Fender Skirts: Tire & Wheel Sizing Concerns

[Ellis]

Set to replace tires and wheels--looking to finally getting her skirted, everything fitting nicely--I want to make sure to avoid the current problem with clearance realized a few years ago being told she had Corvette Rally Wheels and the tires were rubbing against the skirts.

Sizing down from the current wheels and 225/70R15 tires--the extent of my knowledge--I would really appreciate any insight or suggestions regarding fender skirt clearance and the two wheel and tire size selections I’m considering.

Oh--and also if you have an opinion between the Cooper Cobra Radial G/T and BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires that would be great--thanks again!

[MC1of80]

Here are a few pics of my brothers 72  before he sold it. It had 15x7 factory Rally's and I believe 225/70r15 redlines. No clearance issues at all. Even if the car was lower the derby caps had ample clearance. Hope this helps.

I like the BFG's. My son's Monte has the Cooper cobras on it and they are good. So he says. Lol

[Ellis]

On 6/10/2020 at 3:00 PM, MC1of80 said:

Here are a few pics of my brothers 72  before he sold it. It had 15x7 factory Rally's and I believe 225/70r15 redlines. No clearance issues at all. Even if the car was lower the derby caps had ample clearance. Hope this helps.

I like the BFG's. My son's Monte has the Cooper cobras on it and they are good. So he says. Lol

MC1of80, thanking you for the information and quick response, please forgive my slow reply.

Although I don’t doubt you on the 225/70R15 tires--currently on my car--the 225/70R15 tire with my wheels doesn’t allow the clearance needed to fit the skirts. In the process of replacing the existing setup, I was considering sizing down to 215/70R15 in an effort to eliminate the problem.

With the knowledge from your response and your experience with the setup--225/70R15 and 15 x 7--I no longer think the issue is the size of my tires, 225/70R15. The tire failing in clearance I now believe is due to my wheel size being greater than 15 x 7. Not knowing the actual dimension, reading that a wheel width between 6-7.5” is generally approved for the tire size, I figure it very well could be 7.5”.

“Fits 70-88 Monte Carlo” noted in the description, my replacement wheel selection should be fine. The “4-1/4” Backspacing” is my only real concern. Clueless about the specification--fender skirt clearance in mind--I hope it won’t be a problem.

Taking a gamble and advantage of the offer about to expire, I guess I’ll find out after these arrive:

“Rally Wheel, Chrome, 15" X 7", 4-1/4" Backspacing” - https://www.opgi.com/wheels-accessories/wheels/wheel-chrome-rally/rally-wheel-chrome-15-x-7-4-14-backspacing-ch27713.html

Thanks again (and nice Monte)!

[714024SPEED]

I am Toms MC1of80 brother who owned the tan Monte in the picture. The car had factory 15x7 gm Rally wheels with 4 1/4 back space. The tires are 215-70r 15 .I only went with the 215 because that was the size that was on the car. I am almost positive that the 225 tire will fit. The big difference between the 215 and 225 is the height. Hope this helps good luck

[Ellis]

Thank you, 714024SPEED.

I appreciate the informative responses from you and your brother--fellow member, MC1of80--answering my questions and concerns about fit, and mainly fender skirt clearance looking at replacement tire and wheel options.

Easing my doubt, I’m now pretty confident that--mounted with an appropriate tire--there shouldn’t be any problems with my wheel selection.

Thinking both to be fine, my mind was on the 215/70R15 and 225/70R15 tires. Having found that the results vary between the providers of the data has left me confused. Some identify 225/70R15 as the original equipment size, noting a 215/70R15 will not fit. Others--stating quite the opposite--listing 215/70R15 as the original equipment size, 225/70R15 called out as an alternate.

Interested in the COBRA® RADIAL G/T™, I contacted Cooper Tires for clarification. The 215/70R15 and 225/70R15 specifications were included in their reply advising, “You would need to contact your vehicle manufacturer to see if the specifications will fit your vehicle.”

Unsure of what size to go with, I figured I’d post a new forum topic in “Suspension Tech”--seemingly a good place to start--seeking information to help me with that decision, any opinions on the subject would be great as well.

Thanks again!

[714024SPEED]

Both size tires will work. The reason they list both is any Monte with the standard wheels 15x6 would get a 215-70-15 tire. A Monte that was optioned with a 15x7 wheel ,like the rally or P02 hub caps would get a 225-70-15 tire.

[Blackhawk]

If you really have Corvette ralley wheels that's the problem. Whether they are the 7" or 8" wide wheels they stick out 1/2" more than you want.

Pull one of the rear wheels and measure the backspacing: https://www.jegs.com/images/wheelmeasureguide.pdf

 

The wheels that you ordered have the same backspacing as the stock ralley wheels, so you should be fine with either size tire. The higher the backspacing, the farther in the wheel will be.

[Ellis]

48 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

If you really have Corvette ralley wheels that's the problem. Whether they are the 7" or 8" wide wheels they stick out 1/2" more than you want.

Pull one of the rear wheels and measure the backspacing: https://www.jegs.com/images/wheelmeasureguide.pdf

 

The wheels that you ordered have the same backspacing as the stock ralley wheels, so you should be fine with either size tire. The higher the backspacing, the farther in the wheel will be.

Thank you Blackhawk.

[MC1of80]

Corvette rally rims are only 15x8 and have a 4" backspacing.