Test fitting 15x10 wheels under Challenger

[GrandpaKevin]

Getting ready to take the wife's R/T Challenger to our heated storage garage but first I wanted to do a quick test fit of a wheel/tire combo I have.

I bought these Torq Thrust II's new in box about 15 years ago locally.
They were custom ordered $$$ and are 15x10 with 5.75" back spacing.

I mounted a pair of new 275/60-15 tires on the wheels.

The Challenger has a 1967 B body rear end under it with Dr. Diff's offset hangers.
ESPO +1.5 leafs

The B body rear end actually made a set of 2750/60-15 mounted on 15x8 wheels with 4.5" back spacing look small.

As I expected with 5.75" back spacing when first installed the inside of the tires rubbed (slightly) on the leaf springs.
I was prepared for this and had a couple sets of wheel spacers, one pair at 1/4" and one pair at 1/2".
I had previous installed new axles with longer wheel studs to be able to use the spacers.

The 1/4" spacers moved the tire away from the leaf springs good enough to use but the tires still looked too tucked under the car.

I was happier with the 1/2" spacer as it centered the wheel/tire perfectly with plenty of room on the inside and out.
I'm very happy with the fit and look and the wifegod likes them too so I neeed to get a pair of Torq Thrusts for the front.
I'm currently running 15x8" wheels up front with 4.5" back spacing with 245/60-15 tires, but the tires look a little short compared to the rear so I'm thinking of the same size rim up front with either a 225/70-15 or 235/70-15 to match the rear tire height.

I also have a pair of 325/50-15 BFG drag radials stored in the basement I could mount and I actually think they would fit but I've heard too many stories of drag radials hydroplaning in the wet so I'm going to stick with the current tires.

[dave73]

What's the overall width of the 295 on 15x10 vs the 275 on 15x8. Do you have some side by side comparisons that show the width and height difference?

[GrandpaKevin]

What's the overall width of the 295 on 15x10 vs the 275 on 15x8. Do you have some side by side comparisons that show the width and height difference?

Both tires are 275/60-15 and are around 28" tall.

I've used 295/50-15 tires in the past but I thought they were too short.

[Cuda Cody]

That's a lot of meat!  Looks good.

[303 Mopar]

So a set of 15x10 with 5.25 bs would have been perfect and eliminate the need for spacers and long studs?   

[GrandpaKevin]

So a set of 15x10 with 5.25 bs would have been perfect and eliminate the need for spacers and long studs?   

For my 1967 B body rear end, 275/60-15 tire and +1.5" leaf spring application 5.25 backspacing would have been perfect if you didn't want to use spacers or longer studs.
Different size tires, lower ride height and a 68-70 B body rear end might be different.
I did a test fit last spring on the wife's Challenger with a pair of 15x10 Weld Pro Stars with 5.5" back spacing with 28x12.50-15 ET Streets.
(far left pair of tires in the attached pic)
They did not fit at first, using the 1/4 wheel spacer they fit but the inside of the bigger/wider ET Street tires were pretty close to the leaf springs.
Next spring I'll test fit the 15x10 Torq Thrust II wheels on my other Challenger with factory E-body width Dana 60, I don't think they are going to fit...

I'm not sure you can get 15x10 wheels with 5.25 back spacing without custom ordering them.
There still is some clearance between the outside of the tire to the inside of the 1/4 panel so maybe a 15x10 with 5" backspacing would also work on a Challenger depending on the ride height.

[dave73]

I know this is super old but do you have height measurements of 15x8 with 275/60 vs. 15x10 with 275/60? I'm going to a b body rear and want to stuff as big a tire as possible. But my hotchkis springs have me concerned.

[ragtopdodge]

Height data can be had here:

https://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

[HP2]

Its a common mis-conception that you must use a B body housing to fit wide tires. The reality is you only need to move the springs. The B housing swap is popular because it does not involve welding, whereas using the stock E housing with relocated springs requires welding on new perches. Using the E housing or early or later B housings only impact the backspace required for maximum width wheels, as demonstrated by the various bits of information listed above.