How big of a rear tire on you 1971-1974 Dodge Charger.

I had opened a discussing on front wheel size and decided to see what guys were running on the rear of their 3rd gen Chargers. I always believe in the rear tires should be HUGE crowd, but thinking good road manners, traction and road noise should be addressed as well. I am considering stock style wheel for dog dish, diam 15X10 4.5 back spaced wheels with Cooper Cobra 295/50R15. I don't think I will have issues with those even though I will have passenger in my 72' Charger Rallye. It will have MP hipo leaf springs and stock swaybar. What sizes are you guys running?

Dodgecharger.com link

295/50/15 are a GREAT tire size.......when they fit.

You are rolling the dice. Often they don’t fit. Manufacturing tolerances, a 50 year old car that has shifted just a bit over the years, never was perfect sized to side to begin with etc. Backspacing often needs to be dead on.

275/60’s are a much safer bet, but not quite as wide of course, which sucks.

Thanks for the link, it helped me remember that even if it's the biggest tire fits, that it may not 'look right' when mounted. I would like it to fit and look good with it not going too far in out. Going to pull up some pics of my cuda with oversize wheels (currently at another shop) and see how those measure up in comparison to the charger specs..

yeah, Gonna have to measure that back spacing to e sure. not worried on the chassie specks too bad. Nice when it was a little old lady owned 92k mile semi-survivor I started with (rear swaybar bushing still looked like new and was pretty clean in the rear). 15X8 in the front may work well with 4"in back space and a 245/50 tire, but the rear is going to need some research for sure. Might have to save the wheels for last and do more checking into these bodies to see what's gonna work with it.

I run 295's in back and 245's in front on an e-body, "plenty" of clearance. I am not sure if the 3rd gen b-bodies are like e-bodies where the spring cuts into the wheel well or like earlier b-bodies where they don't.

Pacnorthcuda said. "275/60’s are a much safer bet, but not quite as wide of course, which sucks." The metric tires don't size up like the old designation. The 295 50 15 is kinda short at 26.6" tall.. The 275 60 at 28" has the height but could use more width. The old N 50 15 was around 28" and a solid 12" wide at the tread. I like RWL tires but would love a RWL non drag race radial in a 325 50 15.

I think the 275/60 would fill the profile better in the large wheel opening.The 295 is nice and wide but is definitely short looking.We have used the 295/50-15 on a 10" wheel on a '69 Plymouth GTX and it fit for the most part.Minor rubbing on the extreme curbs.The short tire isn't as noticeable on the more shielded quarter opening of the Plymouth.
RT

I’ve often thought the best tire size would be a 285/55/15.......if only we could just order em up!

That sounds like something I should check for since I do like my cars to corner abit.

For "stock" look... all 4 corners the same. Easier for everything ( rotation, replacement, emergency, whatever )

If you get SG, consider the tire size for the spare too. Myself ( I installed SG ) got a specific tire measure WHICH I CANNOT REMEMBER right now to match with 255/60 diameter, not being 255 wide but stockish look wide on stock steel wheel to get a comfortably fitment and look on trunk space, not a wide tire into the trunk.

A good friend of mine runs 305 50-15 on the back of 74 Charger. His rims are the same dimensions as yours. I can't remember if his offset was 4" or 4.5".

Theyre are alot more variety of sizes in a non RWL type tire but I would like a Traditional N50x15 sized raised white letter BF Goodrich TA Radial.

I recommend my 1.25" offset spring hanger/shackle kit, '68-'70 B-body rearend, 15 x 10" wheels with 5" backspacing and MT Sportsman SR 28/12/15 street radials.

I have a Dr. Diff offset spring hanger/shackle kit, '71 housing, 15 x 10 wheels with 5" backspacing and 325/50/15. Plenty of clearance.

Boy does that look good !!

NICE!

Migs,I have 295/50/15s on 15x10 Dragstars on my 73 Charger.

Wasn't there a write up on a Gunmetal gray 71 charger? It was an original paint grandma's car, pictures and measurements were given in a thread,for custom rims and tires.The end result was a well balanced good looking car.I don't remember the website,thought it was moparts? Also thought its pic was in a magazine as a survivor/upgrade??

Moparguy383 is that body raised? If so how much?
Thanks

That does sound like a good idea. I don’t mind having an extra spare in the trunk as the trunks on these cars are huge and have a lot of capacity.
Thanks everyone for the help. Taking a few days to reply, dang Christmas time is super busy out here.

[quote=NachoRT74]For "stock" look... all 4 corners the same. Easier for everything ( rotation, replacement, emergency, whatever )


I believe you and the others are right. I am wanting to make a fun car, but also want something a little stock appearing on the exterior and too wide of a rear tire might take that away from what I want. If I can think of the best wheel dimeter with that 275/6015 245/255 front, this might be much better setup for the car.

So Cass, your saying that setup will bolt in, or will I need to weld spring perches in a new location? I do have a 1972 Roadrunner I would love to run larger, modern size wheels on.

Oh man, that looks tuff!

White in a Mopar is one of my favorite colors and that looks really good on yours.

If you run my offset hanger/shackle kit, you must install the spring perches at 44.75" on center.

mopardamo,

I have super stock springs on it, that is all.

Mine's a Plymouth Satellite, but I run 255/45-17s all around.

Thanks Cass. Too bad it isn’t a bolt in like e-bodies.