Tires and Wheels

**Don H.** · August 26, 2022, 06:22 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

I currently have 2 sets (C-1 & C-2) from Diamondback and I'm very satisfied. Good luck.

**Eric P.** · August 26, 2022, 06:42 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Today, I had my first "not so good" experience with Diamondback. I hope someone from their company is reading this constructive post. I have read many posts about Coker on this forum. I do not have any reason other than my own experience to say anything about either, or any other tire supplier. I have a set of Diamondback Auburn Classic tires that have some black marks on the whitewalls. I called them today and they told me the tires have those marks due to "stacking". Thess tires were never stacked and only 2 of the 4 have this problem. So, if you are buying whitewall tires from them, I would caution you to inspect them carefully and if you see anything you don't like or are the least bit suspicious of; call them out right away!

Eric Patty
NCRS #8355

**Mark F.** · August 26, 2022, 06:47 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Originally posted by Dan Dillingham (49672)

...I would like to change the stock 57 5" wheels to a mild looking chrome wheel.
I just don't have a feel for how wide a wheel I can tolerate (5-1/2 or 6"), and how much offset I need to have tire clearance....Dannnn

Not sure if this is where you are in terms of your desires, but go to American Racing...
punch in 1957
Chevrolet
Corvette
and you'll get a selection of wheels that just amazed me when I did it ...

of course, maybe none of them suit your fancy, but if any of them do - I'm sure they can help with setbacks and tire widths you desire...

Wheels

https://www.americanracing.com/wheels

Designed for the industry’s best, by the industry’s best. Our American Racing has earned the trust of some of the most discerning critics in the automotive industry.

I have a set on mine and I love the look and driveability !

**Dan D.** · August 30, 2022, 10:43 AM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Thank You guy's for responding.

Question (1 more).

Does anyone know if a P205R70-15 tires will clear the fender well mounted on 15X7" wheels with a back space of 4.0"?

I realize this is probably a tough question.

Dannn

**Dan D.** · August 30, 2022, 04:01 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

What do you know about Iron Man tires? My tire guy likes them.

Dannnn

**Dan D.** · October 14, 2022, 01:00 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

I got some but not a lot of responses back, so I decided to learn for myself. In the archives I found a thread that Duke had commented on several years ago that was most helpful. Thank You Duke! Thia is not the first time you have bailed me out. This is what I did:

Wheels; American Racing - made in China (ya gotta love it).
Torq Thrust D, 6" wide, Back spacing 3.66", Offset + 4mm (.157").

Front Tires: Ironman, made by Hercules Tire & Rubber, owned by Cooper Tire, made in Mexico (Go figure).
P205/R7015; Tread Wear - 420, Traction and Temp -A, Load Index 96, Speed Rating H (130MPH).

Rear Tires: Ironman P225/R7015.
Tread Wear - 440, Traction and Temp -A, Load Index 100, Speed Rating T (118MPH).

The wheel backspacing is about the same as the 5" steel wheels that were on it. I needed that spacing to clear the suspension components. In the front the closest part is the upper, outer, front a-frame bushing. I clear by 3/4 to 1". In the rear it is the spring and I clear that by about 3/4". So the extra 1" of width is all out-board. In the front there is no interference. In the rear the 225s will clip the fender lip if the suspension dips down over 3", as near as I can measure. The rear end is so light I do not see that as ever happening, Plus I have new 50-50 gas shocks. I was unable to find any C1 rebound shocks. They are available for C2s, but I don't believe there is for C1s. For this application the gas shocks would be better.

I perhaps would have been better off with 215/R75 on the rear, but they are getting hard to find, and the 225s have a circumference of 87", which is 1" less than the 670 15s that were on it, so the speedometer accuracy should still be good.

Yellow and Red dots:

The yellow dots indicate the lightest part of the tire. If you have yellow dots, you line them up with the tire stem, which is perceived to be the heaviest part of the wheel. My tire guy did this. He lined them up.

But, if your tires have yellow and red dots, then the red dots (flat spot) takes priority. My guy did not do this. He does not do the red dots.
Thinking about this I think the driving factor here is this is intended for newer cars with TPMS devices. That module would add weight to the stem. So does this red dot syndrome apply to our older, non TPMS cars? Furthermore, I think the material removed by drilling and machining the stem hole would offset the weight of the stem. Does anyone have any opinions or knowledge on these red dots?

Lug Nuts:
Because aluminum wheels are thicker, the studs are not long enough to fully engage the OEM nuts. The lug nuts recommended by the wheel manufacturer are on back order, due in at the end of this month. But in the meantime the general rule is thread engagement has to be equal to or greater than the diameter of the stud. My nuts engage the stud 1/2", which exceeds the diameter of the 7/16 stud, so at least for now, this should work.
Aluminum wheels should not be torqued as tight as steel wheels. 2 separate instruction sheets came with these wheels, and the torque recommendations between the 2 are different. One sheet says 55 to 65 Ft. Lbs for 7/16 studs, the other says 70 to 80 Ft. Lbs. So I torqued them to 70 Ft. Lbs.

