I need new front tires. I have 245/60r15 on the rear, and will go up to 255/60r15 on the next set. My delimma is what size looks good on the front. I am arguing with myself about 225/60r15 and 235/60r15. Sorta leaning toward the 235, but don't want the front tires to look too big compared to the 255 rear tires. Anyone have any suggestions, comments, or pictures? Rims are Cragar S/S 15X6 front and 15X8 rear. Current front tires are 195/60r15, but are way too small for this rim. Front is lowered a couple inches, but have stiffer springs.
i think the 235 60 15 in front on a 15x6 rim would hang over the edge too much... i would go with the 225 60 15... and the back.. i am getting 2556015... nice wide tire... i like your setup.. i wish mine looked that good..
Currently, the 195 is way too narrow, and when I lay the tire down on the floor, the rim hits. I hate that. I also think the front is too low. I want a "stancy" set of tires, kinda like a vette has, but I want it to go with the 255 rear tires. I was wondering what the "ratio" of front-to-rear width is pleasing to the eye.
The 225 will probably be a better "stance" tire.I had 15x7 & 15x8 Prostars on my Comet w/235/70 rear & 205/70 front.It all fit well although the front was a bit big looking from the front of the car ...but it looked tuff from every other angle!
Scooper mine are 275 X 50 X 15 on rear & 215 X 60 X 15 on front. The back tires are about 3/4" taller than the front.
I use a 205/60r15 up front on a seven inch wheel. In this picture there are 275/50r15 on the back. Nice offset I think.
After looking at these pictures, I think maybe the 235 WOULD be too big... Mavaholic, any pictures, especially from the angle like Ray did it, or the 2nd pic of MikeG's? And Mike, Are you using a spacer, or what, to get 275 on the rear (I know, this subject as been discussed ad nauseaum, just wanted to know how Mike did it) as those are the same rims and brand tires I use. I would go with the 60s myself, just for a little more tire hieght to even out my 3.80 gears and highway RPMs. Thanks for help, guys
Oh, by the way, I checked my website/diary and found that my front rims are 7", not 6" width. I don't think the 235 would hang over, in fact, I think that is the recommended rim size for a 235. Does anyone think I could get a good "feel" by just taking off the front rim and setting the unmounted tires over the front hub, or would the mounted tire-on-rim look so different that it would be misleading to just set a tire there and guesstimate?
With these tires mounted I ended up with aproximately 1/4" clearance between tire & leaf spring on drivers side & about 1/2" on passenger side. I drove it for a few days & checked it & had no rubbing. Then I decided to see if I could make it rub. I took it out & drove it agressively, hard cornering, etc.. I checked underneath again & I could see where the drivers side had rubbed slightly. I went back to the tire shop & they put a 3/16" spacer on drivers side. Now both sides look equal & no rubbing even under hard cornering.
You just need to be careful with using too tall of a tire on our cars. Just my opinion, but tall tires look out of place on the Mavs because of the short wheelbase and short body. 255/60 is about as tall as I would go personally, but even that looks out of place on some Mavs I have seen. Always get the rears worked out first, then find a front tire that is close to the same diameter combined with a width that will work for you style of driving. Anything from .5" shorter to .25" taller in front will look just fine... to me Dave
I kinda like the look of 60 series rubber. Not too low profile, but not a truck tire either. 50s are nice, if you have a taller rim, like 17" or 18". I want the front to be a little shorter, by an 1" or less. I have seen cars with 255 and 235 that looked really nice, and well proportioned. But I have not seen them on a mav, and like ratio said, the shorter stockier car may look odd with that wide up front. After I get this figured out, I will drop the rear end about an 1" (ie. remove the air shocks and put on regular ones) so that the front and rear fenders ride about level with the top of the tires. That should give it a nice beefy stance, without looking too bulldog-ish and not having a tiny or narrow front tire, like a drag car.
I went to the Discount Tire and checked out the tires side-by-side-by-side...I definitely think the 235 on the front is too big, and the 225 might be also. I might drop down to 215 like MikeG has. They look good and most importantly, fill up the wheel well. That is what I am looking for. My front end is dropped and too small a tire leaves way too much "air" around it, and makes the headers hit bottom.
