15” 16” or 17” wheels

[danbrunk]

Looking for new tires and wheels for my 69 resto. Have a Toms 2.5” susp lift going on. Like to have 30” tires. Any recommendations? Want to keep rear fenders uncut.

 

[TNcowboy]

I'm in the same situation. I'm leaning towards 17s. Don't really want to invest in 15 inch wheels with that size tire being phased out

 

[danbrunk]

I'm in the same situation. I'm leaning towards 17s. Don't really want to invest in 15 inch wheels with that size tire being phased out

Yeah I think 16 or 17 look better for me as well. Plus I saw somewhere that on disc brake conversion the 15” rim doesn’t have much room for crimp on balance weights cause the hit the caliper??

 

[billh1289]

You’ll probably have more options in the 17s. I run 15s with disk brakes and have no issues with clearance, but I guess it could vary by kit.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Normally I would just call it 17" and be done with picking a wheel.
But....
You are planning on only a 30" tire. By modern standards that is a fairly short tire. Doing 17s is likely to look out of proportion with lots of wheel and little sidewall. My F250 with 17s and 32s was borderline too much wheel for a vintage body style. It would not be fitting of an uncut resto. Look at this and think of a tire 2" shorter.

 

[danbrunk]

Normally I would just call it 17" and be done with picking a wheel.
But....
You are planning on only a 30" tire. By modern standards that is a fairly short tire. Doing 17s is likely to look out of proportion with lots of wheel and little sidewall. My F250 with 17s and 32s was borderline too much wheel for a vintage body style. It would not be fitting of an uncut resto. Look at this and think of a tire 2" shorter.

Good point, leaning to 16” then…

 

[gnpenning]

Just a thought, while it's always good to be planning ahead. Tires would be one of the last things I would purchase for a restoration. Most of us the tires would be timed out before we even finish. One of your other posts has you just getting going on the body work so I would hold off. That doesn't mean you can't buy rims and have roller tires the size you want for reference.

 

[Bitch'nBronco]

I run 15s, it's getting hard to find tires for them. I'd at least go 16s, depends on how much wheel to sidewall you want. I'm partial to more sidewall rather than big wheels. For reference I am running disc brakes up front with no clearance issues, I have the stick on tire weights and still have plenty of room