Looking to put Magnum 500 rims & BF Goodrich tires on my 69 Eliminator.
Who makes a quality Magnum 500 wheel now a days? Was told by a reputable Cougar parts supplier that they are all “Junk” anymore. I was thinking about Wheel Vintiques brand but still not sure.
Specialty Wheels used to be here in Portland, OR and they were nice rims, they moved to California several years ago and I’ve been told they are no good.
I want to go with 15 x 7 rims, 235/60R15 tires on the front and 255/60R15 on the rear. Would this be a good combo? The car has been lowered about an inch all around.
I just put Magnums on my 71. I don’t know who makes a better quality wheel, but I belive that the recommended tire width for a 7” rim is 205 - 225. I could be wrong.
I’ve had good luck with the alloy version sold by Holley under the Legendary Wheel brand. Plenty of 15 x 7 options. Check what offset you need/want. On the front of my ‘68 I used 15” x 7’‘ with 4.25” backspace.
I used this site for wheel comparisons. I entered the tire size you proposed just for kicks.
My brother just bought four Magnum 500 wheels 15” by 7” from West Coast. He bought four 15” BF Goodrich radial TA’s in P215-65R15 from tirerack.com they had the best price. It’s for his 1967 I am restoring.
I am running 15 X 7 Magnums that came with the car on 235/60 Cooper Cobras. Not sure of the manufacturer of the magnums. I am not getting any rubbing on the front fender so far even with the additional height of new tires.
Cooper Tires make a 215/60R15. I would go with those. They are the Cooper GT tire and about $30 a tire cheaper. Im in tne same boat for my 1967. Going with the mag star. The the GT9 wheel is awesome also. From legendary wheels.
Good to know about the Coopers. I’ll keep an eye on them, although I don’t intend to drive them on a regular basis. The thing is, I put a nice set of Continentals (50,000 mi tires) on my van and was told when I went in for my last rotation at just 25,000 mi, that they were too worn to be safely rotated. Tires are one of those things you have to buy, so you’re going to get robbed one way or another.
I have those Legendary on my ‘67. The suspension is stock base springs with the Shelby lowering mod. I run 16” x 8” wheels. They are a nice fit - correct offset.
I think the reality is folks aren’t going to drive their older cougars / mustangs in the same manner as a newer car, thus the newer performance tires aren’t really “needed” on our old cars. Of course there are a few exceptions with some still tracking their cars. I’ve had a number of new Mustangs and gravitated towards the Michelins / Continentals and their Ultra Summer Performance tires as I was running a local road course a few times a year and occasional autocross event.
I made the choice of installing the Legendary 10 spokes in 17-7 and 17-8 as I liked the look and better tire options, and chose the General Gmax tires due to their look / reviews / capabilities for my last Cougar. I know some prefer the 15s and old school BF Goodrich.
Unfortunately, I sold this vehicle but may make a similar choice in another Cougar I’m working to purchase.
I worry that there may be 0 options in 14” before too long. Seeing so many 15” options has me thinking it might be time to retire my original 14” styled steel wheels and go to 15” repros. I could always get a set of repro Goodyear Polysteel F70-14 RWL to put on the original wheels for shows, but then get much better radial tires and easy to balance wheels to drive on.
