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Front tire width for manual steering question - wheels returned

cmayna

DILLIGARA?
Donator
OK, last week when I posted which tires and size should I go with, I might have neglected that I would like to keep Shag with manual steering for I love how Red drives with manual and if I can get Shag to feel the same, then I'll be a happy camper. Driving down to JeffTepper's house yesterday in Red reminded me how nice it is without that sloppy leaky Ford power steering.

So getting into the issue, is 225 too wide for manual? Red is running 205 in front and 225 in back. Width of 225 is 8.88" whereas 205 is 8.07". Though you can't see it very well in the pic below, the tire is actually protruding outside the fender lip. Seems a little too much. No?

Anyway, my tire supplier is aware that I might want to change the front tires and that is fine with them as long as I don't put any wear on these.

I could consider going 215 in front but that is just not enough of a change to warrant the swap. So either I stay with 225 or go 205.


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Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

Have you ever seen a the tire on a stock car? they dont run power steering....
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

Grow some freakin' arms........and keep the car moving.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"Fast68back" said:
Have you ever seen a the tire on a stock car? they dont run power steering....

If yer talking about nascrap, they do use power steering...for a long time now. That's when you got all these little panzy drivers.

Back on topic, I run 215 street tires and 225 sticky track tires with manual steering. You're a wuss if you think it's hard to steer.


IMHO
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"silverblueBP" said:
If yer talking about nascrap, they do use power steering...for a long time now. That's when you got all these little panzy drivers.

Oh....
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

I don't think the effort to turn the wheel is that big of an issue, but I'd hate to see a tire come in contact with that brand new paint!

I have 225/50/16 on a 8" wide rim, and my tires are well behind my rolled fender lips. However, I'm running 2* of negative camber on my car. You might want to make the final tire width decision "after" getting your alignment set how you want it.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

If you buffed out Macho Psycho path guys think the difference for steering is very little between the 205 vs 225, then I'll just stay with what I have. Michael I don't think I'll have any fender rubbing issues but I will go back and again weigh the car down a good 300+ pounds to compensate for missing glass, interior, missing gasoline, etc and do an alignment just to make sure I clear the fenders.

Speaking of adding extra weight, here is a pic of the front with 300+ pounds of extra weight added to the car. I was doing this to see how far down the car settles when having the missing interior parts. The rear wheel/fender gap is perfect. Odds are I will still need to lower the front end a little but won't touch it until I've put some mileage on the car.

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Yes, alignment might bring the front wheel back to help clear the fender. Then again, will it push the wheel forward
 
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Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

Ah, I fondly remember the days of manual steering in SF and the workout I could get:

popeye.gif
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

don't worry about the extra effort. I have 225s, quick steering arm and a smaller wheel. just keeps my wife from driving it! get the car loaded with the correct things and then have it aligned.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"SAC69" said:
Ah, I fondly remember the days of buffing the helmet in SF and the workout I could get:

popeye.gif

Here, I corrected your reply

:lol
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"cmayna" said:
Though you can't see it very well in the pic below, the tire is actually protruding outside the fender lip. Seems a little too much. No?


If that is the case, those wheels don't have enough backspacing. The tire will get cut on a big dip with any friends in the car.

As for the steering effort, a 15" steering wheel will take care of it and I agree, the difference in effort from 205 to 225 isn't worth the swap. With more backspacing, you could run a bigger tire.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

I went from a 215/70 to a 205/78 and the difference in very slow steering effort was amazing. You can also decrease steering effort with a bit higher pressure in the front tires, a thicker steering wheel (for additional gripping), and a bigger diameter wheel. I chose a 13.5" wheel with thick grips for my mitts.

I'd recommend the 205 width tires, Craig.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

Heck, I forgot that my wife drove the new '66 about 5 miles thru town the first Friday that we had it. It has manual with a quick steer setup.........
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

I run a 225 tire on 15x7 rim. I don't have that much of problem but I am also 25 years or more younger than you.
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"David67" said:
I run a 225 tire on 15x7 rim. I don't have that much of problem but I am also 25 years or more younger than you.

Yes, but your a newlywed, I'd bet Craig uses his arms more......
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

"Fast68back" said:
Yes, but your a newlywed, I'd bet Craig uses his arms more......



Would that be referred to as "Bi" sexual?
 
Re: Front tire width for manual steering question

I have 225's with the 16:1 steering box, power steering removed, with a 15" wheel, rolling a little while parking helps!

I was just on the A/R site and see that the backspacing on the 16X8 TTD's is only 4" which isn't much, my 15X7 TTD's with 3.75 rubs the front fender at times.

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