The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Best Size Radial For 6:00-16 Wheels

** Am about ready to purchase tires for the 53 Suburban. ** Can someone with Suburban & tires experience advise me on the best radials to install on vintage artillery wheels size 6:00-16??

I have used LT215/85R16 (black walls) on my 6.50x16" 4.5" rims/wheels, with and without inner tubes.
These tires have the general appearance of the original bias ply tires.

Hopefully, someone with 6.00x16" 4.0 rims/wheels on any 47-55st 3100 will post their size of radial tires.

I have been very happy with my Coker radials. They are not the cheapest option but probably come closest to mimicking the looks of a bias ply tire. They require the use of radial tubes and come in both 6.00x16 and 6.50x 16 sizes.

I have LT215/85R16 (black walls) on my 6.50x16" wheels, with inner tubes. The rims are 4", and that made me nervous, but five years later they're still on there and doing fine.

Brought this up before. I ordered four 215/85R16 for my 49. The first dealer would not install them as the 4" rims were too narrow. Went to a second dealer who said the same thing plus the fact there is no safety bead on the rims. I have seen many trucks with this set up although IMO they look like fat donuts.

Consequently I bought four Coker/Firestone 650-16 bias ply and love them dearly. Seems the compound is different than the old bias-ply tires and I get no flat spotting. They ride very smoothly but can get caught in grooves on the road although I cannot think of it happening too many times after 6 years of use.
The idea of having radials is still in my mind but will see.

Hello, Tom,

6.50x16" is a tire size

In 1948, a 16x4.00 rim would have originally had a 6.00x16" tire.
6.50x16" tires could be mounted on the 4.50 wheels.

Would you say your tires look like balloons/fat-donuts?

My radial tires have a "normal" narrow-looking profile.
The rated rolling-diameter of 28" for those radials is for a wider rim.
Those radials look narrow on our narrower rims (and the rolling diameter is around 31.5 " on the narrower rims).
I had no problem finding national-brand truck-tire dealers being willing to mount those tires on my 1954 rims.

I have three 4.5" rims and one 4" rim with 215 85R16 tires and I cannot tell which of the four is the 4" rim.
They do not look like donuts. They don't even look much like radials since the corners are square looking like bias ply tires.
I had already payed a small fortune on prep and body color paint on that 4" rim before I realized that it was skinnier than the other three. Turns out that it didn't matter.
They are set up tubeless to boot.
Carl

The diameter of the 600x16 is ~28". Using a sizing calculator the closest size in diameter and cross section width in a radial would be 175/75x16 which aren't readily available in this country. A 205 or 215 will be fairly easy to find but your speedometer will be a tad off.