Race/ Street strip radial front runners, and height/ fitment

My 71 Duster has 24.7 inch tall BFG radial TA tires on it currently( 275 Hoosier radial Dot slick on the back). Current fronts are P 155 80R 15's.... 5.7 section width.
With the short fronts the car has more " rake" than I want. They were on it when I bought it. It doesn't help that I have S/S springs on the back and shocks to jeep the body off the tires enough to not hit when street driving, so rear is a little high, probably has to stay that way.
Couple of questions.
1. What height tire will fit on an A body( looking at 28 Mickey radial front runner, 6.1 section width. Will a skinny 28 fit?
2 . Would going from a 24.7 height tire to a 28 make a noticeable difference in the stance of the car( already have T bars almost all the way up) 1/2 of 3.3 inches basically.
Anybody have 28 front runners on the front they have a picture of. I am afraid going to a 26 wouldn't be worth the cost, for very little difference.

Any cheaper alternatives than 200 each Mickey fronts.

205/75/15 is 27" tall give or take 1/4 inch depending on brand, lower frt of fender opening might need touched, 28 won't go without a good amount of trimming.

That looks like a WAY wider tire than what I have, really hoping to not go any wider if I can help it.

What about 185/80R15 ? That is what i run on my 68 Satellite.
Hankook and Kumho list this tyre , i have used both on a 4" ri

Tex

I been using the m/t sportsman s/r at 26x8. Been thinking about going to the moroso ds2 at 28x4.5. Looks like I have enough room.

Will a bias tire work with a radial on the back on a slow car?

On my sons Dart we run a standard radial street tire thats 205/75-14 up front and Hoosier 26 x 9 x 15 on the back. I found most normal size 15" front tires hit the fender on turns but these 14's cleared well as he did not want to trim the lower fender edges in the front wheelwell. Ron

Here is another pic where you can get a good shot of how it sits. Not the best pic but you can get the idea how it sits. Ron

Mine seems to drive fine with bias ply on front and radial on back. I only race 1/8 and have run 110 mph.

I run a 28" M/T Sportsman bias ply on the front of my E body. The 165R15 radials I used to run drove better, but were too short. The bias up front and radial out back drives OK, but it's definitely better w/ radials all around. It is not a problem on the track at all...I only notice it when on the highway. The bias fronts tend to wander a little.

The 205-75 tires some recommended will look a LOT wider than what you have now. I know they look way too wide for me...I like em skinny up front.

The tallest radial skinny tire is only 26" tall...unless they have one out now that I'm not aware of. If someone made a 28" tall and skinny radial, I'd own a pair of them.

Thanks Chip......
I have concerns a 28 would fit, and a 26 isn't much taller than the 24.70 tire I have now.
Guess what I am looking for is a 27 inch skinny radial, haven't found it yet.

The 165R15 is only about 25" to 25.5" tall. If you can find a 27" tall/skinny radial, let me know. I'd be tempted to use that instead of a 28" at this point.

Same here, I'd love to find a tall skinny radial. I have the 26" M/T Sportsman on the front and a regular 275/60 street radial on the back, even with a fresh front end alignment the car seems to wander around. It also follows every crack in the road but that's probably just because the front tires are narrow.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Mickey-Thompson/672/6678/10002/-1

These look nice

I was looking at those , but wonder if they will fit on my Duster. If I knew they would( and not touch or rub anywhere driving) I would get them.
27's I would feel more sure about, but nobody makes them in a radial.

that's what I currently use and they measure 25" tall. i'm looking to go 28" tall skinny as well.

Dave... Are you saying those 26 Mickey radial fronts measure 25?

If so I wonder if the 28's actually measure a hair shorter????????

E-body showing 215/75R15 fronts (~ 27.2" IIRC) w/ 275/60R15 MT ET Street Radials on the back. Fronts are mounted on 5" rims, which is as narrow as I'd use 'em on.

yes, you might want to make a call to m/t to get a actual measure.

Found a place called ..... Online tire.
They show a Federal brand tire at 72 bucks each that is a 195 80r 15....... Skinny enough and 27.2 inches tall.
Problem is they have none in stock and say they are on back order and 4-6 weeks out. I would wait, but wonder if this tire would ever be in stock. Got the guy checkng into it. Will follow up if they can get them, would be perfect.

TireRack.com doesn't list a single tire in this size, and all the other online listings I found for it were for Australia or the UK. Must be an oddball fitment for USA vehicles.

