Drag racing, wheel and tire fitment 15" or 16"

[frontierguy25]

Hey guys I want to buy some Weld draglites or some prostars, I just wanted to know what Wheel and size offset you have and what tires fit without doing mods like rolling the fenders.

I was thinking of doing the 275/50/15 MT ET Radials with some Prostars that are 15x8 with a 5.5" back spacing. This tire is 26" tall, can I fit a taller tire?

I'd love to do some 15x10 with some 295/60/15 but it is 28" tall and I don't know if it will fit.

Also I have a pair of stock 5 spoke rims and thought about just puttin on 255/50/16 MT ET Radials.

I just need some suggestions on what works? I'll only have about 450-500rwhp so I just want a good tire that will get some good 60 foots like the 1.7 area.

Thanks

 

[tissimo]

go bias ply

you can probably fit a 28" tire, but wont be able to lower the rear much..

 

[frontierguy25]

I'm on Stock suspension, I don't really plan on lowering the car because I like to drag race! Do you know that 28's will fit? The 275/40/17 are 25.7"and the 275/60/15 are28" tall, they are much taller but I'd love to run them.

 

[dbsupra90]

27's will fit. 28's are going to rub when the car squats.

 

[bowsercake]

You can get some 15x10s with 26/10/15 tires which should be the same contact patch as a 295.

Also, anyone running 15" wheels in the front without a spacer?

 

[2jzmk3]

15x10 is a little to wide, it hits the shock and the traction bars unless you put a big spacer. 15x8.5 will be a better fit. 28's is to big. im trying out a few different combos right now.

 

[frontierguy25]

I have been told to not put a 26/10.5/15 tire on a 15x10 rim, they need to be on a 15x8 by MT and M&H. The 295/60/15 are alot wider than the 26/10/15 tire. I'm going to just get the 275/50/15 on some 15x8 prostars I think. I'd love to have a wider tire but I don't think that at my power level I need any more tire than the 275/50/15.

 

[Bigdough666]

I just bought a set of 15x10 Prostars and a set of 275/50/15 ET Streets to put on em. How bad do they rub? My car is not lowered at all. And will a 15" rim clear the front calipers? I have a set of 15" Alumastars for the front runners.

 

[starscream5000]

Do 15" wheels clear the brakes? :dunno:

 

[frontierguy25]

15" Wheel won't rub on the MK3 unless you have big upgraded brakes. You can run 15's all around. M&H told me that if you run a 275/50/15 you should put them on a 8" rim vs a 10" because they will have more contact patch, with the 10" the tire will sink in, in the middle and you don't get a solid contact. That's just what they told me.

 

[TurboStreetCar]

i dont think 15's will fit anything wider then like 3 inches because of the front brakes, however a 15 inch wheel will fit in the rear over the rear brakes.

 

[dbsupra90]

again, if you had the right backspace you could run 15's in the front. problem is, they dont. you have to run spacers.

also, you guys have to be careful comparing radial size to slick size. radial tires are rated as section width. i.e. sidewall to sidewall. thats why you find some 255's are wider than other 255's for example. the tire with the more square sidewall will actually have wider tread.

for a slick, the width is the actual contact patch, not section width.

edit: i slightly retract my previous statement haha. if i remember correctly, there is a spare tire wheel that will fit without a spacer in the front that is a 15". i cant recall what it is off hand tho. it wasnt really an option for me tho. they were on the heavy side for the size and really ugly looking.

 

[tissimo]

ET streets are section with.. ET Drags are contact patch iirc

 

[Bigdough666]

ET streets are section with.. ET Drags are contact patch iirc

You are correct.

I have a set of 15x3.5 Alumastars that will be my front runners. The tire goin on them will be a 165 IIRC. Thats roughy 6.5" wide. So if they wont clear the calipers, where do I get the spacers I would need?

 

[bowsercake]

you can get spacers from summitracing

spacers for 5x4.5 (114mm)

 

[bmoss85]

im glad someone asked about the 15" wheels ive been wondering about it myself.