Hey Everyone,

What is the widest rear tire that you are using?? (14-16" Rims).

I happened to notice in the MERA specs that the rear tires were listed as 265/50VR-15's on the rear and 245/50VR-15 on the fronts with the 15x7 "ferrari styled" rims they used.

My 308 has the Compomotive 15x7's (I've always wanted to upgrade to at least 16's but the 15's really look good - and original - on the car and I get a lot of compliments on them.)

The tires on the car now (all 4 corners) are currently 225/50VR-15 Goodyears. I don't mind the 225's on the front but would possibly consider a 255 or 265 on the rear depending on availability. It appears there would be room but I was just curious to see if others were using tires that wide on their cars.

[This message has been edited by 3084me (edited 05-28-2005).]

It depends on what type of rear suspension you have. I was able to fit 245's on the back of my '87 SE. But the sidewalls were dangerously close to the spring perches on the struts. I think with anything wider than 235mm (just to be safe), you should use adjustable coilovers.

Thanks for the info.

I'll actually will be using adjustable coilovers as soon as the V8 goes in. I was'nt sure that the 88 could "handle" that wide of a tire in the rear and when I read that MERA spec sheet I was surprised. (MIne is an 85). I've never had (or really seen/ worked on) an 88 so I was'nt sure of the differences "back there".

I think the 225's look plenty wide on the rear as it sits now. The 225's all around have been doing pretty well for me. I'll check when I get the new suspension in the back. If I could sneak a 245 back there, I just may..

[This message has been edited by 3084me (edited 05-29-2005).]

235-60R-15 on 15x8 rims up front
275-60R-15 on 15x10 rims out back w/ adjustable coil-overs
NAF (ASPP) GT40 rebody

[This message has been edited by WAWUZAT (edited 05-29-2005).]

I've sen 245/50-15 on a stock 15x7 wheel, but that the widest I've seen without going to a wider wheel.

265/50R15

I am currently running 265 x 15 x 50 all the way around on my 88 Mera with the Chromadoras. No problems at all on the tries until I dropped the front end one inch (Rodney's lowering ball joints). It is now possible to get some rub on the front tires at low speeds in a hard turn (parking lot type stuff) but everything works well at highway speeds.
The 87 Mera (different rims) is running 245 x 15 x 50 series tires all the way around with a one inch drop at all 4 corners (spring swap) and no problems.

245/50/15 is the best fitting "largest tire" for the stock 15x7 wheel.

265//50/15 is designed for a rim that is 8.5" wide.

If you go by what the major tire manufacturers say.....the MAXIMUM you can run SAFELY on a 7 inch wheel is a 255/50. This recomendation is for both 15" & 16" wheels. Personally I prefer the 255/50/16......it gives me a comfortable clearance on the inside, fitted on an 88 GT.

255/50/15 is a very rare size.

265 x 50 x 15 are hard to find also especially in a higher speed rating.

I'm running 245/50/15 Dunlop Sport8000's on the back. These barely fit on the rim. I would not recommend going any wider. But now that I think of it, I drove for about 1000 miles with 275/60/15's on the back as a joke! Something I also wouldn't recommend! But if you want the widest tire you can fit on the stock rims, 245/50/15's for the rear and 225/50/15's for the front. And only tire I believe comes in both of these sizes are the Sport8000's , which I might say are awesome tires! They would blow anything away that's available in the stock size! But I don't think they'll be available for too much longer.

[This message has been edited by Zewerr (edited 06-09-2005).]