I'll be interested in seeing if you can find one here that's also not an All-Terrain tread, too.

Federal couragia 96s is the tire. 195 80r 15
Online tires.com
Think they are out of California

But you're the one who pointed this out, which also doesn't show much demand for it.

Tire is made in Korea. Several places show it, but none have it. Sounds like a dead end.

Stands to reason there wouldn't be much demand for it.
First it's for a 15 inch wheel
It's a radial for a 15 inch wheel
And it's skinny.
I have 155 80's on the car now( bfg's) and they are readily available, just shorter than I want.

I have Hoosier 275 drag radials on the back.
Just called Hoosier because they make a bias ply 27 inch tall front runner.
I asked about using that tire on the front, and a radial on the back....
His comment was..... Welcome to pretty much every stock and super stock car in the country.
Think this is what I am gonna do. They weigh 11 pounds only, are the exact size I was looking for, and seem safe to use.

Might want to ask Hoosier if they measure 27 or go to there spec page. I call moroso and they couldn't say for sure there 28 measures 28. Circumferance is 86 3/8 is the best they could do.

I did not know M/T came out w/ these! Finally! Pricy though.

mopar dave...what tires do you have that you mentioned are actually 25" tall?

Bob...I have 2 sets of front rims/tires for my car. I used to have a pair of 165R15 radials on one set. The wandering the car did w/ the bias sportsman fronts stopped completely w/ the radials, but the radials were so short the car looked like crap w/ them.

I got some mt 29x4.5x15s that came on a car I bought recently. Not sure if I'll ever use them or not.

Circumference on the 27 Hoosier is 85.

When I go over to Lane automotive to get them, will see if they are chalk marked like rears are. Will get two tallest matched pair.

i use a Hancook or Kumho 185/80R15 on my 68 Satellite . I have also fitted these on an Aust Valiant - similar/same as a 67-69 Dart
Neither have had clearance issues . I use a 4" rim the Valiant a 6" rim

Tex

I run M&H front runners on my scamp...They are a bias ply front runner, have a DOT stamp, and handle just fine on the street and strip with the radial pros I run in the rear. I believe the size is 26x4.50? Check the M&H site, but I am very happy with them and will be getting another set when these are done (and they are almost there)

Well, just finished fiddling with the little 318 and she is ready to rock.
Just need to install the 3 inch pipe and bullets I just bought, and put tires on the front of it before taking it to the track.
Feels good to have it dialed in
She ain't a promod, but she is ready for some pro/ mod bracket racing.... Lol

67 Dart
73 and up K frame and brakes
15x3.5 weld
26" M/T Sportmans
Ground to fender through he center of the wheel is 27"

I was just looking at that size on Summitracing.com.
Coker 57986 has a red line that might be removable? It's 27 tall, 7.28 section, 4.75 tread. $178 each.

My M/T Sportsman is 26 tall, 6.3 section, and 4.8 tread.

As far as the front bias-ply tires wandering on the road, will they do that if the rear tires are bias-ply?

I have regular 275/60 street radials on the rear of my Duster street car with M/T 26" bias-ply front runners and 4" wheels and I hate this combo on the street. It wanders and the front tires try to follow every crack in the road.

I either need to get rear bias-ply tires, or switch to a 6"(my centerline Qualifier wheels do not come in 5") front wheel with a wider/taller 205/75/15 radial.

I'm not sure Bob. It's been so long since I ran bias ply tires on the rear of mine. When I did, I had 165r15 radials up front and for a couple years I ran M/T ET Fronts on the street. I don't remember the ET Fronts ever wandering like the M/T sportsman fronts do. The radials definitely did not.
You could get a pair of these...
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mickey-Thompson/672/6678/10002/-1

I would if I had the extra money.

Yea I have that same problem right now lol. Those might be the hot ticket for all of us as long as they're not too for an A-body. I just can't spend $400 on 2 front tires right now.

yes the bias will wander/track . when I ran them on my 32 Ford and 54 Desoto they would wander under around 40MPH over that never noticed it

Tex

Ok I'm gonna try to get some kind of radial on the front soon.

I like the size of the Coker 57986 but it has the redline on it, might be able to flip the tire around though if it's not on both sides, it's not a directional tire. But they're $178 each so I may as well go with the 28" Mickey Thompson radial. I wish they weren't so expensive.

I'm using a 205/75/15 on a 4" wide Centerline qualifier wheel.They work well with no problem

That's great news^^^!!

