'71 Cuda Setup

[Claudia]

Looking for some help / input . . . I am getting ready to purchase wheels and tires for my '71 Cuda.  I think I am going with American Racing Torq Thrust II wheels and BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires.  My car currently has 14" Rallye wheels on it which look way undersized for my liking.  What is everyone else running and do you like your setup? (wheel and tires sizes along with pictures would be great   )

[Shane Kelley]

Popular sizing is usually 15x7 front with 235/60 and 15x7 or 8 with 255/60 or 275/60 rear. Here is a pic of my 71 RR with 15x7 all the way around with 235/60 and 255/60. Not a Cuda but you can see wheel/ tire sizing from pic.
My Cuda has 17x8 with 245/45 and 17x9 with 275/40.

[303 Mopar]

On my '71 Challenger I had 17" TT II's with 255/50/17's on front, 275/50/17's on rear Nitto tires.  I had to roll the lips but I really liked this setup!

[Claudia]

Popular sizing is usually 15x7 front with 235/60 and 15x7 or 8 with 255/60 or 275/60 rear. Here is a pic of my 71 RR with 15x7 all the way around with 235/60 and 255/60. Not a Cuda but you can see wheel/ tire sizing from pic.
My Cuda has 17x8 with 245/45 and 17x9 with 275/40.

First of all . . . love your Cuda! 
Do you like the feel of the 15's or 17's better?
I plan to drive mine quite a bit.

[Claudia]

On my '71 Challenger I had 17" TT II's with 255/50/17's on front, 275/50/17's on rear Nitto tires.  I had to roll the lips but I really liked this setup!

You have some serious meat under your Challenger! 
How did you like the 17's?

[82firebird]

I looked at tire and wheel sizes for a long time. I prefer the stock'ish look, but many others might fit your taste better!

245/60/15 rear on 7" wheel and 235/60/15 in the front on 7" wheel.



When I bought the car it was outfitted like this..

255/70/15 rear with an 8" wheel and 215/65/15 in the front on the standard 7" wheel. I hated the raked look, actually looks good in this picture but I promise it was not good.

[Shane Kelley]

Popular sizing is usually 15x7 front with 235/60 and 15x7 or 8 with 255/60 or 275/60 rear. Here is a pic of my 71 RR with 15x7 all the way around with 235/60 and 255/60. Not a Cuda but you can see wheel/ tire sizing from pic.
My Cuda has 17x8 with 245/45 and 17x9 with 275/40.

First of all . . . love your Cuda! 
Do you like the feel of the 15's or 17's better?
I plan to drive mine quite a bit.

Thank you!
The taller 15's have a softer ride. But the 17's handle really well and make the car feel more controllable at higher speeds. It all comes down to what look and ride your after.

[Claudia]

I looked at tire and wheel sizes for a long time. I prefer the stock'ish look, but many others might fit your taste better!

245/60/15 rear on 7" wheel and 235/60/15 in the front on 7" wheel.



When I bought the car it was outfitted like this..

255/70/15 rear with an 8" wheel and 215/65/15 in the front on the standard 7" wheel. I hated the raked look, actually looks good in this picture but I promise it was not good.

I agree with you . . . your first picture is much better than the second picture!

[Shane Kelley]

I looked at tire and wheel sizes for a long time. I prefer the stock'ish look, but many others might fit your taste better!

245/60/15 rear on 7" wheel and 235/60/15 in the front on 7" wheel.



When I bought the car it was outfitted like this..

255/70/15 rear with an 8" wheel and 215/65/15 in the front on the standard 7" wheel. I hated the raked look, actually looks good in this picture but I promise it was not good.

I agree with you . . . your first picture is much better than the second picture!

I concur!  That front tire is to short and that rear tire is waaaay to tall. IMO

[HP_Cuda]

Beyond looks I think you should just move past the 15" rims for one reason.

Tires in this size are becoming more rare and 17" still has some decent availability.

[Chryco Psycho]

this is the 1970th post !
You have a far better selection available in 17 " tires & rims
Stay Away From BFGarbage tires Nitto is far better as just one option .
I would search Discount tire direct for a good wheel & rim pkg , far better pricing & shipped to your door

[Shane Kelley]

this is the 1970th post !
You have a far better selection available in 17 " tires & rims
Stay Away From BFGarbage tires Nitto is far better as just one option .
I would search Discount tire direct for a good wheel & rim pkg , far better pricing & shipped to your door

17 inch tire sizes are getting thin also. In the past 5 years the variety has dropped dramatically.

I have to disagree with you on BFG's. I'm sure there have been failures with them and probably a higher amount than other manufacturers. But a lot of that could be do to the sheer volume of them on the road. Look at most high end classic cars not running repop tires and 9 out of 10 times they will be running Radial T/A's. Nitto could possibly be a better quality tire. I haven't ever ran them so I can't say. What I can say is they don't have the looks of the BFG TA and that's pretty critical on these cars.

With all that said I can honestly say I have never had a BFG fail on me and I have been running T/A's on pretty much everything since 1986. I have them on my boat trailer and flat bed trailer. They are on my Road Runner. I run BFG Rugged Trail TA on my truck and that's the only tire that has ever been on it. 4 sets in 200,000 miles. I'm running BFG Comp TA on my Cuda. They may have failures from time to time like all companies do. But I think labeling them junk is a little harsh.

[FSHTAIL]

Torque thrust D's woodla killer on that car..       gray centers, machined lip. 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Claudia]

Just thought I would follow up this post with pictures of what I ended up with.

[Shane Kelley]

I like it!  But are those rears going to clear the quarter lips when you hit a dip in the road? Kind of hard to tell in the pics.