Tires

[X33RS]

I know this has probably been asked to death, and I've searched with no real definitive answers.

What size tires are you getting away with on the front of a 69 RS Z28 Camaro?   I keep seeing 215/65-15 pops up a lot but not really clear on whether the cars are RS's or not in the examples described.   This tire is a little shorter than the E-70-15's, but possibly slightly wider, it may or may not work.
   I have a changer/balancer so I'm going to experiment with some 255-60's on the rear with used tires I have laying around.  I don't have any 215-65's here to try though, kind of an odd size I don't use on anything else.  Any insight is appreciated.

Car has original 15x7's all around.

[sixt9x33rs]

My Gold RS Z which has newer Moog front coils and original rearched rear springs is running 235 60 R15's on all four corners with no rubbing or issues. The car drives well

The original suspension Silver car is another story. The fronts tires rub on occasion with basically worn suspension parts. The car has 106K miles on it. So may depend on your suspension.

Lawrence

[X33RS]

Lawrence,
  Mine could be categorized as basically worn suspension parts    I'll replace control arm bushings, shocks, and any other wear items that may need attention for safety reasons, but the stock 46 year old springs will stay in the car.
  235-60's are listed as 9.5 section width and 26.1 tall.  The 215-65's are a tad smaller at 8.7 and 26 respectively, so maybe they'll work...??
   So what size are you running on the front of your Z with the tired suspension?   The same 235-60's you have on the other car?

[69Z28-RS]

My Gold RS Z which has newer Moog front coils and original rearched rear springs is running 235 60 R15's on all four corners with no rubbing or issues. The car drives well

The original suspension Silver car is another story. The fronts tires rub on occasion with basically worn suspension parts. The car has 106K miles on it. So may depend on your suspension.

Lawrence

Lawrence, it would be interesting to me to see a comparison of 'body heights' for your two cars... one with original springs, and one with the typical replacements?  I'd suggest measuring the top of the wheelwell openings directly over the tire (unless someone has a better suggestion).   You could also measure/compare the height of the rocker bottoms at the front and rear and compare to the AIM measures...

[BULLITT65]

X2

My Gold RS Z which has newer Moog front coils and original rearched rear springs is running 235 60 R15's on all four corners with no rubbing or issues. The car drives well

The original suspension Silver car is another story. The fronts tires rub on occasion with basically worn suspension parts. The car has 106K miles on it. So may depend on your suspension.

Lawrence

Lawrence, it would be interesting to me to see a comparison of 'body heights' for your two cars... one with original springs, and one with the typical replacements?  I'd suggest measuring the top of the wheelwell openings directly over the tire (unless someone has a better suggestion).   You could also measure/compare the height of the rocker bottoms at the front and rear and compare to the AIM measures...

[X33RS]

Good idea providing both cars have the same size tires.

I'd measure mine to compare as well in hopes it would give me an idea of what might fit, but right now I have small front tires on it that hold air just so it will roll around, so my measurement wouldn't even be close to what may be considered stock.

[sixt9x33rs]

My Gold RS Z which has newer Moog front coils and original rearched rear springs is running 235 60 R15's on all four corners with no rubbing or issues. The car drives well

The original suspension Silver car is another story. The fronts tires rub on occasion with basically worn suspension parts. The car has 106K miles on it. So may depend on your suspension.

Lawrence

Lawrence, it would be interesting to me to see a comparison of 'body heights' for your two cars... one with original springs, and one with the typical replacements?  I'd suggest measuring the top of the wheelwell openings directly over the tire (unless someone has a better suggestion).   You could also measure/compare the height of the rocker bottoms at the front and rear and compare to the AIM measures...

Yes the 235-60's are on both cars on all four wheels

[sixt9x33rs]

X2

My Gold RS Z which has newer Moog front coils and original rearched rear springs is running 235 60 R15's on all four corners with no rubbing or issues. The car drives well

The original suspension Silver car is another story. The fronts tires rub on occasion with basically worn suspension parts. The car has 106K miles on it. So may depend on your suspension.

Lawrence

Lawrence, it would be interesting to me to see a comparison of 'body heights' for your two cars... one with original springs, and one with the typical replacements?  I'd suggest measuring the top of the wheelwell openings directly over the tire (unless someone has a better suggestion).   You could also measure/compare the height of the rocker bottoms at the front and rear and compare to the AIM measures...

The Silver car is in a warehouse right now, but when I get it here I will do a comparison. That would be interesting to know. I will post that up.

Lawrence

[X33RS]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I went ahead and ordered a pair of 255-60's for the back and 215-65's for the front.  The 255's seemed to fit the rear nicely, fills up wheel well space at my stock ride height and looked nice, yet I could still get my hand around it in various places so I think I'm good there.

The fronts I won't be sure until they get here but based off of what Lawrence said with his 235-60's rubbing on occasion with worn suspension, I may be okay with 215-65's that are slightly shorter and narrower.  I just couldn't bring myself to put anything smaller on the front and risk not filling up some wheel well space.  Hopefully it's a nice compromise.  If they rub slightly then I'll live with it.  My RS inner fender shields already have holes worn in them from the previous owner 30+ years ago so I'm not too overly concerned with it, lol.   I just wanted to make sure I had a front tire that gave me a good chance of working in case I ever decided to replace those shields.

[sixt9x33rs]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I went ahead and ordered a pair of 255-60's for the back and 215-65's for the front.  The 255's seemed to fit the rear nicely, fills up wheel well space at my stock ride height and looked nice, yet I could still get my hand around it in various places so I think I'm good there.

The fronts I won't be sure until they get here but based off of what Lawrence said with his 235-60's rubbing on occasion with worn suspension, I may be okay with 215-65's that are slightly shorter and narrower.  I just couldn't bring myself to put anything smaller on the front and risk not filling up some wheel well space.  Hopefully it's a nice compromise.  If they rub slightly then I'll live with it.  My RS inner fender shields already have holes worn in them from the previous owner 30+ years ago so I'm not too overly concerned with it, lol.   I just wanted to make sure I had a front tire that gave me a good chance of working in case I ever decided to replace those shields.

I had 215's on the Silver car with the worn suspension prior to the 235's and they did not rub. I would bet you are ok with that size tire. The 255's should look nice. I may put those on my Convertible...been thinking about bigger meats for that car. Good luck!

L

[JohnZ]

My 69Z is original and unrestored. It had 235/60-15 TA's on it when I bought it, and the front tires rubbed the bright wheel opening moldings at 12 o'clock when pulling into a driveway or parking space. Bought a set of 215/65-15 TA's, and the rubbing disappeared. 

[X33RS]

Glad to hear that John.  They came in today and I just got done mounting the 215-65's on the front.  They look to clear everything with a little room to spare so I think I'm going to be okay.  I have a solid inch from the front plastic actuator covers when turned full lock, and I it looks like even more room than that at the rear of the fender.  At 12 o'clock it looks close with the wheels turned but should be okay. 

Won't know until I actually drive it, but before that happens I'm pulling the control arms for new bushings, and check everything else out.  Desert SW is horrible on rubber parts.