With a warm day AND some spare time actually coinciding, that being an
occurrence of Blue Moon rarity, I finally was able to roll the Tiger
into the sunlight and fit the mags I acquired last fall. Optimism was
not in the air, since the accompanying set of 195/70's seemed an
unlikely fit to my unmodified fender wells.
So here's the (low) tech tip that came out of this: I knew I would be
repeatedly cranking the steering wheel lock to lock as I checked
clearances. I'd heard of this trick somewhere within the last couple
years, but this was my first opportunity to try it. Borrowing two
black plastic trash bags, I folded them down to under a foot square, and
installed them under the front tires. Folded as described, the bags are
quite slippery, so I could easily turn the wheel with one hand from
outside the car. I also used the trash bag on top of the 6x6 I placed
under each wheel to simulate bump conditions.
Oh, the measurement results? The wheels are 5 ½ inch with a 4 ¼ inch
backspace. The rears seemed OK. The fronts rub on that spot down by
the valence while standing still. I would not care to observe the
result of full lock while reversing. My 175/80's on stock wheels visit
this very point now, so some trimming of the valence was already being
considered. Might as well trim a bit more while I'm at it. But it
appears that the fender lips near the top would also taste rubber under
bumpy conditions. This seems to confirm other observations presented on
this network in past years, correct?
My plan? Offers may soon be accepted on the 195/70's. I will fit my
175/80's onto the new wheels, and see what happens. Their diameters are
the same as the 195/70's, but the tread is narrower, so that should
improve the fender lip situation in the front. Failing that, I'll go
looking for 175/70's.
Stu
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