A few questions about wheels/tires for brake swap.

[ootdega]

Since I need 16" wheels for the brake swap, I've been looking into what tires to get before I do it.

I've been planning to get the Mark series turbines (Hollander #1573) and I want to get the same tires I have now, General Grabber AT2s, for the new wheels.

Well I've run into a bit of a problem. The tires I have now are 225/70R15. These are rated for severe snow and they work great for anything I throw at em.

However, once you move up to R16, the smallest size that is rated for severe snow is 255/70R16. These are 2.7 inches taller and an inch wider, though this will probably differ with factory-spec tire pressure. While this is great for putting power to the ground, I'm very worried about the front tires rubbing during turns.

I could get spacers if it will be a problem, but then it'd probably be wise to upgrade the ball joints.

I'm not sure what to do here.




The Hollander #1573s are 16x7 with 25mm offset.

The sizes list for the tires is here: http://generaltire.com/tires/custom-rides/grabber-at2

And yes, I really do need tires rated for severe snow. This last winter we had two blizzards. I had to excavate my car from 6 inches of snow one morning. These tires laughed at the snow and ice. They actually grip on solid ice.

[Hearsesrock427]

255 width tires are the maximum width you can run with factory 16 inch wheels (98-02 HPPs or 98-02 steelies). I'm not sure with what offset though (I'm assuming stock, but I don't know the exact value)- hopefully someone can chime in.

[pantera77]

Wheel size has no effect on tire width, wheel width does. I personally wouldn't run a 255 on a 7" rim. Some people do, but it's far from ideal.

A 255/70R16 is massive. I highly doubt it wouldn't rub.

Mark VII wheels will require spacers. Again, personally I hate spacers and refuse to run them up front, I don't even like using them out back. Just one more thing to fail all while putting more wear and tear on your suspension.

Honestly, I'd ditch those truck tires and run dedicated snows in the winter. You want narrow tires in the winter, and 255's are far from narrow. Some dedicated snows on junkyard 16" steelies will be way better then even the best A/T tire.

[gadget73]

after having a spacer come off, possibly because I fucked up, and now that I'm looking at a quarter panel replacement because of it I'm tempted to say fuck them too.

Something else to be aware of, Mark VII turbines, even with a 1 1/4" spacer, require that you grind on the caliper for it to fit. I'd give some serious thought to factory 16" wheels for a newer Vic or Grand Marq. They will actually fit without nonsense.

255 is a huge tire. You really want wider rims than the standard 7" if you don't want that to bubble a lot in the center. Not sure if an Explorer wheel or a police steelie is wider but it would be worth looking in to for a dedicated set of winter wheels. Dont really want to run decent wheels in the winter anyway, they're just going to get shitty looking.

[ootdega]

Yeah, I wasn't too keen on putting something so heavy on aluminum spacers either. That's why I'm going to use a '97 axle for the rear for the swap.

The main reasons I was looking at the Mark VII wheels was because I like the way they look and I can get a set for really cheap. I prefer the simple look, the later years of Vics adopt really fancy pancy designs that look overly gaudy to me.

i can't really afford two sets of tires, that's why I opted for the all-seasons in the first place. They're affordable and versatile. Maybe I could just go with the smaller tires anyway, even though they're not rated for severe snow? I mean, it's the same design, so it can't really be that much of a difference, right?

[85crownHPP]

There's got to be something different about them... can you find up close tread pics of both?? Ive heard those "ice" tires with the wavy lines in the tread actually work, but they wear out faster.

[ootdega]

Well, I have this photo on hand from when I first recieved my 225/70r15s:



And compared to these 235/70r16s:





...I can't see a difference. Maybe it's just because they're wider? That'd make sense with what pantera77 said.

[sly]

the 17" fanblades (02 lx sport) would work really well on anything box-aero-whale up to 02 for clearing big brakes. Of course, HPPs are awesome too and come in 16" form. The fanblades can be had in repops though, so that's an option.

[ootdega]

the 17" fanblades (02 lx sport) would work really well on anything box-aero-whale up to 02 for clearing big brakes. Of course, HPPs are awesome too and come in 16" form. The fanblades can be had in repops though, so that's an option.

I Googled the LX wheels and sweet tapdancing Chuck Norris those are the most boring wheels I've ever seen, those would clash SO hard.

The HPPs look a lot better, though. I'll consider those, but I'd really prefer a simple turbine design. The problem is, absolutely nobody makes turbine-style wheels anymore. It's like Y2K made the entire world forget what bicycle wheels look like.

[jaywish]

Did you google the LX "Sport" rims? They are very different than the standard lx rims

[87gtVIC]

These are LX Sport wheels

[ootdega]

Oh I see. They don't look as grandma-ish on a box Vic. On the '02 they just reminded me of my grandma's hubcaps.

I don't like the style though. It's really stifling cause you can't find class anymore. It's all SPORT RACE FAST everywhere.

Well, barring Mercedes-Benz, of course. Lol.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-SL55-SL65-2003-2006-18-AMG-OEM-Rim-REAR-Turbine-/151340200221?hash=item233c94311d&vxp=mtr

[ootdega]

What about these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-93-94-95-96-97-98-Lincoln-Mark-Series-VIII-8-Alloy-Wheel-Rim-16-OEM-3232-/131323876910

EDIT:

No, probably not.

[pantera77]

Mark VIII's use some funky bolt pattern. Won't fit.

[ootdega]

HPPs it is, then.

With 235/70r16s. I'll gain about an inch of ride height and my speedo will only be 2 mph slow at 60. Sounds like a plan. Thanks a bunch, sometimes I dunno what I'd do without you lot.