195/65 or 205/60 on 7 in. rims

[bliebler]

I've been runing 205/60's with 7 in rims(all 4) on my 73. Lowered to a little over 24 1/4 in the rear. 21/26mm torsion bars, koni's set 1 1/2 turns hard. Rear camber almost 2 deg as with a 200lb passenger my rear will rub ever so slightly about 1/4 to 1/2 up in the fender.

As expected, the rear inside of the tire is wearing out so I'm looking for tire options.

Would a 195/65 give me more room as the tire is thinner or because a 195/65 is taller would it still give me clearence problems?

Would the narrow 195 tire wear less on the inside as opposed to the 205 ?
I don't track the car, but, I do do some hard street driving.

[merbesfield]

I use to run 195/60's year ago using A008's. Awesome tires.

[teenchy]

I'm currently running 195/65s (Bridgestone RE960AS) on 7s. See http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...read.php?55994 for background. So far so good, though I had to roll my LR fender a bit.

[bliebler]

I like the look of the 195/65's but, with my car lowered, that tall tire my rub more that my shorter 205/60's. Do any of you guys remember back in the mid 70's when some would run the 185/70's all around with 7 in rims. a friend of mine had a 76 set up that way. I recall it really stretched the tires out, but it looked real cool back then.

Another thing that I notice as far as ride height. Even with my heavy torsion bars, with a full tank of gas, my front end will lower almost 1/4 in. At that time with full tank, the rear will come up a little because the front is pointed down. As go to near 1/2 tank is when I have the rear rub problem because with acceleration and lighter front end the rear rubs around corners with a passenger.

[JohnT]

I race on 205/6-15's without any tire rub in the rear (ok I have removed the rear shock dust shields). The car is a '67 with much less clearance than a '73.

If you're encountering tire rub with 205/60's and '73 rear fenders, perhaps it is time to change the rear suspension bushings?

johnt

[bliebler]

JohnT,

My Black Weltmeister bushings are pretty new. Are you running 7in rims and also, what's your rear ride height? With 6 in rims and 205/60's I had the car allot lower and never rubbed. The problem is most likely 7 in rims.

[JohnT]

Well the car is this low. And the slab sides are this flat.

6 1/2" wheels.

johnt

[bliebler]

Last night I raised my left rear one spline. That should give me 3/8 to 1/4 in more clearance. Prior to that my driver's side was about 24 1/2 in and passenger side 24 1/4. I corner balanced with me in the car(210lb). Actually since that time I lost 30 lbs . My 190 lb Nephew is coming over for Thansgiving and I'll take him for a spirited ride and see what happens. My gues is It will not rub as much or not at all as the tire only rubbed on that side with a passenger.

[teenchy]

That makes a lot of sense and explains to me why I've only seen rubbing on the LR. I know I need to lose a good bit of weight, but now I have even more reason to do so. Congrats on dropping the 30lbs!

[bliebler]

Teency, I rally like the look of your 195's on 7in rims. thanks for that link with pictures of your car. I perfer the 195 look but I think that because the tire is taller than 205's I may rub more, especialy with my ride height.
After raising my left rear one spline, now I'm at 24 1/2 in the rear(both L&R) that's with tank full. Now with 1/2 of tank as the front will raise 1/4 in or so the rear will still be around 24 1/4.

Last night I went out for a fast ride and accererated hard around corners and no rub marks! I also took out some more camber. Now I'm around 1 deg neg(before I had it at almost 2 deg neg)

you may want to find a flat driveway or even a parking lot, I open up front & rear lids, sit on the rear and front pushing down and moving car a few feet back & forth. Then measure ride height. I use torsion bar bolts to ground. your drivers side may have sagged a bit. If so, crank up your front ride height a little. One turn of the 11mm adj bolt will raise about 1/4 in but, will also lower the oppisite rear a little.