The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun Going from 8 lug to 10 lug and bigger tires

I was wondering if going to larger tires on my 1 ton would help in the need for getting higher speed out of it. Probably not much, but I also wondered how large I could go on the standard 1 ton before I need to raise it.

Ok how about just raising it.

Larger tires do wonders for higher speeds!!
Use this calculator
http://www.onlineconversion.com/bigger_tires.htm
In the "find MPH" plug in 2500 rpm, 5.14 axle ratio, 1 for the other ratios... then see the MPH difference between 28" tires and 33" tires, about 7 mph.

On an AD 1 ton about as big as you can fit is 32" to 33" depending on width and the condition of your springs. I ran some 8x19.5 and 8R19.5 tires on my 52 1 ton, they just fit and looked great.

Switching to 10 lugs is not necessary to do that, 8 lug 19.5" wheels either single or dual are available.

However, I did switch to 10 lugs on my 1 ton, the small GM 10 lug on 7.25" bolt circle, and ran the GM dual type 19.5" wheels on front, custom wheels on the rear.
That was just an intermediate step in my truck projects and now the same axles are under my 2 ton, this time with 22.5" wheels..

Grigg

8R19.5 rims / tires were an option on the TF 1 tons. If they were an option on AD's then I suspect the tires would fit, as they do on my 58 3800.

You may have a hard time finding original 19.5 rims, and newer ones may require installation of larger studs in your hub. Newer rims would allow you to use some of the newer, lower profile 19.5 tires that are available though.

They would have been 8x19.5 back then, not radial.
As far as I know 19.5 tires were not available on AD trucks, first they would have been available is somewhere around 1956.
They fit the fenders just fine on an AD 1 ton truck, both the bias ply and radial, I've run them both.

Grigg

My '55 1st (AD) 1-ton had 19.5 wheels and tires on it when I got it. Though I know they were not stock, they looked like they grew there and had certainly been on it a while. And I already sold the wheels and tires so don't bother asking.