Hi Guys,

I have been planning to install 205 x 60 x 15 tires on a well maintained 1982 242 (IPD sway bars, Bilstein shocks & struts, overload springs in rear). I was advised that the stock 14 x 5 inch rims would be too narrow for a tire of this size. A number of new wheel solutions have been suggested with my current budget making Volvo 700 series steel rims of size 15 x 6 an attractive alterantive. (I would hope to eventually purchase Virgo or Drago alloy rims for this model --- and hold onto the 700 series steel wheels for my snow tires).

In any case I end up with 2 questions from those of you with practical experience in this area.

1) Are the 700 series 15 x 6 rims wide enough to safely carry the 205 x 60 x 15 tires?

2)Should I anticipate any problems with the difference in offset between these rim/wheel sizes --- in relation to clearance of brake calipers and front strut towers?

I believe the offset for the stock 15 x 6 is 25mm, while the stock 14 x 5 offset is 20mm. Ordinarily I would not worry too much about a 5mm difference in offset, but I recently heard a story that made me wonder. It turns out that a fellow who tried to mount 780 series rims on a 79 200 he was customizing had problems with clearing his stock non-ABS brake calipers.(?) Thanks for your help.

Regards, Dave