The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Tires for 50 3100 project

I just got the rims from Wheelsmith to clear the front disc brake calipers so they are modern radial ready.

Is there a preference in brands, sizes, etc? They are 15's, but you see a lot of low profile tires these days that are about an inch higher than the rim. I don't want to go out of my way to lower the truck, nor do I want my top end to suffer. What do you all suggest? I have NO idea.

To me, these trucks do not look right without the rim/tire height similar to the original. It bothers me so much that I find myself moving on and not paying attention to some things the guy may have done that I do like. That's just me.
Carl

I feel that way too. The rims I got are very close to original and the hubcaps are too. When I see mag wheels or thin tires, its a real turnoff. So yeah, I agree! I just want something that has good utility, and good looks.

Deve how did the rims look from Wheelsmith? What backspace did you get? 3.25 or 3.5? Im going to order mine from them soon, Im going to stick with 16" though (Chrome Smoothies). Hope this comes through it is a tire size calculator a friend gave me the link for. You can plug in the old and new and it will show you the tire differences.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

Yes, please show pics of the Wheelsmith wheels. I am contemplating not restoring my original 16s' and starting fresh. I have front disks and the originals wheels will need to be ground some to clear. I am not too worried about doing the grinding, but overall my wheels are pitted and will take a lot of filling and sanding to make look right. Probably easier to start with fresh new wheels.

What is the rim width? 5.5" was the optional 15" wheel width size.

High profile truck radials are available for standard width rims (black as original, or whitewall if you are going glitzy).

I'm interested in seeing the finished product too. I have a '50 as well. I am in the throes of making a decision to change to disc brakes in the front and am curious about whether or not I will have to get new wheels.

The wheels are wider, about 6 inches to accommodate modern radials. From what I was told by Wheelsmith, these are modern rims made to look like vintage to accommodate modern brakes and modern tires. There is a calculator on their site where you fill in all of the dimensions so you get the right wheel.

If you go into my Bolt Bucket (click below), all of the pics with wheels in them are Wheelsmith. I put one on all four corners to make sure there were no problems before I ordered the other four wheels. They are 6 lug 15's.

You will want to order your hubcaps from them new. Because they have a contract with the manufacturer to make them special to fit their wheels... OR.. you can send them your hubcaps and they will modify them for you... OR.. they will send you the special parts you need to weld them yourself. Buying new ones from them is the easiest solution.

They do nice work. They will even powder coat the wheels for a price. I got bare steel so I can paint them myself.

When I told Chris at Wheelsmith what I was working on, he didn't even ask me for the dimension sheet, he knew what I needed and he sent me the right ones. Nice quality as far as what I know about wheels.

Yeah, they make good wheels. For any steel wheels, it's recommended to spin them up on a balancer before you paint them or mount a tire, as if the wheel has any runout, most wheel companies won't cover it if it has already been painted or had a tire mounted to it, or been mounted to the vehicle.

I spun my vintiques on the balancer as soon as I got them, before I had them coated. Since they all looked good, then I proceeded.

The unfortunate part is that if you want caps that are less than mainstream (36-46 GMC, for instance), then you'll need to find reproductions or originals, and get them modified by wheelsmith. It worked well for me, though.

Yeah, the profile of the steel is slightly different for caliper clearance that isn't required for drums. All modern steel wheels are made this way now.

I'm glad you're happy with the wheels.

For the cost of around $93 each, with no real penalty in looks since most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway, I am very satisfied. Couple that with the hubcap issue resolved so nicely. I wasn't looking forward to adding clips to the old ones that weren't AD era anyway. The wheels will be black, the hubcaps yellow with black CHEVROLET to match the scheme. I just need to find tires and someone to put them on that doesn't rape the paint off the rims when putting them on.

P235/75/R15

215/75R/15 3 inch drop springs

15x6 aftermarket rims

Is the 235 the height of the tire? The 215's look less high. If so, what would my top end speed loss be if I went with a lower tire? Not noticeably lower at all.. just a little lower.

235 is the section width. The height is determined be the aspect ratio (75%) and the wheel diameter. Inflation pressure also comes into play for installed height. The 215/75/15 will be shorter and narrower than the 235/75/15. As far as speed loss, without actually doing the math, I would say no more than 5 mph difference.

TireRack gives some good explanations...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp

Dennis

There are several online calculators for tire height that even tell you speedometer difference. I'll try to find the one I'm thinking of.

Tirerack explains the numbers, but I am too dense to understand them. So much for all that electrical engineering experience. I just want a tire that is about an inch (diameter) shorter for my new wheels. That would make the truck just a tad lower without your eye going to the wheels and think its the tires, yet the stance remains intact.

What size do you currently have/was originally on the truck? Might be able to get you a starting point on a size from there.

P235/75/R15 like Dads said sounds right. That's what I had on the old rims. What I am saying I think is, there is that standard size that everyone kind of expects to see, but I don't know how easy changing diameter size is as far as what the tire companies offer. I can ask around too, just wondered if anyone here might have some ideas. Thanks!

A size you might consider, and is readily available in pretty much any brand, is a 235/70/15. According to the spec book I have handy, it's almost exactly 1" shorter than the 235/15/15. It's commonly found on 4 door S10 Blazers as an oem fitment, so most tire shops will stock them.
For the record, since you did ask in the original post, I'm partial to Michelin or BF Goodrich. Have them on both of my own trucks (Michelin on the '55, BFG on the '85 S10 4x4).

Deve, what width were your original rims that you had the 235/75/15 tires on? If it's much difference that will change the height enough for you, I think. A 1 inch shorter tire only drops the truck half an inch, is that what you're wanting? 235/70 is an option, same width just less sidewall.

I think the old rims I had.. and I cant verify they were original were TF era. Not sure the width, but Tim has it at 5.5 and I think that's right. I will look at the 235/70 option.