Are 15” wheels worth it, or do I need to jump to 16” or 17”?

[Thumperbird]

This is like talking about paint color but here's my 2 cents:
I'm going to buck the collective trend on this thread, I say what ever looks good within reason period looks wise if you are not stuck on original.  I have and have seen many 17" rims that look very nice on 60's/70's vehicles.  I tend to like a little less rubber showing, those tall side walls are not appealing in my opinion.  Now I think 18" would be a limit though.

Wheels make or break a custom vehicle to a large extent, easy to screw it up with a cheesy selection but when you get it right it can make the whole vehicle come together, for the owner at least.

[alf1960]

I probably would have never bought them. My 64 galaxie came with 17 inch torque thrust II`s. 215 /55 `s on the front and 255/55`s on the back. I think it looks nice and probably would not go back to smaller wheels

[fryedaddy]

On the Ranchero I used 15 x 5 and 15 x 8.5 TorqThrusts and the front tires are a small 195/60-15 and fill the wheel nicely. The 275/60-15 rears look huge and the worry there is replacement on that size, there may only be drag race tires available in that size when I go to find replacements. The fronts are a common size for modern little cars.

how tall are the275/60-15s

[cammerfe]

The drum brakes that came on my '64 Custom/427 were inadequate when paired with the performance available from the engine. The car was capable of going more than 150 MPH, and the brakes were not up to matching the stop-power with such go-power.

My latest experience with stopping power has been with my ECTA car. It's a Lincoln LS with which I hold the ECTA record in E/F CC/S---E Fuel Competition Coupe-Sedan, at 140.106 MPH---in one mile from a standing start. Even with the best in aftermarket pads on the four-wheel disc brakes, I have trouble stopping in time for the first turn-out. If I didn't lay on them very hard I'd have to go to the end of the stopping space, which simply holds up the next car unnecessarily, since it's almost a full mile beyond the finish line. Cars that go much faster are required to run a 'chute.

A significant drawback to cars from the '60s and earlier is their lack of balance. We had more go than we had stop. My new project will have 19s and 20s so there's enough room to put adequate-sized brakes on it.

KS

[cjshaker]

how tall are the275/60-15s

275/60-15's are 28" tall.

[Garyford]

14" performance tires might be more popular than 15".

If you can live with the sidewall look that is suited for Miata autocross duty. 

[Falcon67]

how tall are the275/60-15s

275/60-15's are 28" tall.

Same, 28" - Same size I run.  Just barely fits the back of the Falcon with a 4.5" setback wheel. 

[TomP]

My 275/60-15's are more like 27", brands vary and listed dimensions on their spec sheets are sometimes way off. I had three different brands of 10.5" wide by 29.5" tall slicks for my Fairlane and they were 28 1/2" to 30 1/4" tall and the inflated sidewall width on the same wheels varied by over an inch. Not at all good info when the car had 1/4" clearance with the last pair.
 But for street tires it seems like "touring" gets you a taller narrower tire than the exact same size in a  "performance" tire.