dan84transam

Hi im shopping for new tires for my car. I have a 1984 Trans am with stock 15x7 Aluminum slotted wheels.

Im wondering what size of tires you guys are running on your 3rd gens ??

Any suggestions on tires for my car ? im thinking of getting a set of 4 235/60/15's.

How wide can i go on 15x7 rims and be ok on my car ? 255 ?

Thanks,
Dan

Nazzz28

Before I got my 16" wheels I was running 235/60-15's on all four
corners and there was no rubbing. They looked pretty good and
were fairly wide.

mrr23

on my 91 i used to have, i put 235/60-15 on the front and 255/60-15 on the rear.

Buck268

i got 15" wheels, and running 235's. I'd put 235's in back, but i wouldnt go more than 215-225 up front - the way the tire sticks out form the rim *cant* help handling...

mrr23

also, when looking at tires. the 'h' rated tires will have more tread width that the same 's' rated tire. for instance, the 225/60-15 'h' rated tire i have on my car has more tread width than a 235/60-15 's' rated tire. about 1/2" more. and a 'h' rated tire will handle better.

bradkeith

mrr23, i believe you are mistaken about the ratings of tires S and H. I used to sell tires. Those are the speed designations, and most popular tires makers's tires are the same width in any of the designations s, h, or Z.

mrr23

i still sell tires. in any performance tire, the higher the speed rating, the wider the tread width to section width ratio. tha't why i stated tread width. yes the 235 is wider in section width (sidewall to sidewall). but, the h rated version will have a wider TREAD width in comparison.

over at www.tirerack.com i pulled up two tires to show the difference.

225/60-15---------------section width-----tread width-----diameter

bf goodrich radial t/a ----- 9" -------------- 7.2" ------------- 25.6

bridgestone eager -------- 9" --------------- 7.9" ------------- 25.6

the bfgoodrich is 's' rated. the bridgestone is 'h' rated. by design they put more tread to section ratio in high performance tires. the bfgoodrich has an 80% ratio and the bridgestone is 87%. also, the 'h' rated tires have nylon endcaps. it is just like shrink wrap. the faster the tires spin, the less tread you have touching the ground. because of centrifigul force, the center of the tire stretches outward. nylon when it gets hot, shrinks. so, you have more tread on the ground at higher speeds. less distortion of the tire.

dan84transam

Thanks for the info guys.

Im currently thinking of getting Dunlop GT Qualifiers. In sizes 215/60/15's all around my car.

Has anyone ran that size ?

Im also thinking 235/60/15's but im afraid the sidewalls will be too soft.

Hg

I don't think you should have any problems with 235/60-15's, they came on some of our cars stock, it was a high performance tire or something... when I get some tires put on my old 15x7's I'm thinking about going with the Yokohama Avid S/T's I think they were.... specs looked good and they were fairly cheap too.

dan84transam

on tirerack.com it said that 235/60/15's were optional on the 84 firebirds, but didnt say that for the trans ams. Im concerned if i'll lose handling due to tires sticking out too much.

Hg

You mean the sidewall sticking out too much? It should be fine, like I said, it was a high performance tire option or something. Stock was 215/65-15 - when you switch to 235/60-15 it should get you a wider tread, and the sidewall should stay pretty much the same since it changes from 65 to 60 ratio.

Buck268

the aspect ratio changes from 65 to 60 keeping the diameter the same. I *think* that the 235's are a little to wide fer the stock 15x7 wheels, they look bad-***, but I think that it hurts handling. Of course, I could be wrong, very very wrong...
Just my opinion...

DSaylor

235-60-15's will fit fine on your 15x7 wheels.
I used to have an '85 z28 with 15" wheels and when I bought new tires, I went from 215-65's to 235-60's and didn't notice a difference in handling. It just looked alot better.

I've seen more than a few people with 255's on their15x 7" rims.

Dex

I have 255 60 r15 on my 88 camaro they fit just fine no running in the rear just a little in the front not really noticable unless you look in the fender wells just 2 shiny spots:lala: