Wheels and tires for Avanti II

[davette59]

According to this forum and Bob Johnston's resource the Magnum 500 15" X 6" rims with a bolt circle of 5" X 41/2" will work o the 78 Avanti II. However when I went to the figment chart on the eBay web site for this wheel it said it was not compatible. The price is good for a new wheel compared to other sites but I'm cautious about ordering because of the conflict. I even called the store Summit Racing and they said they would fit. Just want to be sure because it is a hassle returning items sold on eBay. Also, do you have any suggestions for tires? I'm considering the raised white letters as opposed to the white walls or black walls.

Thanks for any advice, Dave

P.S. I noticed that Gunslinger had said that this wheel was a good choice.

[Gunslinger]

I think Magnum 500 wheels look great on an Avanti...maybe better than any other custom wheel other than true wire wheels and without the maintenance headaches of wires.

15"x6" is what you need. They only come in the correct 4 1/2" bolt circle as far as I've ever seen. Mopars, American Motors and Ford have used them. Try this website...http://www.autowaret...els/jegs_ec.htm. You can specify the car and fill in the appropriate information and it will give you all the custom wheels available for it. For the Avanti you have to choose Studebaker. You can even change the color of the car and put the wheels in motion.

As far as tires, the number of choices in the correct sizes isn't as great as it used to be. The market for replacement tires is trending towards bigger sizes and fewer quality tires are being offered in the sizes we need.

Personally, I like either whitewalls or redlines (as I have on my car) better than raised white letter or plain blackwalls on an Avanti...just my personal opinion. The worst is blackwalls...Avantis lose something with blackwalls. It's too classy looking a car and looks unfinished that way.

If you want raised white letter tires I certainly won't try and talk you out of it. I consider the BF Goodrich Radial T/A the standard against others are judged. They look good and are a quality tire. The size is P215/70R15.

Alternatives are the Cooper Cobra (I have them in redline through Diamondback Tires), Pep Boys Futura GLE (a Cooper Cobra made for Pep Boys), Firestone Firehawk and the Goodyear Eagle GT. Availability of any can be problematic...these tires aren't as popular as they used to be and tire makers only make occasional runs of them...they're not produced continually as more popular tires are.

Where you buy tires is up to you. Do some research and check with tire dealers you like working with. Local speed shops can often match the prices of others and mount and balance them for free. Ask them for prices on wheels as well...maybe they can be a one-stop shop for it all.

[Avanti83]

My 74 still had the original Magnum 500's on it when I purchased it last year. 15 X 6 with 4" back spacing. FYI to add to your data base.

Bob

[davette59]

Thanks, that is some really useful information. My car is in the body shop for fiberglass work and painting. I still need to choose a color. There are so many maroon and silver I want to steer away from those. I can't wait to see the finished paint. I need to replace all of the rubber too.

[StingrayHawaii]

I felt the stock tire sizing was too narrow and also wanted to lower the front end a little to get some avanti rake.  I went to BFG t/as with white letters and a 235x60 on the front and 255/60 on the rear.  That added some meat on the road, lowered the front a little and I have not had any clearance problems. 245/70 on the back might raise the back a little more if that was desired. 

Anything bigger than these sizes really needs a wider rim and correct back offset, I wanted to keep my stock magnum wheels so these are about as wide as you should go on those rims.  For everyday regular road driving they should be fine.  

Edited February 10, 2019 by StingrayHawaii