What tires came on a Charger

[bakerhillpins]

Reading through my build sheet I can't locate any information on what type of tires were put on my charger when it left the factory. IIRC 68s had that info on the fender tag, but not 69s.

Before I lay out a hunk of change on new redline tires I was interested knowing what was OE on the car.

[John_Kunkel]

It would depend on the engine size.

A 440 could have anything from a F70X14 to a F70X15. A Hemi would be F70X15.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Look on your Broadcast Sheet, Line 2.... "T-U-W....Tires"

There will be a code there....more than likely T83 for F70x14 Redlines


PS---- "X88" 

[charge69]

To add to the previous thread,  Chrysler-supplied vehicles came with Firestone brand tires in 1969 too. If you do not have the buildsheet for your car, you cannot be sure of what they put on it. There were a few combo's available but most were 14" tires unless it was a 500 or Daytona or a HEMI. I think the redline tires were in 14" and 15" combos, depending on the car. The usual caveat applies: or that is as far as I know and I don't know much.  

My build sheet says "U65" in the T-U-W block which is F70-15 red stripe fiberglass belted.

[bakerhillpins]

Look on your Broadcast Sheet, Line 2.... "T-U-W....Tires"

There will be a code there....more than likely T83 for F70x14 Redlines


PS---- "X88" 

I see T85 in that location on my sheet.

Ok, can someone please tell me why I can read something at least 3 times and while it is right there in front of my face I don't see it. Then after I ask a question I immediately find it and feel completely stupid.   This has been at least the 3rd time this week. 

Not only was it on the sheet as "Tires" but the Galen printout has it spelled out in plain English.

T85 F70 X 14" Red Streak Tires F'Glas

Thanks all. I knew it was there but I just couldn't see the forest for the trees I guess. 

[bakerhillpins]

Sorry about the wrong section....    I should know better.

PS---- "X88" 

Er... well, that was a really rare option where they supplied a monogrammed dunce cap to the owner.   

Fixed.

[charge69]

Don't fret about it. I had to look on my buildsheet a few times before I found the proper codes. Happens to me more and more often now!

[bakerhillpins]

Don't fret about it. I had to look on my buildsheet a few times before I found the proper codes. Happens to me more and more often now!

  Yea, its just been one of those weeks. And it's only Tuesday. 

[maxwellwedge]

If the original tire sticker is still in the door jamb that helps - if no Broadcast Sheet.

[bakerhillpins]

Don't think it is but will have to check again.

How wide is the red stripe supposed to be?  Or does Diamond Back only have one width to choose from in red lines.

It looks like I want to get a tire that has an overall diameter that matches the OEM tire option, yes? So a F70x14 is 26.20 in. and a F70x15 is 26.90 in. Search results also seem to suggest that sticking to stock diameter would keep an accurate speedo.  Will the .7 in make any real impact?

Should the rear end ratio be used to determine which diameter to choose? Original was a 3.23 with F70x14s... currently has 3.93 (according to owner)

[Troy]

Well, assuming it's an 8 3/4" rear you probably have 3.91 rear gears (no 3.93 that I'm aware of). Do you feel like you're running around 3,500 RPM at 60 mph? That's a fun gear for the street but not if you drive a lot (like I do) or if you spend any amount of time on the highway. Taller tires will lessen the effective ratio while still giving good performance from a stoplight AND you can put something a little beefier on there. I'm not a fan of stock size tires because it looks like the car is being held up by stilts. Too much room in those wheel wells for a 6-7" wide tire! The .7 inches will make a difference - but probably only a couple of miles (assuming the correct speedometer gear is in the transmission now). I guess now would be a really good time for me to have the gear calculator working on the site...

Troy

[ODZKing]

My 67 "435" 43 = 7.75 x 14" whitewall 5 = w/spare
My 73 "T56" = H78 x 14 WhiteSideWall

[bakerhillpins]

Yes, 8 3/4" rear and that is a typo 3.91s.. 60 currently is netting me around 3200 rpm, assuming the speedo is correct but I haven't checked against anything.

So lots of stuff I would like anyone and everyone's opinion on:

So I like the redlines and can get them so I can cruse early next week from DB classics. I would have to expedite my order and place it today so that I can cruse next week. we are at roughly 1100 simoleons.   If you start to tack in road hazard (which I don't ever buy) it just keeps getting worse.

I could also get standard BFGoodrich T/A with raised white letters for a tad over half the cost and probably have them sooner to boot, maybe for this weekend.

Basic issues at the moment are this:
- Like redlines and that is what came on the car.
- Redlines take 2 weeks and cost $$$$$$ (expedite or not - adds $60)
- Just got the car and now I am looking at a wonderful garage ornament and crying when I can't take it out.
- If I go with something other than redlines am I throwing good money/rubber out knowing I will move to back to the redlines. Er.. yes, I realize I could burn them off to move up the time table.  

