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Here are the facts.......

I want to install a 16" wheel on the front of my 54' 3100 with a 235 height tire. I also would like to install a 17" wheel with a 255 height tire on the rear. I have the stock suspension and steering.

When I search online for a tire of that dimensions, I get either winter only tires or truck/SUV tires. The only way I came up with the right tire combo was when I went with a wider tire like a 45 or a 50 series.

Here is the question...what is the widest tire you have run on a stock suspended 3100 series without rubbing on parts ??

You have it backwards, the 235 and 255 numbers are the width, section width to be precise. The second number in the size designation, you mention 45 and 50, is the percentage of the section width that the sidewall hight is.
What kind of look are you going for? In the widths and aspect ratios you are talking, you're going to have to go to a prformance tire that will be expensive and will not perform well with the stock suspension. they also won't hold up well to the weight of a truck.
Having said that, I would suggest not going much wider than a 9-9 1/2" tire, any wider will rub on stock fenders.
Also, what diameter tire are you thinking? that will determine what aspect ratio you'll need.

Bill...thanks for the response.

I am not real sure what I want really. I am sorry if I seem vague but I guess this is more of a "fact finding" post than anything. I like the more modern look of "less sidewall/more wheel". I also have seen a larger diameter wheel in the wheel vs the front but not alter the overall height of the tire from front to back. Am I making sense ?? I hope so. I was thinking something around 16"x7" in the front and 17"x8" in the rear for the wheels. As far as the tires which will mate up to that combo...you can tell I am "tire challenged"...

You might consider something like a 235/70/16 front and 245/65/17 on the rear. Those are approximatly 29" diameter and will keep within the widths to keep from rubbing in the rear.
I did some checking, those sizes are availible from Michelin in the Cross Terrain tire. It's an SUV type tire, not really agressive on the tread pattern. They're designed for a quite ride on modern suvs. Those will give the look without sacrificing ride quality, and they still have a decent load range if you need to haul some thing.

Great advise Bill......thanks for the insight.

I won't ever be hauling anything with it....just tooling around the local roads with it until I can do a ground up restore on it.

Thanks again .........

Don't know if this will help, but I run a 255/70/15 on an 8" wide rim on the rear of my 54-3100. On the front I run a 235/70/15 on a 7" wide rim. These are 5 lug 15" rims 4-3/4" bolt patterns as I have added discs to the front and run a Camaro rear end. The original widths remain 62" wide, mounting flange to mounting flange. All four rims have a backspacing of 4". They are centered in the wheel wells and I have experienced not clearance issues. The 255 is 28.5" tall and the 235 is 27" tall. This, along with 50 year old springs gives the truck a slight rake to the front. BTW...I prefer the BF Goodrich T/A series tire.


I found that there were more rim backspacing options in the 15" size. The backspacing determines how far in or out the tire runs in the wheelwell. Normally, you want to run the same diameter rims 15's,16's etc. front and back so you only have to carry one spare.

Thinking down the road....the 15" 5 lug disc conversion uses Camaro rotors and calipers and over-the-counter wheel bearings while the 6 lug conversion uses the stock GM hubs, a more expensive set of bearings that you will more than likely have to mail-order. The 5 lug 4-3/4" conversion will fit the 15" rim.

Now that you are aware that the sizes (width) of tire that will fit your truck you need to see if you can find a 16" or 17" rim with 4" of backspacing that gives you the "look" you're after. I wanted a tire that would "fill" the wheel well and not look like a little donut because I am retaining the stock ride height.

I might suggest that you check a Summit or Jegs catalog to see which manufacturers offer what backspacing in the diameter you decide to run. If you're going to try to go the salvage yard route, you need to brush up on how to measure "back-spacing"....arm yourself with a tape measure, make sure you're looking at the correct lug spacing (GM vs the others), and plan on spending some quality time hunting.

I spent a good deal of time researching rim diameters and tire combinations and suggest you use the "search" feature in this site to become familiar with the terminology. Also suggest you work out a plan for your truck so that down the road you aren't saddled with a bunch of parts that you can't use on future upgrades. After all....that's the fun part of working on old iron.

I've got some pictures in my webshots album that might help you visualize what you do or do not want. Hope this helps!

Craig,

Take a look at my pictures. There are a couple of shots of my rear tire mock - up. This is the rear ride height I a going for, but this will all be based off of what happens with the front setup. The front will have a mono leaf with "probably" 215 or 225/70x16 on a 6 inch smoothy. The rear is a 255/70x16 on a 7 inch smoothy with 4 3/8 back space. The back space should have been closer to 4 inches; so I will probably run a 1/4 inch spacer.

As you can see I like more side wall along with as much wheel as practical. I will be running trim rings and small caps. I chose 16 inch wheels because of the wide assortment of sizes. The larger sizes are all SUV tires but should work well. I wanted a tall - wide tire. For those who want an even taller tire there are 75 series tires avalable.

Thanks Fla54 and Lonnie,

Lon...I checked out your "mock-up" picture. That is alot of tire stuffed in there! I helps to give me some perspective by seeing that.

Fla54...You brought up a good point...What I choose I must live with ...I am not going to keep swapping out wheels and tires. That being said...I am running the 6 lug stock set-up and that may not be in the trucks future. I will probably update the drivetrain in the next few years so I better not spend a ton of dough now if all I want to do is just get the thing rolling on the road for now. What started out as simply getting some different wheels and tire for the truck blossomed into trick wheels and tires. Geezzz! ha ha

Okay....did some more research based on everyones feedback. I found a set of "sport Truck" tires. The front is a 225/70/HR16... The section width of the tire is 9". It's overall height is 28.4". The rear tire is a 255/60/HR17 with a section width of 10.2" and an overall height of 29".

My new question is this....Will the 10.2" section width of the rear tire work in the rear wheel well of the stock suspended set up without rubbing on anything ??

Inquiring minds want to know .....

Craig,

My 255/70x16 tires in the mock-up are 10 1/4 inches wide; on a 7 inch wide wheel with 4 3/8 back space. The back space should have been 4 inches. The 7 inch wheels I have are 8 inches in total width. They are steel wheels. They fit with about 3/8 inch on the bed side and I can run my hand around the fender well on the fender side without binding.

Of course the rubbing will have to do with body roll when you are driving, but the tires should fit without any problems.

Thanks Lonnie.