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Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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| | | | Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 293 | Has anybody tried mounting 7.00 x 16" tires on the original 4.0-inch AD rims? If so, are you satisfied with the handling and tire life? I know the original tires for my '49 1/2-ton were 6.00 x 16", but I'm looking for the widest and tallest tires I can use on the original rims. This site has many threads on this subject, but I did not find this particular combination. Thanks. | | | | | Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 4,961 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 4,961 | The wheels were designed for 6.00. 6.50 will work marginally. 7.00 will cause the side wall to bulge and the tread will be round instead of flat and you will be driving on the center of the read. | | | | | Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Wrench Fetcher | | Wrench Fetcher Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 293 | I'm a little confused by this whole issue. Several posts on this site say the rule-of-thumb is the tires should be no more than 2-inches wider than the rims. However, I took my 4-inch rims to a reputable national time store and showed the wheels to the sales guy at the front desk. He said he would have no problem mounting 215x85xR16 radials on the original wheels. A 215 tire is 8.4 inches wide! He insisted the 40k warranty would still apply. Did I get some bad advice? Also, the previous owner of my truck installed 245x70xR15 radials on 6-inch rims. The 245 tires are 9.6 inches wide. These tires and wheels are currently installed on the truck. The tread is wearing evenly and the truck handles well on the road. So, what gives?? | | | | | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 9,115 | If you look up the specs of your tires on the Tire Rack site, it will tell you what rim widths can be used. | | | | | Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: May 2006 Posts: 8,351 | Did I get some bad advice? Yes. You would really need a 6" rim for that tire, 5.5" at the minimum. You mention about the 345s on 6" rims. That might be alright at low speds, but once you get into highway speeds, well, that's a different story. I speak from experience on that. Had to diagnose a wander condition on a Jeep with 31x10,50s on it, mounted on the stock 6" rims. Suggested 8" rims to correct it. Once we mounted them up on the wider rims, the handling problem was corrected.
Bill Burmeister
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 544 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 544 | I would bypass the major chains and go to a quality locally owned tire shop. One that has been around for a while. Preferably one that was open when these trucks were on the road everywhere. Ask the gray haired gentleman what will work. He will know. He's been down that road.
The guys at the tire chain can tell you what their computer says will fit. whether it will or not is another story. My roommate in college put tires on at Sam's Wholesale. That scared me to death. He didn't know the first thing about tires.
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