what back tire size???

**youngbird** · 03-18-2013, 10:04 AM

so ive been looking this up and i see different views and not my exact set up . so ill start with what ill be running for right now , street lites 15x10, stock 10 bolt no gear, a4 stock conveter, and a 150 shot i wanna run a drag radial i just dont know if i should go 275 50 15 or 275 60 15 any advice would be greatly apperciated

**Firebirdjones** · 03-18-2013, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by youngbird

so ive been looking this up and i see different views and not my exact set up . so ill start with what ill be running for right now , street lites 15x10, stock 10 bolt no gear, a4 stock conveter, and a 150 shot i wanna run a drag radial i just dont know if i should go 275 50 15 or 275 60 15 any advice would be greatly apperciated

That depends on the gear you want to run. The 50 series is 26" tall and the 60 series is 28" tall.

Since a stock tire for the 4th gen is 26" tall, and you want to stick with your stock gear (for an auto could be 2.73 or 3.23) Then the shorter the tire the better. A 28" tire will kill the gear (roughly 5mph difference) and with a stock rear gear will likely slow the car down at the dragstrip.

**youngbird** · 03-18-2013, 02:42 PM

Yea well more in the future there will be a rear end don't want to put a gear in a 10 bolt unless I find a smoking deal but Im pretty sure for right now I'm gonna get the 26 tall to bad becuase m/t has this new tire only a 28 tall .

**Firebirdjones** · 03-18-2013, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by youngbird

Yea well more in the future there will be a rear end don't want to put a gear in a 10 bolt unless I find a smoking deal but Im pretty sure for right now I'm gonna get the 26 tall to bad becuase m/t has this new tire only a 28 tall .

Sounds like you'd be better suited to stick with the 26" then until you get a rearend done and a gear selected. By then it will probably be time for new tires anyway

Step up to the 28" at that time if you like.

I run the 275/60-15 MT radials myself, great sticky tire.

**youngbird** · 03-18-2013, 04:17 PM

Yea I'm running a 26 m/t radial right now but on a 16 as I will be getting the 15s street lites in black tomaro

**youngbird** · 03-19-2013, 06:10 PM

Speaking of tires and sizes what would be a good size and tire for a 15x4 wheel ?

**Firebirdjones** · 03-19-2013, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by youngbird

Speaking of tires and sizes what would be a good size and tire for a 15x4 wheel ?

Personally I run a 205/75-15 on that size rim for a front tire since I wanted a taller radial which is 27" tall.

You could also run a 165/15 which is a VW beetle tire that is still made in a radial, it's skinnier but is only 26" tall,,,looks good on smaller cars.

If you want to get into other taller yet skinnier tires than the 205/75-15's I run, then you get into the bias ply's made by M/T and a few other manufactures that make them with a stiff enough sidewall to support it. There are skinnier radials made like the VW tire I mentioned as well as some sizes inbetween that and what I run,,,,but they are shorter tires, if you can live with that.

Basically your choices are few.

A tip, if this is meant as a drag setup,,,the taller front tire the better. More roll out in the beams

**youngbird** · 03-19-2013, 07:31 PM

Yea but what back tire? Does it matter I was thinking why not the 165 80 15 in a nexan real cheap to

**Firebirdjones** · 03-20-2013, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by youngbird

Yea but what back tire? Does it matter I was thinking why not the 165 80 15 in a nexan real cheap to

You asked about a 15x4 rim above which would be a front tire hence my response above. We had discussed the back tire already and it sounded like you needed to stick with the stock height for now.

the 165/80-15 (commonly just listed as a 165/15) is the VW beetle tire I mentioned. Just about any brand in that size is cheap.
I run those on smaller lighter weight cars where not only the sidewall stiffness wasn't as much of a concern but also that smaller size didn't have to fill up much of the wheel well, so it fit nicely on my Nova's, camaro's, Vegas, Monza's etc..... On a larger car they look a little out of place because they don't fill up the wheel wells much, and weight is a concern.
Which is why I run the 205/75-15's on the 4" rims on the front of my chevelle. It's a big heavy car (4,000 lbs.) with a big block over the nose that see's quite a bit of street driving as well as drag. They are taller and fill up the wheel wells better as well so I'm mixing a little bit of appearance with a little bit of function.

As you can see alot of this is personal preference.

**youngbird** · 03-20-2013, 08:39 AM

Sorry you probally misunderstood me I'm going with a 275 50 15 for rear and I was asking about the front wheel wich is a 15x4 now my question was does tire hight for the front have to match the rears but now I understand from your advice .

**Firebirdjones** · 03-20-2013, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by youngbird

Sorry you probally misunderstood me I'm going with a 275 50 15 for rear and I was asking about the front wheel wich is a 15x4 now my question was does tire hight for the front have to match the rears but now I understand from your advice .

Ah okay, my bad, misunderstood.

If you still have ABS (or optional traction control) as I assume we are talking about a 4th gen,,,then yes you'll need to keep the front and rear at the same height or very close.

The 275/50-15's and 165/15's are nearly identical in height (26")

**35th-ANV-SS** · 03-20-2013, 12:24 PM

I don't recall the exact difference in height allowed from front to back without triggering the ABS, but I "think" it was somewhere in the 3/4" range.