Possible custom wheel sizes

[Nonchalant008]

So we picked up an 07 Town Car the other day and we're already ready for the first project. It came with some custom wheels on it (255/55/r17 tires) and white-walls. Well we caught a flat tire last night and found out that replacement white-walls are close to $300/apiece! So we've decided to just get some custom wheels since we'd planned to anyway.

My question was what's the largest wheel/tire combination that will fit on the Town Car without lifting the car or rubbing the wheel wells? We both like 22" rims a lot and have seen examples online who's owners claimed no need for modification when installing them. Can anyone confirm or deny this? It looks like the easiest size for us to find will be 265/35/22. Is anybody running these on their Town Car currently? Thanks for viewing!

 

[Creo]

Dunno about Town Car, I did only minor swap: stock wheels 225/60/16 onto chrome 225/60/15 same Good Year Assurance 3-tread tires.
But we tried on MB SEL 600. After swapping stocks to those "big rim - no rubber" wheel assemblies, ride was
total crap, it was like riding Jeep Wrangler with no suspension on rocks. So... not everything is silver what shines.

 

[Nonchalant008]

Dunno about Town Car, I did only minor swap: stock wheels 225/60/16 onto chrome 225/60/15 same Good Year Assurance 3-tread tires.
But we tried on MB SEL 600. After swapping stocks to those "big rim - no rubber" wheel assemblies, ride was
total crap, it was like riding Jeep Wrangler with no suspension on rocks. So... not everything is silver what shines.

We definitely want to avoid as many ride issues as possible. We're certainly not expecting close to stock ride quality, but we're hoping the Town Car's air suspension will provide some cushioning (even though its parts may get in the way of some potential wheel options. I've seen Town Car's on 24" and 26" rims but they removed the air suspension, added crown Vic suspension, lifted the body, etc.).

We also want to run a 35 height tire if possible so they aren't paper thin. I've been confused by several online and in-person inquiries at rim retailers regarding whether this is possible as well: some say 35s fit fine, others say 30 is the highest you can go. There are two or 3 Town Car's on YouTube right now with 22" wheels but they lack descriptions or captions, and their tires appear to be 25s or smaller.

I've heard stories of people successfully installing big rims only to find later that they can't make full u-turns, or their wheel wells fall onto the wheels under heavy braking, or their speedometer is no longer correct, and I want to avoid that stuff too. I know a lot of you guys have 22"s and larger, I've seen them!

 

[Creo]

http://www.bigotires.com/Wheels >> basic visualizer

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp >> gives ya more ideas about assembly & speedometer. kind of simulator if you will. basically plug in numbers & play with it,
you will figure out which ones will be just fine. gotta keep aspect ratio. it will also give
ya info on the clearance & speed accuracy.
good luck

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[Nonchalant008]

Thanks a lot man that 2nd site especially has a lot of great info! This will definitely make the search easier

 

[GeneLaw1]

Just to chime in a little, I know of a few guys running 22s on the Panther Chassis. I know it could be done. But I am not sure about the size of the tires. I last rode in a buddy of mine's Crown Vic with 22s, and as was mentioned above, the ride will definitely be affected!