I was looking at a Chevelle last night with that size and I thought they looked great for a street car and he said they ride nice. I think his were Triumph brand or something like that. What brand are yours?

Well, I made the decision to purchase a couple 205/75/15 front radials for my Duster and they are way too big.

I went from 3" of oil pan clearance to 4.5" so I was happy with that and I thought they looked pretty good although the sidewalls were a little wider than what I wanted for an A-body but when I slowly turned the wheel they were gonna hit the rear part of the front fender badly and they were awfully close to hitting the top of the fender wheel opening.

My 26" M/T Sportsmans measure 24 3/4 just standing up with a level and tape measure, these 205/75's measure just shy of 27".

I REALLY need to find a radial that's a little taller than my 26" M/T's. Anybody want to buy some new tires cheap?

Side view...

One more...

Wish you were closer, I'd probably take them.

My 205/75's are 84" circumference and they don't fit my Duster.

I ended up buying Hoosier bias 27 inch fronts.
Long story short, the passenger side one needed up hitting the fender and bent it, first time i took it out for a drive.
Bought the same tire in a 26 and they are fine.

I will sell the 27 fronts if anybody needs them for a good deal.

I might be interested in the 27 inch tires I'm just east of you in the jackson area pm me and maybe we can work something out

That sucks about the fender Don, luckily I turned mine slowly and looked at it, it would have hit badly.

Sorry they didn't work for you Bob. I've always thought those 205-75 tires looked big. They always get brought up in posts like these, but it's really too big to be considered a skinny front tire to me.

Yea I prefer them skinnier too, just tired of the wandering steering and the 3 inches of oil pan clearance. I don't even know what to do now. I drive this car alot.

I know exactly what you mean. Looks like we're both gonna have to spend the $$$ on those tall M/T radials.

I'm sure the tall ones would hit my fenders so I'll have to go with the 26" radials. I called M/T today and asked why their 26" front radials are only about 25" tall according to everyone I've talked to and he said everyone must be measuring them wrong.

I measured my 26" Sportsman tires tonite after they were remounted and properly inflated and they are only 25.25" tall measured with a level on top.

I've never measured my 28" sportsman fronts...might need to just to see.

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/cok-579878

What do you guys think about this 185/15 Coker radial for a street car?
26.25"
7.40 section
5.50 tread

I'd bet that it's a tad taller than the 26" M/T.

Same size on a 4" x 2.25" backspace Weld wheel. Car sits on the lower bumpstops and clears fine.

I don't know how you guys are doing that, my 4" wheel only has 1.75 backspace but it was hitting the rear of the wheel opening badly, and it looked like it might hit the top of the opening if I hit a bump while turning. I guess that's why we test fit stuff, every car is a little different.

I went to Summit Yesterday To Check Out The Coker 579878 but it was a special order deal so I didn't get to see it. If it's a little taller than the 26" M/T radial I'd be happy.

Think that extra 1/2" of backspace the other guys' wheels have would result in enough extra room not to have your clearance problems?

The old M/T spec sheets for the Sportsman front tires listed the 28" front (which I also used to run) as actually being 27.5" (maybe shorter?) tall. I know when I replaced them w/ the 215/75R15s on my Challenger's 5" rims that there didn't seem to be much difference in how the car sat, and I went w/ the 215 rather than the 205 because of just that little extra height.

Been doing some research into skinny DOT street tires for my small block Duster. Current tire is a BFG 205-60-R15 and I'm looking to get a 4" rim up front with a 165-80-R15

Choices are the following..

Nankang CX668 High Performance Tire - 165/80R15 87T

Kumho Power Star 758 - 165/80R15

Cordovan Classic 165/80/R15

Not a lot of stuff out there.

Possibly, I called Centerline and he said he could make my Qualifier wheel with a 2.25" backspace and give it a part number so I could order it from Summit. So I may sell my new 4" Qualifiers over the winter, they have the 1.75" backspace.

Then I have to decide which front tire between the Coker 579878 and the M/T 26" radial. I'm leaning towards the Coker since it is probably a little taller.

Watch the height of those 165 tires, some are only 24.5" tall so if you have headers or oil pan that hang low it can cause problems, plus the 26" tires generally look better.

I`m running the M/T 26" ft. runners on my Dart and just wish they were an 1" taller..........look kinda goofy w/the 29.5x10.5 slicks in the rear.......

My 205-60-15's are 24.6"