If I expedite I have to get different front and rear sizes as they only have 2 of the 255/60 15s in stock so putting 215/70 15s in the front would make it work. I always liked the muscle car look with smaller fronts and bigger rears though its usually more dramatic then this setup would be. Is there a down side to not being able to rotate on the old cars?

Searching for pics of cars with the BF Goodrich TAs on is kinda a pain.  

[maxwellwedge]

5 Bucks says the speedo gear wasn't changed when the 3.23's were changed to 3.91's. Meaning, the speedo will be way out of whack.

[Troy]

Or the factory tach is off (surprise!).

I made a guess because my Challenger was turning 3200 rpm at 61 mph (GPS reading) with 28" tires. I could do the math to figure out what a 26" tire would do but it should be revving higher by a decent margin.

If the speedometer gear hadn't been changed there would be a swing in the speed reading (mine jumped 10-13 mph or so when I switched from 2.76 to 3.91). I suppose it's possible that the car is actually traveling at 54-55 mph which might account for the lower RPM - and the factory tach reads low by 500-600 rpm at times.

No matter, I'd buy a second set of steel rims (or Magnums or aluminum after market wheels) with a set of radial T/As *AND* buy the redlines (no rush) to put on your current wheels for shows. Again, I drive a lot and those skinny tires aren't my thing. If you know you want redlines and won't be happy with anything else then just buy those but I wouldn't rush if I had to get mismatched sizes. Can you buy two now just to fix your bubbly one and then wait a couple weeks on the others?

Troy

[bakerhillpins]

5 Bucks says the speedo gear wasn't changed when the 3.23's were changed to 3.91's. Meaning, the speedo will be way out of whack.

That wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Well, I went with the BF Goodrich Radial T/As. I will post pics when they get slapped on this Friday. Yippee, I can go cruising again this weekend.    I just couldn't justify the extra $570 for red circles on the tires at this point in time, no matter how much I liked the accent that the redlines give. Guess now I am going to have to live with just driving around in a Charger..  

We are going to try 235/70-15s up front and 275/60-15s in the rear. Let the experiment begin.

[bakerhillpins]

No matter, I'd buy a second set of steel rims (or Magnums or aluminum after market wheels) with a set of radial T/As *AND* buy the redlines (no rush) to put on your current wheels for shows. Again, I drive a lot and those skinny tires aren't my thing. If you know you want redlines and won't be happy with anything else then just buy those but I wouldn't rush if I had to get mismatched sizes. Can you buy two now just to fix your bubbly one and then wait a couple weeks on the others?

Troy

Thanks for the input! 

Sounds like we are coming to the same conclusions. The redlines on there now are at a min 16 yrs old according to the DOT stamp so it's probably time anyhow. I found some pics of a 3x black 68 with the BFGs on them and it's a good old school look. When it comes time for Q5 then I will probably get new radial redlines and put them on body colored steelies with dog dishes (freakin love that setup  ) even though it left the factory with those nasty simulated mag wheel covers. 

[Troy]

Good plan. Make sure of your wheel backspacing and width before mounting those 275s. I have found that the Charger is more forgiving than my E bodies when it come to tire clearance though. I accidentally bought 3 3/4" BS wheels instead of 4 1/2" and had to drop to 255s on the Barracuda - but they had plenty of room on the Charger.

Troy

[bakerhillpins]

I know that they are 15 x 7 wheels but need to double check the backspacing.   

[bakerhillpins]

Ok, did a quick seat of the pants verification on the rims while on the car.

7" rims has 8" from inboard to outboard flange.

Laid a straight edge across the outboard flange and measured to the outer face of the front side of the hub mounting pad on the Magnum 500s (not the flare out for the lug nut). The hub thickness measured out to be roughly 1/8th of an inch. So add that to my measurement gives 3 1/2" from the outboard flange to the hub mounting pad. So 8" total - 3 1/2" gives me a 4 1/2" backspacing with a 1/2" offset.

So we should be good to go. 

[bakerhillpins]

We are going to try 235/70-15s up front and 275/60-15s in the rear. Let the experiment begin.

Well, they are on the car... Didn't get much time to check them out on it as I picked it up late in the evening when it was dark but they look good.    They drive MUCH better, in fact it was a wonderful driving experience. No more hunting around the lane and feeling like I was simply making a suggestion. 

The tires fit in the car just fine. Ill grab a few pics and post up tomorrow. Plus I will post up to the stickied thread up top too.

[bakerhillpins]

A tad late but never the less here is what they look like on the rims. After having them on the car for a while I am not so sure I like the larger tires up front. Oh well, it's not horrible and it just means that I don't have to worry about burning them off faster.