Old Rocketman 98

It's time for wheels and tires on my 76 old's 98 project. I am thinking about replacing the 15 in stock tires and going with 18s in the rear and 17 or 16s in the front. The salesmen suggest going with 20s in the rear. I just want better handling and more rubber on the road (8 inches vice 6). Anyone have any suggestions. I attached pictures.

cfair

I like 15x7’s on my ‘66’s, but I think I‘d like 15x8’s better.

The 98 skirts complicate things.

If you stagger, you limit your options for tire rotation and in case of emergencies (like flats).

Totally personal call, but I like knowing the spare in my trunk will work on any of the 4 corners equally well.

Chris

Olds64

Pretty cool 98!

As Chris said the biggest hurdle will be clearing the fender skirts. If you just want wider tires why not get 15" rims that are wider with a different offset and backspacing? If you want different size wheels you'll have to find a tire that's comparable to the same height as the 235/75R15s on your 98 now, otherwise your speedometer will be inaccurate. Here are some good links:

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

https://help.summitracing.com/app/an...s-do-i-need%3F

The shop you're buying the wheels and tires from should be willing to help you find the right size. They should even have a tool like this to do some testing:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/php-01201/overview/

oldcutlass

IMHO, staggered wheels on a land yacht would look out of place.

bigrbandit

The big cars use 15x7 with 5x5 bolt circle, so anything that fits a 2wd gm truck 73-98 will work. I really liked 255 70 15 on 15x7 on my truck. This will fit most 88/98s. Look at full size truck pics from the 90's. You might look at some 255 50 17s on 17x8's. I almost guarantee the skirts in the back need to go to fit any wider tire.

Olds64

The thing about the 71-76 98s is that they were made to have the fender skirt installed, unlike the fender skirts in the 50s. There is a lip in the rear fender where the fender skirt sits. Of course, you can run the car without the fender skirts but it looks goofy.