the sidewall to the frame bumper was 1". From the sidewall to the fender lip was 1.75". On the front, the sidewall to UCA was 0.5".
The wheels I want to use are Torq-Thrust II's, 15x7x3.75"BS. The width is the same as my current wheels, but the 3.75" BS means they will sit 0.25" farther outboard. That's good for the rear frame bumper and UCA clearance, bad for the fender lip clearance.
The tires I want to use are 215/65/15's on the front and 235/60/15's on the back. Per the above website, these tires are 0.11" and 0.01" smaller in diameter, respectively, than my current tires, so diameter clearance is not an issue.
Then I used the tire widths, per the website, compared to my current tires (which were actually 0.18" wider than the spec of 8.07" since they were mounted on 7" rims instead of 5.5" rims, which is standard for 205's). Using those measurements and the 0.25" less BS of the new vs. the old wheels, I come up with the following clearances:
Rear sidewall to frame bumper: 0.75" Rear sidewall to fender lip: 1.0"
Front sidewall to UCA: 0.65"
Based on that, I'm concluding I can fit 235/60/15's on the rear and 215/65/15's on the front with 15x7x3.75BS TT's all around. If anyone sees a fatal flaw in my logic (Rocket?) please let me know before I jump in with both feet.
Jim

Here are some other websites I used in the process above:

http://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre- ... calculator

https://www.rsracing.com/TechWheel.aspx#fitting

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... p?techid=7

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?ti ... -215-65r15

Hope this helps. Good luck!
Jim

[bmmaurer]

I changed over from my original 13 inch 5 lug tires. Using a tire size calculator, I found that the 205/60R15, yes 15's were within a 1/4 inch of the original 13 tire circumference. So no speedometer difference.

Costco can get you BF Goodrich 205/60R15's and they do fit just fine.

Here's the look on a 15x7 "styled wheel" from Scott Drake.

If you still have 4 lug, I doubt you can get a 15 rim in 4 lug, I don't know, That's for 6 cly peeps...

[-Rudy-]

I changed over from my original 13 inch 5 lug tires. Using a tire size calculator, I found that the 205/60R15, yes 15's were within a 1/4 inch of the original 13 tire circumference. So no speedometer difference.

Costco can get you BF Goodrich 205/60R15's and they do fit just fine.

Here's the look on a 15x7 "styled wheel" from Scott Drake.

If you still have 4 lug, I doubt you can get a 15 rim in 4 lug, I don't know, That's for 6 cly peeps...

I've got 14s in the front and 15s in the back, 4 lug, I wouldn't know who made them though.

They're steelies with the babymoon covers, I'd try google for starters. They're out there somewhere, unless you want to wait until I get around to my swaps and take mine.

[mark]

I changed over from my original 13 inch 5 lug tires. Using a tire size calculator, I found that the 205/60R15, yes 15's were within a 1/4 inch of the original 13 tire circumference. So no speedometer difference.

Costco can get you BF Goodrich 205/60R15's and they do fit just fine.

Here's the look on a 15x7 "styled wheel" from Scott Drake.

If you still have 4 lug, I doubt you can get a 15 rim in 4 lug, I don't know, That's for 6 cly peeps...

Looks very nice. What's the backspacing on those 15x7s ?

[bmmaurer]

Don't know, Call Scott Drake, they can tell you

Comet Bruce