[DeTomaso] Tire Sizes

[MyCars]

Here is a side profile picture of my car.
https://picasaweb.google.com/117558723335467268766/Pantera#5710685978174889762

...and rear view:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117558723335467268766/Pantera#5710698371928906850

It is an early US Push Button, that has a bit of the Group 4 look. The 
rear rims are 15" Weld Racing 5 Spoke that are 13.5 inches wide. I think 
the fronts are 9 inches wide. I have 325/50/15 Mickey Thompson ET Street 
street legal drag tires in the rear, I don't know what their speed 
rating is and I always worry about blowing out a tire if I get too 
spirited on cornering. The fronts are 26x10.00R15LT Mickey Thompson 
Sportsman S/R tires, again I do not know the speed rating.

24" tall tires look funny to me, as they do not fill in the wheel well 
like my Mr. Meaties do now. If you look at the the photo in the link 
above, you can tell that I am not overly concerned about "the original 
look". I do like the GRP 4 10 spoke rims. But if I change rims, I will 
be going to a larger diameter wheel.

The Pireli 345/35R15's are about 2 inches smaller in diameter than what 
I currently have and are almost $700 each (at Tire Rack). That's a lot 
to pay for what I may not be totally pleased with.

I do not have a front air dam, so I would like to try to put less tall 
tires in the front to give the car some positive rake... but would like 
to see pictures of what that would look like, before I bite that bullet ;-)

Thanks for your time and suggestions
Roydon


On 2/18/2012 5:05 PM, MikeLDrew at aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 2/18/12 15 30 57, forestg at att.net writes:
>
>
>> Roydon,
>> The original tire was a 215-70-15 that was 26.9-27 inches tall.
>
>
> Forest,
>
> The original tire size on a widebody (which is what he is asking 
> about) is a 345/35-15, which is only 24 inches tall.  Put a 27-28-inch 
> tall tire on a car designed for 24-inch tires and it looks really weird.
>
> If I had a widebody car, I'd do everything I could to keep 15-inch 
> tires on it, even if that meant using race rubber or speciality 
> dual-purpose rubber.
>
> Actually, the rear tires are easy--you can buy Pirelli 345/35-15 rear 
> tires all day long.  It's the 285/40 front that is the challenge.  
> Depending on how much you drive the car, you might be able to get away 
> with running Avon or Goodyear race tires, or street-legal Michelin 
> TB-15 race tires.  Sure, they might only last 5000-6000 miles, but how 
> many years will it take you to achieve that kind of mileage?  The 
> Michelins are available in appropriate sizes for both ends of your 
> widebody car.
>
> Buying expensive tires for your existing wheels (which make the car 
> look proper) is a heck of a lot cheaper than buying new wheels and 
> expensive tires for those wheels (which make the car look weird).
>
> Mike
>