65 Monaco max tire size?

Fuzzaire

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Currently running the stock rims (14x6 w/ 0 offset) with 205 75 14 tires (26.1" tall by 8.1" wide) on my 65 Monaco.

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Wanted a bit more of a hot rod look with some AR rims with visually wider and taller wheel tire combo to fill in a bit more of the wheel wells.

Does any one know how big I can go before I'm going to be grinding tires on the inside of my wheel wells or bottoming them out over bumps?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
@cbarge would be the expert here, but from memory, I'd say that 235/75/14 would be a perfect "stock" size. It's likely your speedometer has been reading fast with the size you currently have on your car, as the diameter is too small, and makes the speedo read faster than you're actually going.

Keep in mind that 14" tires with the narrow whitewall that dresses up our 65-68 cars so nicely is very difficult to find in 14" sizes any more, and if you're going to be buying new wheels, I'd respectfully suggest you move up to 15" wheels, as this will give you more options for appropriate tires. As well, if you were ever considering upgrading to disc brakes, you will need a 15" wheel to clear most caliper setups.

Your car would pop with 15" chromie magnum 500s and 235/75/15 Hankook Optimo tires. This is what I run on my 66 Monaco. You can go considerably wider, but not too much taller. Too tall or too short a tire will result in inaccurate speedo readings. I believe you need a 28" tall tire... There is a tire height calculator out there that can help you figure that out, but again, don't go too wide. Below is the tire calculator:

Tire Size Calculator

Additionally, using that calculator, here are two "fat" tires that wind up being 28" tall - the first is 9.5 inches wide, and likely won't rub, but the other is 1.5" wider, and will likely rub on cornering etc. You might be able to get away with them on the rear, but not on the front.

235/70R15 28" tall, 9.3" wide, 15 x 6-8" rim is best
275/60R15 28" tall, 10.8" wide, 15 x 7.5-9.5" rim is best

Others will be able to chime in here with their experience, but keep in mind that each front fender and rear 1/4 from years other than 65 or 66 will have different dimensions and therefore may not apply in what will fit.

Also, if you have to change a tire, fat tires in the rear can be a real pain to get off the car due to the low wheel opening arch.

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I have a 65 Monaco which has 225/50/17 tires on a 7" rim on the front with 255/5017 on an 8" rim on the back. Other than having to jack the car up at the front leaf spring perch to get the rears off and on I have had zero problems with these wheels and tires.
 
235 70 15s all the way around on our 65 wagon.

I had 275 60 15 on my 66 New Yorker on 8 inch rims with 4" backspace. They were real close on the skirts but never rubbed. 4.5" BS would have been better.

Kevin

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I have a 65 Monaco which has 225/50/17 tires on a 7" rim on the front with 255/5017 on an 8" rim on the back. Other than having to jack the car up at the front leaf spring perch to get the rears off and on I have had zero problems with these wheels and tires.

Do you have disk or drum brakes? On my '67 Monaco (drums) none of my 17" aluminum alloy wheels would work because of the large hole needed in the middle for the wheel bearing. I have some 16" recent aftermarket steel wheels with snow tires (for my '300m) and they would fit but the backspacing was too large, they were hitting the upper control arm and the outer tie rod.
 
I have a 65 Monaco which has 225/50/17 tires on a 7" rim on the front with 255/5017 on an 8" rim on the back. Other than having to jack the car up at the front leaf spring perch to get the rears off and on I have had zero problems with these wheels and tires.
Hey Mike finally getting back to my cars wheels. Can you tell me what rims you are running? After market mags I'm assuming at 17"?
 
Hey Mike finally getting back to my cars wheels. Can you tell me what rims you are running? After market mags I'm assuming at 17"?
They are ridler wheels. I don't remember the model number. They have been on the car for 8+ years. I have had zero issues with rubbing or hitting any body panels. The key is, especially with the rears is to get wheels with zero offset. My apologies for the quality of the pictures. I haven't taken any since I got it back from the body shop.

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They are ridler wheels. I don't remember the model number. They have been on the car for 8+ years. I have had zero issues with rubbing or hitting any body panels. The key is, especially with the rears is to get wheels with zero offset. My apologies for the quality of the pictures. I haven't taken any since I got it back from the body shop.

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Looks great! My next question was going to be offset so thanks for providing that info.
 
Looks great! My next question was going to be offset so thanks for providing that info.
Thanks. Those wheels are discontinued.....kind of. You can get them all chrome. Mine have an aluminum outer ring, the spokes and center are silver Grey. The rears take a little finesse to get on and off, but once they are on I can get my fingers between the tire and the quarter panel.
 
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