LT4orbust

I would like to know the tallest tire that will fit a 97 firebird , I would like something around 27 or 28 if possible. Have 4.10 rear gears cc306 1.6rr's and a 3200 stall going in . Or is that too big a tire?I heard it's hard to hook up with an auto and 4.10's,sooo bigger taller tires

LT4orbust

or would taller thinner tires be better, i know what looks good but i want what works good

Injuneer

A 28" tire can be a tight fit. I ran a Hoosier QTP 28x11.5-15 on a 15x10 Pro-Star wheel, and it fit in the wheel opening, and worked fine, until trap speeds went over 125MPH. Then it was growing enough to rub on the outer body sheet metal at the front of the wheel opening. I moved the axle back about 1/4" with an adjustable LCA, and that solved the problem.

Now I've switched to an ET Drag 28x10.5-15W, and I couldn't even get it inside the wheel opening, until I cut away the front edge of the rubber bumper cover. By the time I got done, I had about 1-1/2" cut off the bumper cover, the sheet metal behind the cover hammered back to match, and on the chassis dyno at about 135MPH the tire was still rubbing on the sheet metal behind the bumper cover..... hammer some more. Apparently a 28" ET Drag is much larger diameter than a 28" QTP, even though the published dimensions only vary by 0.10"

Also watch for interference with the inside edge of the tire and the inner fender liner. My fender wells had already been hammered for 315/35-17's, so there was no problem with the QTP's. But the ET Drags took some more hammering there too.

LT4orbust

So a 27 by 10 should be ok, does the wheel have to be any special type?

Injuneer

For a 10" wide tire, you can use a 15x8 5.5" to 6.5" backspace wheel. Or you could use a 15x10 7.5" backspace wheel.

Clearance becomes a problem with 15" wheels. The fronts can hit the spring clips that hold the brake pads, and the big horizontal bar that supports the brakes. Spacers solve that problem. In the back, you might need to grind the fins off the brake calipers. Weld Pro-Stars and Draglites have these problems.

There is a relatively inexpensive Centerline Telstar that fits with no problems, but I think the 15x8" backspace is only 5", which puts the edge of the tire slightly outside the fender. You could also get a set of Bogarts in 15x9.5 that are specifically made for the 4th Gen, and do not require grinding the fins.... but they are a lot more expensive.

LT4orbust

Thank You , sounds like a trial and error thing