The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk tire fit question--285 75R 16--1957 GMC one ton

I purchased a 1957 GMC 250 panel truck today. It has the original 17.5" rims and hubcaps. The tires aren't any good after sitting for about thirty years in the AZ desert.

I'm not going to use the original rims because the choice of 17.5" tires is so limited and radials aren't available. I have a set of 8 lug 16x7 rims that I will use instead. I want to get as tall of a tire as I can because or the rear end gears. I plan to use 285 75R 16's, but want to check first if anyone is using these and if they are having any clearance problems. My concern isn't the height, but the fact that the tires are 11" wide.

I use 8R19.5's on my '57 3600 and really like them, but the 19.5" rims are next to impossible to find. That's why I'm using the 16x7's. The 8R19.5's are 8" wide and the 285 75R 16's are 11" wide. The height is OK because the 8R19.5's have a 33.6" diameter and the 285 75R 16'a are a little shorter at 32.8".

I know the wider tires will test my Arm-strong power steering!

Input would be appreciated from anyone using 285 75R 16's on a '55.2 to '59 Chevy or GMC.

Thanks,

Matt

Sounds a little to wide, but I don't have that model truck and haven't tried.

On my 51 1 Ton, I use a 16x6" rim and a Yokohama LT16 x750 radial tire and everything fits. The tires have a fairly narrow tread and work well with the original steering.

Do those 16" rims clear the brake drums?

Ed

Ed, they do, but glad you asked. I had the same question, so I checked to be sure.

Fred, I like the height/width of the LT16x750 size. I can find some trailer-only tires in that size and one Yokohama model. Am I doing something wrong when I search for them or are the choices really that limited?

Thanks,

Matt

Here's a tire size comparison calculator that you may find useful.


https://tiresize.com/comparison/

The only ones that I found 10 years ago were the Yokohama tires. I liked the profile and the narrow tread of the tires. I have about 35K miles on them now and I am quite happy with them. Two of my rims are the trailer rims.

I like the Yokohama 7.5r16LT's on the tire comparison that Darcy posted but they have been discontinued.

Just want to thank everyone for the responses because they stimulated me to do some more research. I'm not comfortable with the 11" width of the 285 75R 16, plus they would push the limits of the 16x7 rims size and I'm not sure if they would fit into the rear wheel well of the panel.

The suggested LT 7.50x16 radial would be a great choice, but I'm not finding any except in trailer tires. Same thing with the comparable 255 85R 16 only being available in trailer tires or 'extreme' off road.

I decided to go with 235 85R 16's. They are 31.7" tall, 9" wide and are a good fit for the 16x7 rims. Just a bit taller and wider than the original 17.5" bias plies currently on the truck, so a nice match. PepBoys has a sale going on with their own label tires in this size for $85 per tire. It has a highway tread and a 60,000 mile warranty...more miles than this truck will ever see!

https://www.pepboys.com/tires/details/Definity/Dakota%2520HT/9484450/00735

I mentioned that I have 8R19.5's on my '57 3600. They look good and give me the better top end with my 4.10 gears, but they really push the limits of the wheel wells...and they are a real pain to take off and put back on. I'm not sure if a tire that tall would work on the panel truck.

Thanks again for your help,

Matt

I'm running the 750R16 Coker classic on my 1959 GMC 1/2 ton. Much more money and I'm not sure they'd fit a 7 inch rim but you could look at the Coker site for ones that would.