The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Tire selection help

I am replacing the 6.70-15 tires on the original rims I had powder coated on my 56 Chevy 3100 stepside truck. It has the original 235 engine and the original 3.90:1 rear end. I replaced the transmission with a t5 5 speed #1352-145 from a 85-86 S10 ¹st gear is 3.76 and 5th gear is 0.72. There is no front end modifications i have the original straight axel.

What tires should I run for doing light freeway driving with the occasional trip and mostly in town putting around. I want to be kind with the rpm's and do not want to have problems with the wheel wells.

So what are your thoughts? For nows I am looking for a size that fits and works ok on that rim. Later i plan to put on a set of thick white walls but want to try a cheaper tire first before I invest in the cokers.

Thanks

The 0.72 OD gear is perfect for a 3.90 rear. A 28" diameter tire with a 3.90 rear and 0.72 OD will give you 2190 RPMs at 65 MPH. A 235/70R15 tire has a 28" diameter and recommended rim width is 6 to 8 inches. I'm not sure how wide your stock rims are.

Part of your decision will depend on what you think looks good on the truck. Other options are available and will still maintain a 28" diameter. If you decide to use a slightly larger diameter tire than 28" then your RPMs will be a little less but not a problem. A 29" tire will have your engine doing 2115 RPMs at 65 MPH.

Great with guys like you is why this site is like no other. Thanks for the info. Stovebolter's Rule. Tire shop tomorrow.

I like these Fuzion tires. They kind of have an old school tread pattern. Plus they are radials and cheap.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Fuzion&tireModel=SUV&sidewall=Outlined White Letters&partnum=175TR5FZSUVOWL&tab=Sizes

A 215 wide tire is what is spec'd for your oem rims. They have 215/75/15 and 215/70/16 sizes.

They're a Firestone tire, so any Firestone dealer should be able to get them.

Update on tires size. Friday I checked a few places from national chain type stores and received many different opinions, even one store corrected another store in the same chain. Finally, the one store went to a website and plugged in the numbers and printed the results for me. I did check my rims and they were the original 5" rims that I had powder coated a few months ago. Taking all information in consideration of the original 3.90 rear gears and the 0.72 OD in the T-5 along with the 235 motor I decided to try and get close to a 29" tire to keep the RPM's as low as possible on the original rims.

Here is what size I selected 225/75R-15 which has an overall diameter of 28.29" and fits the 5" rim. (Sidewall Height of 6.64, Section Width of 8.86, Tire Circumference of 88.87, and Revolutions per Mile of 735.24)

A 205/75R-15 has an overall diameter of 27.11" and fits a 5" rim. Sidewall Height of 6.05, Section Width of 8.07, Tire Circumference of 85.16, and Revolutions per Mile of 767.24)

A 215/75R-15 has an overall diameter of 27.70" and fits a 5" rim.(Sidewall Height of 6.35, Section Width of 8.46, Tire Circumference of 87.01, and Revolutions per Mile of 750.90)

A 235/75R-15 has an overall diameter of 28.88"(Sidewall Height of 6.94, Section Width of 9.25, Tire Circumference of 90.72, and Revolutions per Mile of 720.22)and fits a 6" rim not the 5" as Lugnutz said.

Thanks Whitedog, I noticed when I got to different sites the 6.70-15 tire gets converted into different sizes. I get mostly of 205/75R15, 215/70R15, and 235/60R15.

Good choice. We'd like to see some pictures as soon as you have a chance. Thanks for the feedback. We seldom hear back from a lot of folks. They just don't bother to tell us how things turned out. Keep us updated.

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums.../2014-03-24_12-25-17_372_zpspb3gmdz0.jpg

These are the rims after a fresh powder coat.

I have Firestone firehawk indy 500 tires on my 59.

Front --- P225/75R15
Rear --- P255/70R15
They look great on the truck, no problems with rubbing on anything.However they are on I think 8 inch factory rallye wheels.