[DeTomaso] New 15" tire help Euro T/S specs

Sun May 3 18:44:34 EDT 2015

Jeff,
I think it's a bit more complex than just a 'stock body fitment' question for those making a comparison, the following are all likely factors on what tire will fit and not rub.
1. If your car retains stock shocks 2. If 'no' to above spring rates3. If 'yes' to 1. whether they then still have the shock spacers (as I understand a US supplied only trait to met headlight height rules)4. Whether your fenders have been rolled
When I ran 245 width up front the rubbing was on the inner fender at full lock, something which never occurred unless "flipping a bitch" on a narrow street. 
Tire options for 15" are at best a compromise these days, the 50 front & 60 rear series that have large side walls to fill the fenders are not readily available and are low speed rated because of the large side walls and flex.
The Pirelli P7 Corsa range of classic tires offers a 235/45/15 (23.3" Dia.) and 285/40/15 (24.0" Dia.) and a 305/35/15 (23.4") seems like a potentially good option to have matching compound & treads all round if you can live with 'less tire' filling the fenders look, available in H (130 mph) and W (168 mph) ratings.
Another option is the Michelin TB5R in 18/60-15 (equivalent to metric 225/50/15) and 26/61-15 (285/40/15) both 'w' rated.
Julian
From: jjdetrich at gmail.com
Date: Sat, 2 May 2015 17:53:56 -0500
To: detomaso at poca.com
Subject: [DeTomaso] New 15" tire help Euro T/S specs

I've just researched replacement tires for my stock 8 and 10
inch Campagnolo wheels on a stock bodied car. It doesn't appear that there
is any one model of tire that will fit both the front and back, unless you
want more of an original look with thinner widths.** I was looking for more
of a wider performance tire.

In my search what I found I really needed to know was the tire diameter and
section width of a tire that I knew would fit under the fenders.

So I did some research and found a spec sheet for my old BF Goodrich Euro
T/A 15 inch tires which is attached below.

Where the spec sheet will be useful is the listed diameter and section
width which can be used to evaluate whether new replacement tires will fit
under the fenders with either 7 and 8 inch width or 8 and 10 inch
width stock Campagnolo wheels

For example, I currently have Euro T/A 245/50 15 fronts on 8 inch Campis
and 305/50 15 rears on 10 inch Campis. I believe they are the maximum size
tire you can fit on a stock bodied car. Their listed diameters are 24.7
inches and 27.1 inches, respectively. So in my search for new tires, I
looked for 15 inch/50 aspect ratio tires that were no taller than those
dimensions.

Where it becomes even more interesting is that you can also look at tires
that don't have /50 aspect ratios. The combination of the Euro T/A diameter
and section width can be used to see if other combinations might fit.

As I said earlier, I couldn't find any one model of tire that fit. You'd
have to mix different models front to rear from one manufacturer. Or mix
manufacturers, which is generally not recommended. However, I did speak
with a representative from Roger Kraus Racing ( Sean) who said that that
would probably work if the tires had similar soft tread compounds and
handling characteristics. Aesthetically, it would be nice if the tread
patterns were similar looking, too.

So rather than mix models from one manufacturer, which meant no more than
an S rated (112 mph) speed rating and different tread patterns, I opted to
go with the recommendation of Audionut from the POCA DeTomaso Forum -
sorry, don't know your name - and am doing the 295/50 15 Avons on the back
and 225/50 15 Pirelli P Zeros on the front.

** BF Goodrich makes a thinner tire that you could use front to back.
Dennis at PPC recommends BF Goodrich 205/60 SR15s for the front and 255/60
SR15s on the back for more of a stock look. Alternately, you could use
their 295/50 SR15s for a wider looking rear. Unfortunately, they don't make
a 225/50 SR15. S rating only good to 112 mph. They are nice looking but not
much of a performance tire.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Jeff
6559

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-------------- next part --------------
   Jeff,
   I think it's a bit more complex than just a 'stock body fitment'
   question for those making a comparison, the following are all likely
   factors on what tire will fit and not rub.
   1. If your car retains stock shocks
   2. If 'no' to above spring rates
   3. If 'yes' to 1. whether they then still have the shock spacers (as I
   understand a US supplied only trait to met headlight height rules)
   4. Whether your fenders have been rolled
   When I ran 245 width up front the rubbing was on the inner fender at
   full lock, something which never occurred unless "flipping a bitch" on
   a narrow street.
   Tire options for 15" are at best a compromise these days, the 50 front
   & 60 rear series that have large side walls to fill the fenders are not
   readily available and are low speed rated because of the large side
   walls and flex.
   The Pirelli P7 Corsa range of classic tires offers a 235/45/15 (23.3"
   Dia.) and 285/40/15 (24.0" Dia.) and a 305/35/15 (23.4") seems like a
   potentially good option to have matching compound & treads all round if
   you can live with 'less tire' filling the fenders look, available in H
   (130 mph) and W (168 mph) ratings.
   Another option is the Michelin TB5R in 18/60-15 (equivalent to metric
   225/50/15) and 26/61-15 (285/40/15) both 'w' rated.
   Julian
   From: jjdetrich at gmail.com
   Date: Sat, 2 May 2015 17:53:56 -0500
   To: detomaso at poca.com
   Subject: [DeTomaso] New 15" tire help Euro T/S specs
I've just researched replacement tires for my stock 8 and 10
inch Campagnolo wheels on a stock bodied car. It doesn't appear that there
is any one model of tire that will fit both the front and back, unless you
want more of an original look with thinner widths.** I was looking for more
of a wider performance tire.