The wheels/tires I removed from the car are quite good. The steel 5" wheels I believe are 1956 passenger car wheels, but I cannot prove it. They are welded, dog bone, have the 4 outer nubs for the full caps, and the 3 inter ones for dog dish caps. They do not have nubs at the stem and one wheel is stamped GM by the lug nut holes. I cannot explain this. As received from Corvette Central, they were all identical and had a very thin coat of faded out green paint and a white pin strip. I had them boiled, blasted, and I sprayed (not brushed) the entire wheel with POR-15 Chassis Coat black paint. With the paint dry enough for a slight finger drag I sprayed the front only with a low gloss POR-15 top coat. There is not a mark or scratch on them and I never had hub caps on them. It should be noted that there are (5) of them - I did the spare too.

The tires are Cooper supplied BF Goodrich Silvertown Polyester bias with 2-1/2" WW.

Now for the kicker, they are 13 years old. Buuuut, they have only been on the road for 3 years, 3k miles. They have only seen a small amount of sunlight, no Ozone. and the rubber is still soft - you can push your fingernail in them, and there is no noticeable wear. They look brand new. In fact, the spare has never been out of the trunk.

I consider them safe. Just last week I was cruising 65 - 70 MPH on the expressway with them. My reason for doing this was only about 10% for safety. The main reasons were the better ride and handling that radials provide, and for the looks - cosmetics.

For judging, anything you have is going to have deductions. For starters, pass wheels are different from Corvette wheels, and there is no way around the DOT problem. But I believe these would be a good choice for anyone having their car judged.

I do not mean this to be a advertisement for sale. I am just detailing what I have. As such, I will not respond to any questions about them on this forum. I will put them up on the classified ad section in the next few days.

Dannn

p.s. I tried to attach some photos, but it did not work.

Attached Files

**Mark F.** · October 14, 2022, 03:32 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Dannnnnnnn....

Love those Torque Thrusts ! Really nice look on your ride

I gotem, too

**Duke W.** · October 14, 2022, 07:21 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Originally posted by Dan Dillingham (49672)

I got some but not a lot of responses back, so I decided to learn for myself. In the archives I found a thread that Duke had commented on several years ago that was most helpful. Thank You Duke! Thia is not the first time you have bailed me out. This is what I did:

Wheels; American Racing - made in China (ya gotta love it).
Torq Thrust D, 6" wide, Back spacing 3.66", Offset + 4mm (.157").

Yellow and Red dots:

The yellow dots indicate the lightest part of the tire. If you have yellow dots, you line them up with the tire stem, which is perceived to be the heaviest part of the wheel. My tire guy did this. He lined them up.

But, if your tires have yellow and red dots, then the red dots (flat spot) takes priority. My guy did not do this. He does not do the red dots.
Thinking about this I think the driving factor here is this is intended for newer cars with TPMS devices. That module would add weight to the stem. So does this red dot syndrome apply to our older, non TPMS cars? Furthermore, I think the material removed by drilling and machining the stem hole would offset the weight of the stem. Does anyone have any opinions or knowledge on these red dots?

...glad it worked out for you. I must have missed your original post back in August or I probably would have responded and suggested repro '67 6" Rally wheels that would probably accept OE wheel covers, but the TTDs are a good choice, too.

If you look at modern cars with OE wheels, and I'm talking back at least 30 years old, you might see faint "white dots" just inboard of the bead flange, but on cars more than a few years old they may be gone. If the wheels have these white dots you mount the tire with the red dots next to the white dots because this matches the high spot on the tire with the low spot on the wheel.. or is it vice versa. I forget! In any event, lining up the red dots on the tire with the white dots on the wheel on the same radial line yields the least out of round for the tire-wheel assembly.

As little as .030" out of round can cause vibration, even it the tire is perfectly balanced. In this case seek out a shop with a Hunter 9700 system that can determine the best clocking of the tire to achieve minimum out of round.

Duke

P.S. Chevrolet actually may have started this "high spot/low spot" matching process back around 1970 on Corvettes. I recall Terry M. discussing this a few years ago.

**Jeffrey S.** · October 16, 2022, 09:00 AM

Re: Tires and Wheels

Duke,
I have a 1951 Chevrolet that has 22,000 miles and the original, unused spare tire in the trunk (US Rubber). It has never been on the ground and has all the original factory mold marks etc. that a new tire would have including a red triangle near the bead which I believe is the high (or low) spot on the tire. So if this is what the mark is, it means that Chevrolet or the tire manufacturer used this way earlier than 1970. I know you said that Chevrolet may have started using this on Corvette around 1970 but I thought I would point out that if they were using it in 1951, and maybe earlier, it would seem that it would be used on all models.
Jeff

**Duke W.** · October 16, 2022, 02:41 PM

Re: Tires and Wheels

If the red triangle is as you say then there should be some kind of mark on the wheel next to the red triangle.

Modern tires have what I would call a red dot about one-half inch in diameter, and the wheels have a white dot about the same size.

Duke

Tires and Wheels

Tires and Wheels

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment