Wheel Size

[kings6524]

57 Fairlane 500 with 2 inch drop spindles  and disc brakes. Does  anyone  know what the largest wheel is I can put on  with out doing any modifications  to fenders or rear axle. Would like to go with 17 or 18 inch ? Thanks

[RICH MUISE]

Just my 2 cents, but it's not the diameter of the wheel, it's the backspacing and the TIRE diameter that need to be considered. Most of the guys here are somewhat old school in that not many here like the big diameter wheels....but there are some and maybe they'll chime in on what they're using.

[suede57ford]

Here are the basics: 

**This is universal for our cars whether you are using 14"-20" wheels.  As Rich mentioned, the rim diameter has nothing to do with fitment, it is the three factors listed below.

1).  Offset on the rear wheel is what determines how it fits.   Stock '57 Ford width rear end use a Backspace of 5.25" on an 8" wheel.  This exactly centers the wheel in the fender well.   If using a 7" wheel you would subtract .5" from that making 4.75"bs.
Those Backspace dimensions often requires custom made wheels.  If you want to run the common 4.5"x8" bs you must narrow the rear end housing .75" each side. The narrower housing makes it easier to take the wider wheels of in the future as a bonus.

2). The side wall width is determined by the first metric number on the tire size.    A 275 width is the largest that fits a centered wheel with some fender-well lip folding in one place.  If you stay with a 255 width tire you should have no clearance issues in stock rear fender well.

3). The next factor is the height of the tire.  Choose a rear tire with around 28-29" inches in height.   Try to use a fairly tall tire.  The reason the traditionalists don't like larger diameter wheels is most people use too short of a tire and they look like rubber bands and not traditional.  Get the tallest rear tire you can and it will have some sidewall and it will look proportional.

Do some planning and spend a little extra to get the correct offset wheel.  Pick the proper tire width and height and you car will look great.

[57AGIN]

To All:

Very sound advice from suede57ford and a very good description of the variable to consider when choosing the proper rear tire/rim combo.  I wonder if there are also similar concerns regarding the proper choices for the front tire/rim combo, other than just stance.

Bob
57 AGIN

[suede57ford]

The front wheel height and offsets are very important as well. 

I recommend staying around a 26" or just slightly taller tire no matter what wheel size on the front. 

Offset is important for two reasons.  Clearance when turning and visual aspect. 

I'm going to cover the visual aspect first.  If you look at all modern cars you will notice that all the wheels are brought out so the tire is nearly out as far as the fender lip.    With our body style would cannot/wouldn't want the tire to be out as far as the fender lip as the tires need to be able to travel into the fender over a bump or turning.    But what I see many builder miss is they go to far with excessive front wheel backspace and the wheels will appear very sunk way into the fenderwell especially when looking from a rear angle. It looks like the front end is just dumped and the wheels become tiny looking because the wheels are so far in, especially on a lowered car.   What I shoot for is a wheel/tire that is in around 2" from the fender lip at the top center of the wheel opening to the tires widest point.   What this does is gives the tires an appearance of a wide stance that matches you wider rear tires , but still maintains clearance for turning.  I use a door skinning tool to fold the top inner front fender lip flat on the inside for a little additional clearance on real low cars with tall and wide tires.

The next issue is clearance.  We have a few items that get in the way. On the outside of the tire is the fender lip.  Too close to the lip and you can't hit a bump while turning or entering a driveway.   The inside has several places that contact with wheels 8" or wider.  With wider wheels you may need to trim/fold some off a section of the front edge of the lower control arm, not usually necessary with 7" or narrower rims.  Too wide of tire or much backspace and the tire will touch the frame around the steering box bolts and idler arm bolts.

I personally like a 7" wheel with a 225-245 width tire, maintain the 26" overall diameter and about a 4" Back Space, which is very common off the shelf size wheel size.     

[57AGIN]

 suede57ford:

Thanks, very good advice.  I'll use your suggestions when I finally get around to ordering new rims & tires.

Bob
57 AGIN

[kings6524]

Thanks guys for the info.

[sprink88]

Suede57ford: do you have a pic of your car with this wheel size set up? I would like to see it

[suede57ford]

Chris,  Pictures sent to your phone. 

Sorry I'm not able to post pictures to the forum yet.

[Swank]

Morning,
A bit off topic and probably a white-belt question, but i couldn't find it doing a search of the site.

Whats the widest tire you can put on stock 14" sedan rims?

Got F78-14s now barely holding air with the tread about to peel off.  Theyre about 26" tall, and foot print is only 6" across (entire tire is about 8" wide). Although not too concerned with period correct look, Id like to keep the stock rims, but looking for something a little wider and a little taller than 78-14s when the time comes. Brakes and everything else is stock. Not real sure as to how the rim width to tire width thing works.  Can you put, say, a 235 on these things, or does it tap out at 205-215 because the rim is so narrow?

[lalessi1]

I found this chart that gives recommended rim widths for various tire sizes. Based on this chart the largest tire that will have a recommended rim width of 5" is a 185/70 x 14 or a 185 x 14. The diameters of these tires are 24.2" and 26" respectively. I am sure you can use larger tires on a 5" rim, it is just not recommended.

http://customwheelsmarket.com/rimwheelwidth1.html