Tire sizes

[burdman129]

I have a chance to buy some tires for the P-15. The size is 195/65-R15 with a width of 5.9 and heighth of 24.9.....compared to 215/75-R15 which is W- 5.6 and H- 27.7. Any opinions on this size mounted on a stock Ford /Chrysler 15" for the Plymouth? I invite all pros & cons. I realize it will affect the speedo and I'm not too concerned 'bout that. I also know that it will sit lower compared to the stock 16" and I like that idea, but, I wonder how it will look as far as filling up the wheelwell, etc. Can some one tell me how to measure the backspace on a wheel? Thanks in advance for the help on this. Burd

[Lou Earle]

u are really going to kick up the rpm's check one of the sites about tire size and rpm's I bet u will be doing 3000 at55

Lou

[burdman129]

Lou, never thought of that. For the 215 the rpm is 728 and the 195 is 839.

[Dennis Hemingway]

The 195 might look a little small in the wheel wells. This is what a P205R75-15 looks like.

Dennis

[Guest 51plymouthod]

One of you is talking RPM (revolutions per minute) and the other is talking RPM (revolutions per mile), but either way, the 215 is significantly the larger tire and with our rear ends generally in the 3.9 to 4.1 range, these old cars need the largest PRACTICAL OTD (overall tire diameter) for highway running. My 51 Cambridge has an overdrive and 215R-75-15 tires and is a relaxed runner with its 3.9 rear ratio at 65 mph.

Although some will disagree, I believe the 215 is as wide as one should go in a radial tire, particularly on the Plymouth, with it's 4.5" wide original tire rims.

Even the 215 will slightly rub the suspension on the inside of the tire if I turn the steering wheel full left or right. (this may or may not occur with the P-15 models).

You've got more leeway on the old Dodges, many of which came from the factory with a slightly wider rim.

If I were running a 3.9 without overdrive, I'd consider the 7.00 x 15" radial, made by Yokohama and others. It was the OE size for the 3/4 ton B-1 Dodge truck and has a larger OTD and is a more narrow tire than the 215. The Yokohama is an 8 ply-rated tire, but it ought to work out even better than the 215 for highway running and has the added advantage of raising these cars slightly more off the ground...I believe closer to what they were with the original 6.70 to 7.10 tires.