The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Question on rim sizes

Howdy,
I assume this would be the proper place to post this question since wheel sizes seem to have a lot to do with the drive line..
Anyway, I have the stock 15" rims on my 62 C-10.. Was thinking about going to a 16" rim.. What I am trying to figure out is what the other dimension is on my stock steelies?? Are the 15X6, 15X7 or?? The replacement 16" wheels I view in the online catalogues have many options..
What I'm shooting for is to keep the rim as narrow as the stock wheels I currently have.. The wider the tire, the bigger the footprint.. That spells two things for me, harder to pull out of parking spots and poorer gas mileage.. So I want to have rims that will allow me to go taller on the tire but not fatter.. Smell what i'm cookin?
Appreciate anyone that might know..
Thanks, Richie

the 5-9 stock wheel is 5 1/2" - the 60's wouldn't be over 6" until the camper special stuff got common ... a better reason to stick to the correct width is a wider tire stresses the wheel bearings and spindles in ways they weren't designed to stand I've seen more than one cracked spindle cuz of that

Bill

red58,,, thanks for the reply.. I'm just trying to figure out what they mean when they list rims saying 15X6.5 or 16X6..??
What does 5-9 stock mean??

By "5-9 stock", what red means is the siize that was used from '55-'59 as an oe wheel.
As to what width you'll need, that will depend on what size tire you want to run. A wider tire will need a wider rim for proper sidewall support. Also, tire construction type comes into play, are you wanting original type bias, or modern radials? That will determine what sizes are available to you. I'm going to go out on a limb and take it you're considering radials, since feul efficiency is a concern (radials help with that, lower rolling resistance). With a 16" rim, and looking for a tall skinny tire, the choices will be a 215/85/16 or a 235/85/16. You can get away with a 6" rim with the 215, the 235 really works better on a 7" rim. Bear in mind, both of those sizes will be E load range (10 ply) and will make for a harsher ride quality.

Thanks longbox.. I'm wanting to keep my upgrade rims the same width as my current 15" stock steelies.. I was told that if I have a fatter tire I will have a bigger footprint which in turn will lower my fuel economy and also make it a little harder to turn and twist out of parking spots because no power steering.. Also if the upgrade 16" rims are as narrow as my stock steelies it will aid in the visual stock appeal..
So i'm shooting for taller but not any fatter than what I have,,
sounds like the 215/85/16's might be the ticket??
I don't know how wide my current stock steelies are on my 62 c-10.. I can't measure them without taking the tire off.. I'm assuming they are somewhere between 5 1/2 to 6"..?? That's the number I'm looking for..

radials will make it seem like you do have power steering compared to the bias ply tires these trucks came with, regardless of width, and any radial will have a "wider" footprint than the bias tires because of the softer sidewalls, but still give better preformance in every respect .... same tire sizes should do fine on either 5 1/2 or 6 - I have 700R15LT on my 58 [5 1/2"], good match to original appearance

Bill