295/50/R15's on 8inch wide rims?any problems

[ANDYS87]

My GN needs TRACTION......and I don't want to run slicks. This is for a street only driver. I love the look of 295/50/R15's. I am thinking about buying the 15x8 GN "factory" rims from G-Bodyparts. Will these rub without spacers? I hate the idea of using spacers. I saw a post recently on someone running these tires on FACTORY rims....without any rubbing! This is too wide of a tire to mount on a 7 inch wide rim in my opinion....the manuals all say to mount them on 8 to 10 inch rims. Oh yeah, I want to stay away from 10's because I dont want them to stick out too far. Any info is appreciated.

Andy

 

[aquickv6]

I ran 295x50x15 on the stock T-Type rims for many years. No problems

 

[49-blues]

What brand tires are available in this 295x50x15 size? which ones are the best to use? thanks

 

[ANDYS87]

Look in the summit catalog. BF Goodrich Radial TA's come in that size, so do GoodYear GT II's......probably many others. I think even Futura's at PepBoys are in that size. I'll probably get the Goodyears. I dont like the black wall on the BF's, kind of plain, and the rubber isn't really smooth.....just me being picky.

 

[J Banning]

I ran 295/50/15 BFG Comp TA Radials on my car for a couple of years. They worked great, and looked bad ass too!

They were on a 15x8" wheel, with (don't quote me on this) 3.5" backspacing. The fit was VERY tight against the frame. I had to run a 1/4" spacer on the drivers side, but two other friends who ran the same tire did NOT have to on their cars.

You can see the tires/wheels on my car on this page:
http://www.banningcohen.com/buick/my_car

-Banning.

 

[LawDog]

295's

What kind of suspension mods does one need to keep the top of the outside wheel well from slamming down on top of the tires?

I ran 295x50x15 on the stock T-Type rims for many years. No problems

 

[J Banning]

Dual air bags.

MY springs sagged a little, so with that being said I ran about 10-15psi in them.

 

[qwic87gn]

I've run two pairs of the BFG T/a's in that size(on the second pair now). They are on a 8"wide with 4"bs. The car is on stock suspension, other than bilstiens. The fender lips have rolled.

I've had one problem with both sets, they don't wear evenly. In my opinion, an 8" wide wheel is not wide enough for that tire. No matter how low the pressure is set, it always wears the center of the tire down to the wear bars, and the outside has better than 60% left.

I didn't have a problem with rubbing until I starting to make enough power to run 12.0's on that tire. When the car was giving full throttle on the street at any point under 60mph, that it would torque the body enough to start bouncing that tires back and forth off the frame. That can be somewhat of a scary feeling.
When the little 26x10 ET streets are on for the street, it runs straight, no rubbing.

I hope that helps a little in your decision. You may want to look at the Toyo Proxes S/t in that size. That's a much better tire and looks 10x better. It's a sport truck tire, but it's speed rated, unlike the BFG.

BTW; 295's do look pretty damn good. :biggrin: