The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop good tire size and type for 16in rim?

whats the perfect tire to run on my 1951 1/2 ton swb? as a daily driver, size and brands you guys are using on your "drivers" thanks

Can't say what perfect is but when I crossed this bridge I looked into the 16" tires and all I could find were LT rated. Way too heavy for a little 1/2 ton AD truck so I elected to use big 15's on the rea, i.e., 2:85/70R-15 because they had a near "perfect" circumference that kept my 4:10 gears at least a 4:10 and not 4:80's. Used 2.25/70R-15 on the front. I think it looks pretty cool with a slight rake. Oh, and they are BFG T/A's.

I'd go with LT215/85R-16 Michelins,or Pirellis if you can find 'em. Very close to same size as stock,you can find some that even have the old timey looks too. They're not "too heavy for a little 1/2 ton AD truck",as it IS a truck,and these ARE Light Truck(LT) tires.
Start running them at close to their max pressure and back the pressure down a little at a time until you're satisfied with the ride and handling.
If you decide they ride too rough,you can probably run them at 75% of their rated max. pressure,unloaded.Of course,inflate them to max if you need to haul gravel or firewood.
Speed

...and,BTW,you can run 'em tubeless(if the tires are designed for it) on your stock wheels as long as the wheels don't leak. sometimes older wheels leak around the rivets,not often but it happens-they can be fixed relatively easily.
Speed

Also, (Speed) "I'd go with LT215/85R-16 Michelins,or Pirellis if you can find 'em. Very close to same size as stock,you can find some that even have the old timey looks too. They're not "too heavy for a little 1/2 ton AD truck",as it IS a truck,and these ARE Light Truck(LT) tires."

My experience exactly, I'm a daily driver, close to 30k miles, several 2k round-trips. BTW, I found a used set of 215 85R 16's for short money, after 30K still looking good. I have a '49 3100, '56 235, '848 head', Fentons, 1-2bbl H-W, dual 30" glasspacks, '62 3sp+od, run 70-75 mph all day long (at 2100 rpm), 20mpg highway, and it ain't flat around these parts.

There are a bunch of companies making a 215 85R 16 tire. I bought some Uniroyals for mine BUT when the dealer saw the stock 4" rim he said he could not mount them as they would be unsafe. Most spec sheets I've seen show a 5-6" minimum wheel width for those tires.
I checked with 2 other tire dealers and they both agreed with the first one. Not only would they be unsafe because of the width, running without a tube could be a problem they claim because there is no safety lip on these rims. They also said that the company would not warranty the tire under these conditions.
Consequently they never sold me the tires.
Having said all that there are plenty of people in this Forum who are running these tires on stock rims without any problems. In fact a truck I was rebuilding for a friend has these same tires on it, bought from the first dealer I went to. This was 3 years ago so maybe they have changed policy.

My 16" tires on stock rims without tubes

I bought Trailmark 215/285 R16's at my local goodyear dealer. I don't think they look too bad. No rubbing issues and they ride like a dream. The rims were blasted and powdercoated and I am running tubeless without issues. No air loss at all.

I had 2 15's and 2 16's. I went with the 16s for taller tires and more options.

Guys - Check this site out for comparing tire sizes and the all-important diameter dimension
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit

Someone will want to argue with this too but I've heard similar remarks from tire dealer as what oldblu49 posted. Just not a good idea on those little narrow wheels. I have to believe that the tire folks know more about this than I do and I still maintain that LT's are too heavily made for a 51' 3100. The main reason I think you guys who are using them is exactly what I first stated..doesn't seem to be any other choices if your going to keep stock wheels. It would be OK on a proper width wheel but I don't know what dbone has so I must assume a stock wheel. Anyway, here is what my 285/15R-70 look like on 15" A/R aluminum wheels.
www.picturetrail.com/Birdhtr

I guess real life experience doesn't count for much these days. Some of you are taking advice from 'experts' (tire store personnel) that don't have 'mile 1' on a truck equipped with stock wheels and 215 85R 16's. My advice came from the former president (deceased) of Inliners International who drove up from Florida to Pennsylvania for several years to a Inliner meet. I have close to 30k on this tire/rim combination.

Of course the "experts" would say not to use stock wheels with radials-how else can they sell you a new set of wheels to go with your new tires? after all,you only spend about 3 or 4 hundred bucks for tires,why not throw down another 3 hundred for wheels?
I'm no tire expert,but I did train installers for the Sears Auto Center I worked for,and I've run my 16" (I've used both 215's and 235's,depending on what I was hauling or towing)radials since I got my GMC in '88 with no problems.
As you say,Cosmo,I guess real life experience doesn't count for much anymore.
True-the older wheels don't have the safety bead to keep the beads seated if you blow a tire,but if you take reasonably good care of your tires and don't try to jump curbs at highway speeds,you'll probably never have a blowout. If you do,it won't be any worse than if it happened with a bias ply tire with a tube. It's your choice what tires you run with what wheels. Go with what you feel good about.
Speed

On my 54-GMC 1/2-T I am running Tiger Paw P215/70/R-16's on 16"x6" steel wheels. I found some new steel wheels with solid steel centers that had a large enough center ring and opening to fit the reproduction hubcaps. I had to use a piece of 1/2" square tubing to raise the clips up to the desired height. The only drawback is that the wheels do have 4 visible bumps for the snap-over style hubcaps. But this was as close to the original style wheel I could find that would fit the clip-on caps.

I knew there would be controversy about my narrow rim and radial tire comments. As far as tire store clerks are concerned I did not deal with them. I went to stores that sell only tires - nothing else. The people I spoke to have many years of tire installation and tire/wheel combinations experience. Some are hot rodders and others are antique vehicle restorers.
When I "bought" my radial tires the total drive away cost would have been near $600. They told me the tires would not work properly and were not happy about installing them. They consequently lost a sale. They never tried to sell me wheels and in one case I asked them to try to get me some 16X6 WheelVintiques. They never called back. I tried two more times and they claimed they were still trying to find them. That was at least 3 months ago and nothing.
I wish I could find tires as I need them now. I would settle for bias ply as I have them now and like them. However they would cost me more than radials.
And as I mentioned in my first post, I know that many members have radials on stock rims and I know that a truck I built for a friend also has radials on stock rims. Installed by the same people who would not do mine!

You may want to check with Coker Tire. They are an excellent source for vintage tires.

'67 Chevy 1/2 Ton 283 / 350 Auto.

http://dbtires.com/index.htm

Check this place out.