Wider Tires on Rear and Audio System Questios

[dadavanti]

Are there any down sides to using wider tires on the rear end than the front?

I am working a complete rebuild of a 1964 Avanti, R1, auto, and want to put wider tires on it. The front, however, is a problem due to there not being enough clearance for wider tires with the wheel turned to full stop.

Any suggestions?

Also, I want to put in a modern audio system. Nothing to fancy, but I want to put a CD player in the dash or at the very least an AM/FM radio so that I can use an iPod with the FM transmitter. The car currently has an AM radio and a single speaker in the dash. I was thinking of adding two speakers in the rear deck. Should I also use a new speaker in the dash or put speakers in the doors? Does anyone know of an AM/FM (with or without CD player) that will fit in the dash?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but that's it for now. I plan on driving this thing for at least another 40 years. I want it look stock from the outside but have certain modern amenities and performance upgrades. I've put the Turner discs in the front. I'm thinking about discs in the back and will definitely be replacing the two piece axle shafts with the one piece variety.

[SBCA96]

Are there any down sides to using wider tires on the rear end than the front? I am working a complete rebuild of a 1964 Avanti, R1, auto, and want to put wider tires on it. The front, however, is a problem due to there not being enough clearance for wider tires with the wheel turned to full stop.

Any suggestions?

The only drawback is that you can not rotate the tires. I am running 17 x 8 wheels with 245/45

tires on my 63 Avanti. How wide did you want to go? I know that a 7 inch wide rim will fit fine

with the standard offset, but the ones I bought are a 5.02 offset which with the factory Avanti

brakes would require a 1/4 spacer to fit. This is one reason why I designed my own brake set

up to where the rotor acts like a spacer for the wheel. The full lock condition is a bummer, I

have found that the 17 in rim will hit the upper outer front bushing on a full RIGHT lock, but

not on a left? Wierd. Studebaker obviously wasnt concerned with this problem with the very

undersized 4.5 wide stock and 5 inch wide Avanti wheels. The Stude suspension turns quite

sharp, so reducing the amount the wheel turns wouldnt be much of an issue. I am looking into

how to make an adjustable steering stop for Studebakers. In driving the car with the 17 x 8s

on it, the ONLY time its hit the upper arm is backing up out of a parking spot, never on the road.

I know I could have fit the 17 x 9 in the rear, but the 17 x 8 is plenty of tire, and I can rotate.

Also, I want to put in a modern audio system. Nothing to fancy, but I want to put a CD player in the dash or at the very least an AM/FM radio so that I can use an iPod with the FM transmitter.

I am just going to cut my dash to put in a standard CD/MP3 radio, but I havent done the

measurements yet, brakes were the first on my list.

I've put the Turner discs in the front. I'm thinking about discs in the back and will definitely be replacing the two piece axle shafts with the one piece variety.

Too bad you went Turner, Steeltech's 12 inch doesnt require that spacer thing, and its actually

much better then the stock Stude. Turners uses too many special parts, and doesnt buy you

that much over stock. Even the replacement late 60's Ford rotors are over 100 a piece! Also

Dave said that the 12" rotor will move the wheel mating surface out over a 1/4 from Stude, so

the the rims I bought from AFS would bolt right up. This is what I planned on doing before I got

sued by the Record Industry and couldnt afford the Steeltech brakes. Then I made these :

13 inch front disc/2 piston calipers, and 11 inch disc rear single piston. (As I mentioned before

will allow the use of front 14 inch rotors with 6 piston calipers.)

Tom

[dadavanti]

Thanks for the info SBCA96. As far as the Turner brakes, at the time I wasn't aware that there were other options. It does stop much better than stock, however, so I am happy with the front brakes. I just want to get wider tires on her, so I can improve the traction and handling.

[SBCA96]

I hear yah on the not knowing about other options, thats why I suggest research, research, research.

Its unfortunate that Turning Wheels pushes the Turner setup so much, they completely ignore Steeltech,

which has been around since the 80's. I would bet that you will notice an improvement over the worn

out factory brakes, but they are actually pretty good (for one or two stops). Once you start going thru

the 'turns', and using the brakes a lot, heat will build up and fade will start. The Turner setup will give a

good amount of stopping power, but the mounting surface is same as stock. That will limit you to a MAX

of 4.75 backspacing wheel. When you hit this magic number, you WILL have rubbing issues at FULL lock.

As I mentioned, FULL lock RARELY happens in normal driving, usually in parking lots or parallel parking.

The RIM will let you know when its happening, and with aluminum wheels - the RIM loses the battle. Since

you already have the Turner front, you might as well go with the Turner rear - I believe its a matched set.

With MAX backspacing, its ALWAYS best to measure yourself, as cars can differ some, and its also very

possible that the Turner wheel mounting surface isnt EXACTLY at the factory location, it COULD be less,

which would reduce the 4.75 MAX dimension. Dave told me that the Steeltech setup he makes is over a

1/4 inch further out, which will allow more wheel backspacing.

As for the audio question, I forgot to mention that putting speakers on the rear deck is pretty normal. You

might also look into something I JUST thought of, maybe mounting the head unit IN the center speaker

hole, and leaving the factory unit in the dash? The speaker grill could be hinged? Probably off the wall,

but I have known the Impala SS guys will remove the passenger side air bag on the top of the dash, and

then add a Playstation underneath!

Tom