Well it's been 4 months and my 408 stroker is finally done and delivered to my mechanic. I want to know the best way to get the best maximum traction for this car. It has 350 gears with a posi and 2600 stall converter. What size (exactly) tires should I run in the back and in the front? Also, what can I do to get the best traction aside from tires? The car is a 1971 Comet GT. Any kind of suggestions would greatly be appreciated and if you have any questions about the car/motor please ask away. I want to thank y'all in advance because you have been a wealth of information in the past. james comet
Well, that 408 is going to present some traction problems for sure. A lot of guys on here including myself have gotten away with a 275/60r15 out back. That's a 28" tall tire with between eight and ten inches of rubber on the ground depending on the width of the wheel and the brand of tire. Currently I have some 275/50r15 drag radials back there and they fit pretty well. that is a 26" tire with ten or eleven inches on the ground. You might prefer that since your gears are pretty tall, but tire selection is limited as it's kind of an odball size. I know bfg makes it in their T/A line. Up front I run a 205/60r15. I find it to be a nice balance between pizza cutters up front and too big a tire that just doesn't have the right look. They're about 23" tall and have a good 5 1/2 - 6" of tread on the ground. Hope this helps. Oh by the way, the magic number for backspacing to get a big tire in the back (at least on my car) is 3 3/4" Centerline makes wheels with this backspacing as well as several steel wheel companies. Edit: These cars seem to have a lot of variation in what does and doesn't work on them, so make sure you measure twice and cut once so to speak.
Thanks alot for the info. Any suggestions on sub frame connectors and traction bars? Or what can I do to beef up the leaf springs and what about shocks? Thanks james comet
I made my subframe connectors out of 1 1/4" square tube. Pretty easy fasbrication project for someone with a bit of fabrication experience and skill. Maybe a tough first project if you haven't done any fabrication before, but not impossible. as far as traction bars go, I just have some cheap slapper bars and they work pretty well for me. A lot of folks have switched to the four leaf springs with good results. For shocks, don't get the cheapest thing you can find, but for normal street use, you don't really need anything fancy. I have Competition engineering three ways on the front of my car in the 90/10 position and stockers in the back. I don't find the car to be squirrely driving around, but the front sits pretty low on cut springs which helps keep it from rising too much (much to my shagrin...) Again, hope this helps.
could you post some pics of your subframes? i'm gonna try to make a set. i've seen homemade subframes on mustangs. i'd like to see how some other people have done it on mavs.
I have to ask? Yesterday I looked at the bfg 275/50r15 T/A that were 10 inches wide. Are you sure they will fit back there without rubbing or touching the wheel wells? thanks again. james comet
The back of my car is up a little bit on shackles, so fitment is a bit different for me. Mine are on 8" wheels with 3 3/4" backspacing. They do fit my car, but like I said, there is a lot of variance between these cars, so no promises. If you can talk your tire dealer into tossing them on a wheel and trying them on the car before they make you commit to them that would be best. Some places will, some won't.
i know there is a thread on here about the 275/60r15 fitting..... with the 50's your talking about the profile would be a little lower..... I have 295/50's on 10" rims on the back with the shakles...... I am hoping when I goto a 4 leaf I can get rid of the shakles......the 275/60 are 28/29" tall and my 295/50's are 26.8" tall
I just put the new MT ET streets on my mav in a 255x 50 x 16 on American racing Hopster wheels 16 x 8 with a 4 " backspacing but i had to run longer studs and a 1/2 inch spacer as the wheels rubbed on the inside these wheels did not come with a 3 1/2 " back spacing, there is a pic of the wheels, under mav pics all the way at the end...
