'70 skylark rally wheels. need tires!

[wranglr88]

the tread on my 1970 buick skylark tires are badly balding, and need to find replacements. i am looking for something with that 'sporty' GS look. The wheels are 14" x 7", and im just looking for soemthing that is pretty wide, but not wide enough that it touches the wheel wells. modern radials are ok. please help!

[Diamondback]

Your best bet is a 225/70R14. It will fill the wheel wells out nicely and not look too skinny from behind. Good luck, Ron

[JohnD1956]

If you are not adverse to raised white letters, then I'd recommend...235 x 60 x 14's. See the attachment

[JohnD1956]

Okay, Lets try that attachment a 2nd time

[NTX5467]

I'd be willing to bet that the wheels are stamped "14x6" rather than being 14x7s. Typically, Camaros were the only GM wheels that were 14x7. The correct measurement is "between the rims" rather than "total side to side" rim width (which can account for the added width you might have found when measuring "flange to flange, outside dimension"). This is provided that the wheels are OEM factory wheels and not a repro variation thereof, size wise.

If you want the "factory correct" look, then possibly P215/75R-14 would work, even available in whitewalls. That should equate to the older G78-14 size pretty well.

The only "Billboard White Letter" tires were in the G60-15 size (most usually found on Skylark GS models).

Just depends on preference and available funding. If you put the wider and heavier 70 or 60-series tires where something less wide is now, it might also point up the condition of your shocks and suspension--more weight bouncing around to control. Plus, unless you have sway bars under the car that are larger than normal, the body lean in the turns (during spirited driving) could negate the full tread area being on the ground due to wheel lean. Hence, the wider tires might look better but actual performance might not be any better than the skinnier G78-14 equivalent tires.

Enjoy!

NTX5467