PLEASE NOTE: What follows is my opinion, not law or orders or bashing. If you don't agree with me, well, I see no reason why you should. Disclaimer in place, I shall sally forth:
I think the wheelwells look
way overstuffed--it looks as if the tires were borrowed from a truck to get it on the road. There's way too much sidewall-to-wheel, in my opinion. Also, on the tall tires, the white lettering is inset towards the wheel, which I don't find appealing either. To my eye, there needs to be some open wheelwell around the tire, and sidewall-to-wheel is more important than how full the wheelwells look. I bought my Mirada with 235/70R-15s, and I thought
that was too much sidewall. Of course, a Mirada is a sportier body style as is a Charger, obviously. I also thought the tires too narrow in the back. I think mismatched tire sizes front-to-rear look out of place on a sedan as well as many other cars (GM F-bodies, for example). Some cars just aren't suited to bigs 'n' littles.
Your wheel openings are no larger than those of a '71-'74 Charger. In fact, I'd be surprised to find out yours aren't
smaller. The car's just a renamed B-body, after all.
What size are your wheels? Anything wider than a 255-series tire is going to look pinched on a 7" rim. The sidewall will form a funnel into the wheel. That
really looks goofy. A 255-series is
right on the borderline in that department.
Were it my car--and it's not--the first thing I'd do would be lower the rear about an inch. The jacked-up look has never, nor ever will work on a sedan. Losing the height in the rear would still leave a little rake, subtle but noticeably mean. If they'd clear (and it's likely they won't up front) I'd go 255/60R-15 all the way around. That's the max I'd go in the rear unless you could get 15x8 wheels out back; then a 275/60R-15 might work (again, clearance) without looking pinched. A 255 likely won't clear up front in parking-lot manuevers (rubbing the frame); I'd check to see if a 245/60R-15 would and if not, I'd go 235--that's exactly what I had up front on my Charger when I had all four alloy wheels, paired with the P255/60R-15s out back.
Under no circumstances would I ever have the white letters showing on a sedan. Ever. It's poseur territory and does not make the car look attractive, sporty, muscular, etc. It screams, "I'm trying to make this car something it's not" and in your case, totally detracts from the sleeper image. I also wouldn't run anything louder than stock exhaust on this car... but that's another discussion. Also, I'd lose the cheap-looking $29-each chrome rims and replace them with either factory Mirada 10-spoke or LeBaron/Cordoba 5-on-5 spoke alloys. They'd look smokin' hot, but barring that I'd probably go with body-colored 15x7 '80s 5th-Avenue steelies with plain dog-dish hubcaps and matching brushed trim rings.
That is the end of my "opinions" phase. Feel free to rant about it, but like I said it's just what
I'd do. It is in no way meant to insult. Far from it--I dig this project, particularly the future drivetrain upgrades. As a final note, though: my sidewall-to-tire argument works both ways... I absolutely hate anything larger than an 18" wheel, and to run one it'd better have some sidewall proportion to it. None of ths rubber-band shit!
Remember how tire sizes work: a P255/60R-15 means:
- P means it's a passenger-car tire. Light-truck tires sometimes start with LT instead of P.
- The tire is 255MM--10.039" wide at its widest point (the sidewall). It does not have anything to do with tread width. Tread width is totally dependent on...
- Aspect ratio. The 60 means the sidewall is 60% of the tread width. In the case of our example, that means it's 153MM, or 6.02". Multiply this times two, and add to rim size to get overall tire height.
- R makes it a radial tire.
- 15 is the size of wheel on which it fits.
Things to keep in mind: The taller the tire, the further out from the wheel center your widest point is going to be. So, on a P255/60R-15, your widest point will be approximately 10.51" from your axle centerline. On a P275/70R-15, the widest point is going to be a whopping 11.29" from your axle centerline (.78" greater), as well as being .79" wider, or .395" closer to your frame on one side and your quarter lip on the other. These might seem like trivial numbers, but they're actually enormous when it comes to tire clearance. The most likely scenario is Rub City, with cut sidewalls a huge problem on the outside edge.
Feel free to blast me, but at least consider the time and thought I put into this reply on Dippy's behalf, OK?
