Re: [FWDLK] Tires for a '57 Chrysler....
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Re: [FWDLK] Tires for a '57 Chrysler....



It's not nice, to mess with Mother Nature OR Mother MoPar!

When I retrofitted 11x3" Bendix brakes onto my car, the new/larger brake drums (IIRC), when fully turned now-contacted the front-strut arm's extension, which protruded about 2" beyond the side of the lower control arm, where that 'extension- length' served as being a "steering-stop", for the OEM 2" or 2 1/2" brake drums.

That contact, on the 11x3" Bendix's prevented a very-tight turning diameter.

I had my shop cut off the steering-stop extensions, so now the 11x3" brakes and tires have a very-nice (amazing, even) turning diameter. The radial tires can contact the inner fenders, now, but any such drastic turning-effort only occurs at "parking-lot" speeds, and the inner fender contact is SO slight that the only way to confirm the contact is to observe that the UNDERCOATING has been removed
in one small area, and that the inner fender's appearance is SHINY!

Putting on wide-body radials, on the rear end can be problematic, due to the wheel openings being restricted. You gotta jack up the rear end fairly-far, to horse-out the tire between the (my, anyway:
11x3" ) brake drums and the quarter panel wheel opening.

I would be curious to confirm the overall-tire-height difference, between the 1956 15"wheels/tires and the 1957+ 14" wheels tires, as the advertising (again: IIRC) said that the 1957 tires were LARGER, and could hold more-air, thus giving a softer ride, than the 1956 wheels/tires.

Neil Vedder




Wayne Graefen wrote:
James, you have a lot going on here. I think 99% of everyone would agree that the ONLY reason the '57-60 Chrysler products and most others had 14" wheels was to enhance the look of the car. They are SO MUCH more attractive on 15" wheels - they look RIGHT on the cars. And so many high dollar auction cars have the reproduction Chrysler style (not others) wire wheels because they look FANTASTIC on the cars. Many Chrysler dealers still had them in their parts rooms because of their option status from '52-56 so they were put on then and are still being installed now! The original wheels on your car were 6" wide for those 8.50 tires. The Letter Car 300C had 6.5" wide wheels for 9.00 tires. Those 9.00s had 2.5" wide whitewalls. The turning radius of a car is not at all relevant to the width of the wheels or tires. That radius is determined entirely by the travel of the suspension components from side to side. You can certainly get 7" wide wheels in your wheel wells - the rear being the start of the concern. You don't want to have to drop the springs to change tires on the rear axle. 8" wheels with wide tires would be about the start of that problem. 7s are not any problem. Remember as you add wheel and add tire you are adding weight and this is "unsprung weight" which you will feel inside the car and in the steering wheel on any rough road. Wheels must be measured inside the bead of the wheel, not the measurement of the overall width of the entire wheel. The relevance of the width of the wheel to the width of the tire is all about safety. If the tire is too small relevant to the width of the wheel, under hard cornering it could be pulled off the stressing side and blow out its air. Conversely, if the tire is too wide, it will not seat perfectly to the rim and may lose air simply because of that. Whether too wide or too narrow for the wheel, you can also expect wear problems due to the altered profile and possible balancing problems. The desk people at Diamondback can advise you on correct wheel width for any tire you choose. Each tire manufacturer provides engineering specifications of a maximum and minimum wheel width suitable to each size tire. Since you have mentioned wanting to go with wire wheels, may I offer a suggestion? Buy a set of the Chrysler style reproduction wire wheels and center hub caps. Get the standard 15 x 6 size. Talk to Diamondback about what brands of tires they have that would come close to a 8.50 x 15 OEM tire which is what Chrysler had on those wheels. Buy a brand you like or take their professional recommendations but mention you don't want some tread design that looks too modern. Specify whether you want a 2.25 or 2.5" whitewall. Doing the above, you should get a highly favorable look for your car that will add value by enhanced appearance, enhanced handling and enhanced ride. And let us know how it all comes out. Wayne
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