Oversize tires
 

A couple of years ago I bought a new reproduction set of 5 Fuchs 15" wheels from Mercedes Classic for my 1972 300SEL 4.5. Tom Hanson recommended 205/65/15s to come close to the original tire diameter (25.3" for original 205/70/14s (adjusted for modern sizing) vs 25.5" for the new 15s.
I wanted to go a bit larger as I thought the originals looked too small for the car. Available charts indicated that going up one aspect ratio to 205/70/15 would result in a diameter of 26.3"...only .8" diameter more.
They fit and looked great on the car but....the spare wouldn't fit in the spare tire well!
How the hell can that be with only .8" difference in diameter? What didn't I understand here?

Try letting the air out of the spare. LOL


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