JP_AstroMan Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Hey folks! I've read every post on the internet about tire and wheel combinations for the '72 Monte. Unfortunately I haven't found any info that would give me enough confidence to place the order. I'm hoping this post will be the ticket to confirming this combination will fit. Everything here meets my needs/taste perfectly. Any help with fitment would be sooooo appreciated! Here is what I have picked out after days of consideration: Tires: Front: 255/60R17 Rear: 275/55R17 Wheels: Front: 17" x 8" with 4-1/2" Backspacing Rear: 17" x 9" with 5" Backspacing Here is a link to my dream Monte... Http://www.flakypeoplesuck.com/monte Here are the actual products I have in my cart ready to pull the trigger- Front wheels: https://www.jegs.com/i/Year-One/219/CRW178SLV/10002/-1 Rear wheels: https://www.jegs.com/i/Year-One/219/CRWT179SLV/10002/-1 Front tires: https://www.jegs.com/i/Michelin/127/15442/10002/-1 Rear tires: https://www.jegs.com/i/Michelin/127/30842/10002/-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Will fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 100% sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 I'm going thru the same thing right now, looking for 17" tires. Slim pickings as far as sizes, even on 17s nowadays. I'm steering towards 28" tall tires, so the choices I'm currently debating are 235-60-17, and 255-55-17. My wheels are nearly the same as you're looking at, except made by American Racing. 8" in front, 9" in the rear. I currently have that size tire on the rear & it looks good back there, the fronts are too short and need to be replaced with a taller tire, hence the 235-60-17 I'm considering. The reason I chose 28" was it was roughly a cross to the old 275-60-15 tires I had in the rear and a comparable sized tire in the front (I'm at work & don't have that tire size in front of me). That combination is available with a Pirelli tire, shown here if you look under 17" and what I may end up with. Still a SUV tire as you arrived at with the Michelins. https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car/catalog/product/scorpion-zero-asimmetrico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 On my 72 I used Nitto tires for my Ridler 675 17" wheels. cannot remember the size but the tires were the same height as the Goodyear TA's I took off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 I am second guessing the Michelins after watching the video of them on an SUV. The Pirellis do look much more sporty, that's for sure. But I reeeeally don't want to give up on having a 275 in the rear. Why is this so difficult!? Does anyone have an opinion on the Michelin tire? I mean, is it really any different? The only perfect size option is to go with mismatched tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 I think the front rim width and backspacing is good. The tire width should be good too but concerned that the 60 series will be too tall. A 255/60 is 29” tall. That’s 1” taller than the factory tire but maybe that’s the look you are going for. I currently have 245/60s on 15x8 rims with 4” backspacing and the tire rubs the quarter panel lip on one side. If you have a 275/55 tire on 17x9 with 5” backspacing will be close but may fit. You may need to bend or trim the quarter panel lip a little. Note that the 275/55s (28.9” tall) will be slightly shorter than the 255/60s (29” tall). The difference is only 0.1” though so may not be noticeable. I would suggest maybe 255/55s on the front which is 28” tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 I would definitely prefer to have 255/55s on the front but they don't exist when trying to match up a 275/55 on the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 4 minutes ago, JP_AstroMan said: I would definitely prefer to have 255/55s on the front but they don't exist when trying to match up a 275/55 on the rear. 245/60 would be 28.6” tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 My current setup is 225/70/r15 on all four. Too small of a wheel, too large of a sidewall. And I live in the mountains where an improvement in handling would be huge. But big wheels and super low profile tires is not my style. Very little middle ground! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Those Pirelli rears in that size are unavailable anywhere at this point. I've been calling around this morning and no luck. I have some old 255-55-17s currently on the rear of the car now, they're pretty big for a front tire in my eyes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 But this guy pulled it off to perfection so why can't I? Those are 17's. Perfect tire profile. Lots of meat. If you had to guess the profile of the rear tires, what would you say? 55? