Thread: What size rear tire for 32 fendered ford?

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Hello everyone. I have decided to run 8" wheels on the back of my 32 Ford fendered car, and was wondering what tire size and brand you think would fit well on this wheel size. The 7" wheel and 235/75-15 Uniroyal tire was just a little small. I didn't think I should mount this size tire on an 8" rim. I have already narrowed the rearend by 1 5/8" to get more fender clearance for the 8" wheel. The back spacing or offset on both 7" and 8" wheels is the same. I found a Michelin 265/70-15 that has a cross section that is 1 3/4" wider and is almost an inch taller than the 235-15. Do you think this is too large of a tire for the fender? Thanks

I run a 235/75/15 on a 7 inch rim on both my 32's.

I have run larger tires but the ride suffered.

JUST my nickle ...

The roadster looks like it has a wider axle than the coupe. I think I need a larger tire with the 8" wheel.

The 7 inch rim will weigh less than a 8 inch rim. I had a set of 8's on the roadster ... at first and changed to 7's.

Actually ... the coupe has the more narrow rear axle. It measures 56 inches ... this way.



The roadster measures 58 inches ... measured the same way.

You will be surprised at the difference in the weight ... of different tire sizes and tire brands.
I even installed a aluminum 9 inch center section under my 32's ... to reduce unsprung weight. It helped by almost 20 pounds.



The driveshaft is aluminum too ... but painted BLACK.
I have been told quite a few times that my 32's ride better than any other 32 they have riden in ... so it is not just my imagination.
But then my 32's ride on coil springs, not coil overs or a transverse spring.

I can see where your '32 would ride very well with the large coil springs. I have been told by several '32 owners that the coilovers will not give a good ride. I can't afford an aluminum center section and I have the 8" wheels that will match the front wheels; so that is why I am asking for help on tire sizes. Thanks

Originally Posted by deuce4papa

I can see where your '32 would ride very well with the large coil springs. I have been told by several '32 owners that the coilovers will not give a good ride. I can't afford an aluminum center section and I have the 8" wheels that will match the front wheels; so that is why I am asking for help on tire sizes. Thanks

Surely there in Ardmore you can find a nice little tire shop who would be willing to mount a couple of different tires sizes to bolt on the car to see if you like the size/look. Sorta like trying on a pair of shoes before you buy them. Of course if you try them on and then go down the street to buy them a Sam's, that would probably piss them off! LOL!

Originally Posted by deuce4papa

I can see where your '32 would ride very well with the large coil springs. I have been told by several '32 owners that the coilovers will not give a good ride. I can't afford an aluminum center section and I have the 8" wheels that will match the front wheels; so that is why I am asking for help on tire sizes. Thanks

I ran a set of 265's on a 8 inch rim ... for a few months. LOOKED OK and the ride was not terrible.

I drive my 32 roadster a lot. On May the 30th 2009, I drove it 550 miles in one day. Left my home @ 7AM ... met a bunch of other 32 Ford owners 25 miles on the other side of Charlotte NC and then we drove thru rural NC up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Drove on over to Blowing Rock NC ( tourist town ) ... ate a late lunch and then 3 other Deuce owners and I headed for Anderson SC ( almost in Georgia ). After the cruise - in in Anderson ... the wife and I headed home ... 125 miles later and after midnight we were home

If you like the way it would look with larger tires...then that is certainly what you should do. Just make sure they won't hit the fender edges, if they stick out a little father. Then you would be forced to raise the car to allow travel, and that may not be the look you hoped for.

Here's a couple of my previous cars. The roadster has 245/70 on 15x7, the coupe 235/70 on 15x8 (if my memory is working today). The rear in the coupe was narrower than the roadster. The tires sit close to the same position relative to the fender (the roadster should have been 1/8" more rear offset), the difference is in offset. IMHO the brand of tire and the nominal wheel dimensions have less meaning (Randy's comments about weight not withstanding) than offset. For some reason folks seem to have more problems with the concept of offset than they should. It helps to have the car mocked up the way it will end up, put a straight edge on the rear drum/disc face and measure how much space you have (same for the back clearance as well), then get a tire store or online source or other tires you may have around the shop or on friends cars (many tire companies have charts) to help with cross section measurements with various rim widths and figure out what will fit.

This little homemade tool ... is very helpful in figuring out wheel backspacing.



Like on Bob's cars ... looks can fool you.

I have found , that for me anyway ... with a 56 inch wide rear end under a 32 Ford ... you can have 4 and 1/2 inches of front wheel space and on a 58 inch rear inch rear you can use a 3 and 1/2 inch front space.

NOTE .... Coupes and roadsters can run larger rear wheels than sedans because their wheelwell is more open.





The sedan wheelwells are more shallow ( especially at the top ... ) because of the back seat.

Randy-Thanks for the trial fit suggestion! That may be what I have to do, if I can find a tire store with these tire sizes in stock.
Deuce-Thanks for the pics. The 265/70 with its larger sidewall should have ridden better, unless it had a shoulder stiffener in the sidewall at the bead. Some of the higher speed rated tires have this. The rearend I have is 55" from drum face to drum face. The 8" wheel has a 3 3/4" back space. This makes a 63 1/2" measurement from outside face of wheels. As Uncle Bob mentioned the 265/70 cross section brings this to 65", and looking at his roadster, this is just about what the pic shows. The 245/70 is quite a bit shorter though.
HotRodPaint-Thanks for the heads up. I will check that.
Uncle Bob-Thanks for the pics. They have been a great help. I always enjoy reading your post. And I really like the roadster. I don't know how you could part with it!
Deuce-I have studied your rear suspension layout and think this is one of the better triangulated setups out there. Your upper links are arranged to give the car some anti-squat and have a narrow housing mount location that frees up the suspension, and the large springs should give a much better ride than the 3 1/2" coilover spring. The wide sway bar is nice to. It should give much better control than the short 27" that some have. Well thought out! Thanks everyone. All suggestions are appreciated

The road trip you took Deuce is so cool. That is exactly what I would like to do with mine when I finish. I hope i can find a bunch of deuce owner here in Dallas Tx. to go on trips like that also. I bet that was a blast. Sorry I didnt mean to high jack your thread deuce4papa THAT IS SO COOL

Here's a 235 / 75 on a 7"

My roadster pickup has 255/70 on 8" wheels. I believe the rear tires should fill up the fender to look good. It also depends on how the car sits, you don't want too much space between the top of the tire and the lip of the fender.

Mick

Thanks for the replies. I've been looking for a 255/70 in a Michelin, but I haven't found a tread pattern in that size that I like. I may go back with the 235/75 for now. Thanks again