The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Will 8 x 17.5" STA Traxion tires fit these rims?

I am the proud owner of five of these original NAPCO 17.5" rims, but I am having difficulty figuring out if these STA Traxion (Fig. B) tires will work on these. The STA are 8 x 17.5", but if you look at the photo below, it looks like I only have 5" between the beads. What do you guys think? I did pull an old military tire off the rim and it had 8 x 17.5 on the sidewall, but the tire was flat so I have no idea if it actually worked.
17.5" NAPCO rims

The previous page shows the overall diameter of the rim.

I'm trying to figure out what you see as a problem. The tire you want to mount is the same size as the one you took off, right?
A 17.5 wheel and a 17.5 tire, sounds like a match to me.
As far as the width of the tire is concerned it will work,and the only thing I've ever thought about is the stance or how it looks once mounted on a wheel.
Wider tires can be mounted on the same width wheel as a narrower tire, the only thing is how the stance looks. Meaning a wider tire will have the sidewalls pulled in more than a skinnier tire.
The only other thing that comes into play is how flat the tread sits on the pavement with X number of pounds in the tire, which I don't think applies in your tire dilemma but I just thought I'd mention it.
Dan

I see what you are saying. But see where is says "Rim width" on that STA site? It says 6". Mine are over 6" wide. Does that mean these tires will fit a rim with a 6" minimum width? Is that the overall width, lip to lip or bead to bead?

I am about 80% sure they will work, but I would like to be 100% before dropping $800. When I spoke with the dealer they started throwing out things like; "it has to have a minimum of 5.5" between the beads". I will send the dealer the photo and make him guarantee they'll fit!

The tire diameter is not a problem. However 8" wide tires require a 6" wide rim as listed in the chart you referenced. Here is a link that explains how to measure your rim. http://resources.coker.com/wheel-tech/wheel-installation/how-do-i-measure-my-rim-width.html

The tire specifications says 6" rim width. I'd say your an 1" shy.

Larry

Too narrow of a rim will cause handling problems due to lack of proper sidewall support. Rim width is measured from flange to flange on the inside of the rim. For a 5" rim, you'll want a 7" tire, max.

Just spoke with the manufacturer and he broke out his dusty old book on rim sizes. I guess this is the one that all tire manufactures use as their bible. Apparently, my rim measuring 5.25" from bead to bead is the exact correct rim for those STA Traxion tires. He admitted that he will be running down to the engineers to fix their website and catalog which lists the correct rim width as 6".

I finally feel better. Now to order those babies!

My '68 C/10 stepside was originally ordered with 17.5 [X 5.25 - 6 lug]rims and 7.00 x 17.5 bias tires. In the mid '70s, when I couldn't get 7.00s any more, I went up to 8.00 x 17.5. No problems, just more bounce and "slower" speedo readings but a 292 L6 was well able to maximize torque to make this work. In the '80s, I went to radials, 8R17.5. After about 300,000 miles of agressive driving, including a lot of 2-wheel off-roading, the factory rims were shot. I couldn't find any replacements in that size. I tried other rims more suited for V8s [8 x 15] but eventually went with 7 x 16 white spokes and 235/85/16RT radial rover Dunlops.
On the 17.5 rims, my favorite tires were Yokohama model 703. Kind of knobby but OK on the freeway.