17" Wheels and Tires

[John]

I'm having a debate with myself about tires. I was at the track the other day and the most often heard discussion was about tires. With a MkII car, what 17" wheels are available and what size tires will fit the car? It seems the only decent tires in 15" size are Avons and I'm looking for options.

-John

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Vintage Wheels has 6-pin 17's that will work with SPF 40. You can get either the BRM six spokes or a Halibrand styled wheel.

Personally I dislike the look of the 17", but can't argue that decent 15" tires are hard to find/expensive. I would use 15" Avons on the street and perhaps the 17s at the track

 

[DaveM]

I agree with Rick. If you can afford 2 sets go with 17" Vintage wheels for track use and 15" for street. There are a lot of options in 17" track tires, but they don't look right for regular use. I've got Nitto NT-1's 235/40/17 F and 315/35/17 R.

 

[John]

Dave, is your car a MkI or MkII?

-John

 

[Cliff Beer]

Damn, I wish somebody would make a good 16 inch replica Halibrand/BRM.......

 

[Mike Drew]

Damn, I wish somebody would make a good 16 inch replica Halibrand/BRM.......

And what, pray tell, would you do with one? Use it for a hose reel? End table?

As difficult as it is to find quality 15-inch tires, it is more difficult by orders of magnitude to find 16-inch tires. About the biggest you'll ever see is 245/45-16, and even those are incredibly difficult to find. It took me months to find a pair for my fiancee's Pantera (which wears 17-inch wheels on the back, 16 front), and even then we had to buy a different brand of rear tire, as NOBODY makes matching tires in the appropriate 315 or 335 size in 17-inch.

Be happy there are as many 15-inch options as their are. I wish there were options in between the BS hotrod tires and super-sticky and expensive racing tires, but at least you have the choice there....

 

[DaveM]

Dave, is your car a MkI or MkII?

-John

John, it's a MKII. No clearance problems with those sizes. Here's photo link:
http://www.cascadecobras.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=2281&fullsize=1

 

[Mike]

17s look great on a Mk II and hideous on a Mk I...

 

[Richard]

I'll let you decide which one you like best. The 17" wheels are good but don't match the looks of the original wheels like the 15"s do. I like the 15"s much better but it is hard to find good tires.

 

[René]

does not look bad, 17" on the back looks very good, on the front a max 16" would look a bit better perhaps.

 

[René]

made them together>>
would be nice if the fronts could be 16 inch when the rears are 17 inch me thinks.

 

[Kirby Schrader]

If you can afford 2 sets go with 17" Vintage wheels for track use and 15" for street.

Hmmmm.... I went the opposite way.
17" with Michelins for the street and 15" with Goodyears for the track.

FWIW,
Kirby

 

[John]

Kirby, what size and model Goodyears do you use on the track? How long do they last?

 

[Kirby Schrader]

Kirby, what size and model Goodyears do you use on the track? How long do they last?

They are Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Specials
6.00 x 15 fronts
8.00 x 15 rears

They are very sticky and pick up pebbles big time. I think they'd last three weekend sessions or so. I haven't beat them up that much yet and they're probably getting old now... I haven't been to the track since January and then I drove there on the Michelins.

Here's a picture of the 15" on the car with the original 15" wheels and another picture of the car with the 17" wheels and Michelins.

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy!
Kirby