widest tire on a 6" rim...anyone?

[teahead]

Don't know if these are 5.5" or 6", but I plan on using 6" aluminums.

Anyone run 225s like this car on ebay right now and not rub?



https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-mercedes-benz-280sl-90/

[mdsalemi]

Found a couple of online charts that indicate a 225 is only good on a 6” rim in the 75 or 80 aspect ratio  That doesn’t mean it won’t mount or people don’t do it.

In any case fwiw it’s definitely not the right tire size.

Seems that many members obsess over details like spot welds, paint drips, hose clamps, and similar minutiae but pay no attention to the right tire sizing.

[MikeSimon]

On a classic car like this, going excessively wide on tire size may have more negative effects. Steering effort, rolling resistance (and consequently fuel consumption) and driving comfort maybe some of them. I think, a 205 is the absolutely widest I would go.

[Pinder]

I have 205s on mine they look good and I have had no issues with them rubbing on the wheel arches. But then again I hardly drive mine except very early Sundays when nobody is on the road.

[mdsalemi]

I should add that when I first restored my car, I knew little about some details such as tire sizes (this was in 1999). So, following the old mantra that I used in my British car days, such as replacing a 145-13 with a 165/70-13, I got a set of cheap Pirellis that were 205/70-14. I hated them. I still have the rub marks on the wheel wells where they rubbed after bouncing. They also rubbed on lock turns. And, to add insult to injury, on MY car the spare was too large for the mount in the trunk. So failure all around. Lousy tires, wrong size, they rubbed, and the spare wouldn't fit.

When I could afford them a couple of years later, I bought a set of properly sized Cokers, for at that time they were the ONLY 185HR14 I could find with whitewall. Those aged out, and like many others earlier this year, I installed a set of Blockley, also in WW, and in the proper size. At that time, there were many early members here completely dismissive of the Coker when they never had a set.

While I can certainly appreciate not wanting to spend $1,000+ on a set of rubber, and also know many run 205/70, the 225 mentioned in the start of this thread sounds a bit excessively wide. I cannot imagine those working without some issue.

[Pinder]

Michael makes a good point of issues in putting a fat tire in the trunk. I have optima 205/75  and they fit but i can see with a wider tire it may not be possible to install the spare tire in the trunk.

[teahead]

Michael makes a good point of issues in putting a fat tire in the trunk. I have optima 205/75  and they fit but i can see with a wider tire it may not be possible to install the spare tire in the trunk.

Not sure that's really required.

For a spare tire, all you need to make sure is that the HEIGHT is the same as your regular tires.  Width can be anything.

Have you seen spare tires on late-model cars?

[Mike Hughes]

Tire width IS important with regard to the horizontally mounted spare tire as the decklid hinge can come into contact with the tire when the decklid is closed.  This can result in the trunk lid appearing to be in a "too high" out of alignment state when closed.  This can result in bending the decklid on that side, which I promise is not so easily corrected.  The hinge can also leave permanent marks on the sidewall of the tire and permit water intrusion at that corner of the decklid as it may not be properly in contact with the seal.

Of course one can always let the air out of the spare . . . (but I have seen concours judges ding cars with "soft" underinflated spares!).

[teahead]

Tire width IS important with regard to the horizontally mounted spare tire as the decklid hinge can come into contact with the tire when the decklid is closed.  This can result in the trunk lid appearing to be in a "too high" out of alignment state when closed.  This can result in bending the decklid on that side, which I promise is not so easily corrected.  The hinge can also leave permanent marks on the sidewall of the tire and permit water intrusion at that corner of the decklid as it may not be properly in contact with the seal.

Of course one can always let the air out of the spare . . . (but I have seen concours judges ding cars with "soft" underinflated spares!).

I meant, you can run a skinny spare tire so it'd fit.

No need for a 225mm wide spare tire!

[Mike Hughes]

I meant, you can run a skinny spare tire so it'd fit.

No need for a 225mm wide spare tire!

I understood your point, but was primarily attempting to amplify Michael's comment about the wider tire not fitting in the trunk.

[mdsalemi]

I meant, you can run a skinny spare tire so it'd fit.

No need for a 225mm wide spare tire!

If we are trying to be "accurate to the period" we should have an identical tire as a spare, and include it in a five tire rotation scheme as was common "in the era". Like so many other things, there are different ideas on precisely how to do a five-tire rotation, but they all include rotating all five tires through all four wheel positions plus the spare.

The skinny spares that are often included on today's cars are often purpose built and supplied for the specific model. Has anyone found one in a size and bolt pattern that would work on a Pagoda? I once posed that question here and all I got was crickets...meaning no reply.

[Duncan200]

Why would you want a space saver wheel/tyre combo on our cars when a 185HR14 isn’t far off being one anyway?

My SQ7 doesn’t even have a spare, all I have is a can of goo and a compressor.

Not sure about the rest of the world but for roadworthy requirements here, if a car has a spare, it just needs to be black, somewhat round and hold air.

As for the max tyre size, biggest I’d go is a 205/70 but why bother on a vehicle that was never designed for wide rubber, especially if you don’t have power steering?

[Raymond]

I have 205/70s on 6-inch aluminum rims.  The ride, cornering, and braking are the best since I've owned the car.  but then again, I also have a set of custom-made springs.  There are no rubbing issues with the tires even in a hard corner. 
For the spare, I have a 5.5" aluminum rim with a 185/65.  This saves weight and does not interfere with the boot lid.  The diameter is smaller than the other tires but, in the event of a flat, you're only going to use the spare for a short distance.  I've resigned myself to the plan that if the flat is on the rear, and I've got to go more than 4 or 5 miles, I'll put a front tire on the back to make sure the differential isn't mistreated.  (Chrysler has made the Challenger for 15 years and their spare is never to be used on the rear axle.)  If you got a 195/75, the diameter would let you use that on the rear.

[teahead]

Why bother?

Because increased grip is always a good thing.

Sure, these Pagodas aren't canyon carvers, but the cost to increase grip when buying new tires is negligible compared to the rewards.

This is 2022; we can have things that can improve our cars, like Bilstein shocks, radial tires, and electronic ignition.

[Berggreen]

Hello,

I run a set of Dunlop Classic black wall 205/70 R14's on Fuchs/Barock alu rims on my manual silver 280SL from 1970, and a set of white wall Uniroyal TigerPaw-II 195/75 R14's on standard steel rims on my automatic dark green 280SL from 1971.

Both sets of tires are excellent, and I cannot feel much of a difference either in handling between the two - and no rubbing either.

Cheers,

Christian