Which tires to get?

[Mckrack]

You are correct Arne and I think mine were 205 60s or 65s and they rubbed. The worst sound is when you back up to make a three point turn out of your driveway and all of a sudden you here this sound and at first you don't know whet the hell it is.

As for putting different tires on the front then the back. Well I guess it depends on what look you want. I don't like it but then again I am a purist.

McKrack

[red_dog007]

What size tire was stock on the 240z? 175/75? If so that would be 131.25cm tall correct?

So should I be able to go 195/65 = 126.75cm in the front and 215/60 = 129cm in the rear? Would this be too low, or is this still safe to go?

I think that I finally found a brand that will let me keep the same series tire for up front and for the rear as I am looking at different widths. Yokohama Avid series tire.

I would like to have the same sized tires in the front as the rear (above 195), but I am not going to like the tires rubbing at all, so I figure that having two different sizes wouldn't hurt.

[Arne]

All 240Zs came with 175-14 standard. either SR or HR depending on the production date. That size pre-dates the current sizing conventions, and most closely equates to 175/80-14 in today's terminology.

The following 14" sizes are within a couple percent of stock height:

185/75-14

195/70-14 (stock size on 280Z, and what I have on my red 240Z)

205/65-14 (rare size these days)

225/60-14 (only a couple choices)

Another issue is wheel width. 240Zs came with 4.5" wide wheels until '73, when they went to 5" wide. For best handling and wear, you really don't want to go wider than 185 on the 4.5" wheels. For 5" wheels you can use anything up to 205 wide, although 195 is better. For 5.5" aftermarket wheels 175-205 width are fine. For 6" use 185-205 widths, and 6.5" should be good with 195-225 widths. For 7" or wider, use 205-245 widths.

[TomoHawk]

What's your goal for these tires? Are you looking for a street, touring, competition, or what? I'm using 195/70S-14 on my 280Z for touring, and the ride is very comfortable; it'll take a rough road fairly well. These tires wre not up to an autoX course I once tried.

Different size tires will also affect things like your speedometer and odometer.

Try this web page to compare tire sizes. Tire Size Compare

thx

[BuDavid]

my 1977 280Z is running on 225/60 R14, I'm satisfied and they never rubbed.. the hight should be very close to stock hight of 195/70 R14..

the overall tire radius affects the speedometer reading, while width is more about grip, steering and sometimes rubbing depending on the offset.