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 That is Stephen Levanti’s car. He’s a member of the club. I sent him a message and will probably chime in with the details of his setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 That would be AWESOME!! I was really hoping someone might know who's beauty that is... I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 If I remember correctly Steve has drag radials on the back, not sure of the size. He dosen't get on here to often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 I would mostly love to know what profile they are. But all the info (front tires, backspacing, brand) would be huge. Thank you so much. I hope this is the breakthrough I need. My tires are rotten and dangerous and ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Those definitely look like drag tires from the little tread I can see. I wonder how a rear drag radial would look with a Pirelli in front. If I did that I could have 275/55/17 and 245/55/17. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 Hey folks...anyone have any thoughts on this setup: MH Racemaster Drag Radials front and rear Rear: 275/50/17 Front: 245/45/17 https://www.cokertire.com/tires/m-h-radial-drag-rear-tires.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 5 hours ago, JP_AstroMan said: Hey folks...anyone have any thoughts on this setup: MH Racemaster Drag Radials front and rear Rear: 275/50/17 Front: 245/45/17 https://www.cokertire.com/tires/m-h-radial-drag-rear-tires.html The 275/50/17 is 27.8" tall which is good but the 245/45/17 is only 25.7" tall. That front tire will look small in my opinion. Is a 245/55/17 available (27.6" tall)? Check out this tire height chart. Choose the rim size first then you can narrow down what tire sizes work for you.https://tiresize.com/height-chart/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Whatever visually appealing (and actually available) wheel/tire combos anyone cooks up still have to pass a practical "fit" test. You seem to be fairly set on the rims you want and both of them (front and rear) have zero (0) offset. Rear fitment is most critical on first gen Montes as there is limited outboard room (between the outside tire sidewall and the wheel opening lip of the rear quarter panel). Positive offset on the rear rims is usually needed with wider tires to move the wheel/tire assembly inboard where there is considerably more room. Of course, you can also trim the wheel opening lip if you are forced to and don't mind modifying your Monte's sheetmetal. You have stated that you are currently running 225/70-R15s all the way around and from the photo you provided it appears that they are mounted on stock 15x7 rallys. If so, the offset on those factory rims is +.30" (+7.62 mm). Now, if you go to https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ and enter your current tire and rim offset data into the "Original Setup" boxes, then you can enter the specs of whatever tire you want to compare (using 0 offset for your chosen rims) and visually see how they compare. Further, the box on the upper right will show you the exact dimensional changes to clearance outboard, above and inboard. I ran the comparison between your current setup and both the 275/50R17 and the 275/55R17 tires and found that either tire will cause your current sidewall clearance to be reduced by 1 1/4". You can easily check the clearance of your current setup to see if you can afford to give up a full 1.25". If not, you will either need rear rims with enough positive offset to give you more clearance (each +6mm offset = 1/4" additional backspace) or you may need to trim the wheel well opening lip. (While I have never done that, I have heard that 1" is the practical maximum amount that lip can be trimmed.) I run 275/60R15s on 8" rims with 5.0" backspace (+13 mm offset) and I have only 5/8" (.625") sidewall clearance to an untrimmed wheel well opening lip. If I mounted any 275 width R17 tire on your 9 inch 5" backspace (0 offset) rim, my outboard clearance would be reduced by 1/2" to 1/8" (.125'). That may be enough sidewall clearance for some folks, but I would never take that risk. Your call, of course, but you don't have to guess. Just compare future tire choices to your current wheel/tire setup using the specs of your desired rim and visually see the actual physical comparison using the tiresize.com wheel offset calculator. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share Posted April 23, 2021 Well, I did it. I finally pulled the trigger on new tires and wheels. Here are the numbers for anyone interested. No problems with rubbing. Thanks for all the help! Rear: Vision Rally 18 x 9.5, 5.25 BS, 275/40/R18 Mickey Thompson Front: Vision Rally 18 x 8.5, 4.5 BS, 255/45/R18 Mickey Thompson I plan to get the derby center caps asap 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Beautiful! Great looking Monte! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Those fit nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP_AstroMan Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share Posted April 23, 2021 They do fit nice. I really didn't want 18's but just could not make 17's work with what's available out there. Hopefully I can get used to it sooner than later. I think derby center caps will give it a lot of that classic look back. They arrive today thankfully. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Looks Great Frankie!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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