'71 Mach 1 Tires and Wheels

[gcdunlap]

Hi all: I apologize up front as I am sure this this topic has likely been beat to death... but here goes...

I have been wanting to replace the wheels and tires on my 1971 Mach 1. Last fall at a car show, I came across another '71 Mach 1, and the owner had put p225/r60 r15s on the front and p255/r60 r15s on the rear. I really liked how they looked on the car. I think the car had Wheel Vintiques Magnum 500s with BF Goodrich T/A radials. Is anyone else running this setup? Any feedback or thoughts would be welcome. I have attached a picture of the Mach I was looking at. Thanks!

 

[Stanglover]

Many of us run Magnum 500's in either 14 or 15 inch.
On my car, I have 235-60 R14 front on 7' wide rims and 245-60-R14 rear on 8" rims.
I stayed with 14's because the tires at that time were almost new, but the rims had damaged lug bolt holes no doubt due to the improper use of an impact gun. I had to buy new rims, but wish I'd ditched the 14 and switched it all to 15's because a few years later, I need new tires, so was stuck with the 14's.......... but I suppose I could have ditched them too and bought new 15's. Oh well too late now.

A note here; Magnum 500's are "lug centric" meaning they must be balanced on machine using an adaptor to fit the lug holes.

 

[fuzzyflash]

I have 225/60r15s on the front and 255/60r15s on the rear of my 72 mach1. I am running Cooper Cobra Tires. I had no spare so I got a wheel and bought a 225/60r15 Cobra tire . The only way it fits in the trunk is to stick some of it through the hatch behind the seat.

 

[mrgmhale]

Hi all: I apologize up front as I am sure this this topic has likely been beat to death... but here goes...

I have been wanting to replace the wheels and tires on my 1971 Mach 1. Last fall at a car show, I came across another '71 Mach 1, and the owner had put p225/r60 r15s on the front and p255/r60 r15s on the rear. I really liked how they looked on the car. I think the car had Wheel Vintiques Magnum 500s with BF Goodrich T/A radials. Is anyone else running this setup? Any feedback or thoughts would be welcome. I have attached a picture of the Mach I was looking at. Thanks!View attachment 84529

First things first. That is a beautiful looking Mach 1. Next, I am a fan of Magnum 500 wheels. Here is what I have on our 1973 Mach 1. We have a set of 15 x 7"Magnum 500 wheels, and mounted on them we have P235R60 x 15




radial tires, front and rear, and we have plenty of room without making any height changes to accommodate the P235 wide tires.

We also have a 1969 Shelby GT500. It also has a set of 15 x 7"Magnum 500 wheels. But on those I am running a period correct reproduction set of Goodyear F60 x 15 RWL tires. As with the 73 Mach 1 there is plenty of room.

 

[mach71351c]

I'm running 245s on 7s up front and 255s on 8s out back. IMO they fit the wheel wells the best.

 

[cjstaci]

I have 245/60/15 on 15x7’s and 295/50/15 rear on 15x8’s.

 

[72MustangSprint]

I'm running 245s on 7s up front and 255s on 8s out back. IMO they fit the wheel wells the best.

Me too

 

[jscott]

I am running the same size wheels and tires on mine (size asked about in op).

 

[Sheriff41]

Looks great, @jscott ! The green and argent are a good combo.

 

[351bb]

I'm running BFG 235/60-15 on 15x7" and 255/60115 on 15x8" Magnums on both of my Mustangs a '71 and a '69 and I'm happy with them!

 

[tpj71mach]

I was apprehensive about running a 60 series tire on 7" rims, and was planning on 15x8'a all around. I ran 245/60s belted T/As on my 73 in high school. The sidewalls looked pulled in, (see pic) which I loved the look of, to me it made the tires look wider yet. The problem with these is as they wore I noticed the center wearing sooner than the outer tread. The tires were pulled in so far they car was essentially riding on the center of the treads. These were belted tires and not radials and they were 14x7 original steelies so maybe that it why? Radial tires on 15" rims may not experience this. Has anyone else seen this problem when running 60s on a 7" rim? I like the look of the 15x7's in the front and 15x8's in the rear it seems to fill the wheel wells perfectly. BF Goodrich's spec sheet shows the 245/60R15 fits on a 7-8.5" width rim, so it shouldn't be a problem. CjStaci's, mach71351c's, 351bb's and all you guys running the staggered wheel combo look awesome, but am concerned about tire being too wide for wheel. What has been you guy's experience?

 

[rcadd1ct]

245/60R14 on all four

Probably going 18” rim next time

 

[PoFoMoCo]

I'm running (4) 245/60/15 BFG Radial TA's on 15X7 Shelby CAL 500 slots.

 

[Sheriff41]

I'm running (4) 245/60/15 BFG Radial TA's on 15X7 Shelby CAL 500 slots.

Did you ever get your hood painted?

 

[SteveO_71]

I went with the 235/60 - 15 for front and rear. Mainly because I wanted a full size spare and could swap tires front / rear.
As it was, for some reason, I had an issue with a replacement front wheel and as a result I had to swap it with a rear tire/wheel. Couldnt have done that if they were different sizes.

 

[steves73]

I have 15 on the front and 16 on the rear. I think that balances out the big butt on my car. To me it still looks natural enough, where 17 or bigger looks modern.

 

[detritusmaximus]

First things first. That is a beautiful looking Mach 1. Next, I am a fan of Magnum 500 wheels. Here is what I have on our 1973 Mach 1. We have a set of 15 x 7"Magnum 500 wheels, and mounted on them we have P235R60 x 15




radial tires, front and rear, and we have plenty of room without making any height changes to accommodate the P235 wide tires.

We also have a 1969 Shelby GT500. It also has a set of 15 x 7"Magnum 500 wheels. But on those I am running a period correct reproduction set of Goodyear F60 x 15 RWL tires. As with the 73 Mach 1 there is plenty of room.

The wheel on your Shelby looks like a Shelby alloy face/steel rim wheel, rather than a steel/steel Magnum 500. Reminds me of the alloy/steel Magstar, but without the center groove on the spoke.
Really like the look of that wheel.