The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Radial tire size -> 6.50-16 ???

I bet this question has probably come up before, but; what is the modern radial size equivalent to the old 6.50-16 or 6.00-16 bias-ply tires?

I am trying to determine what size tire to put on the stock 16" wheels I recently received from a fellow stovebolter in Michigan

Many thanks in advance
Walt L. Williams
La Verkin, Ut.

I have LT215/85R16 Cooper tires on two sets of 1954 6.50x16 rims (4.5" rim section)

I'm running the same size on my 46 with 16" rims. Probably one of the best things I've done to my truck. Radials give you a much better ride.


George

Size wise the closest is 185/75R16 but good luck finding them on this side of the pond.

I'm also running LT 215-85 R16 with radial tubes on my 52 1300.Mine are made by Sigmae which I think are made somewhere in the southern USA.

I'm running 215/85LT16 Goodrich TA Commercial on my '54 burb, no tubes.

I too have been looking for stock size radial tires for my 1952 GMC 1/2 ton, which is currently undergoing a body off restoration. When I purchased the truck, it came with old BF Goodrich Silvertown bias ply tires in the standard 6.00X16 tires on the front and 6.50X16 traction tread tires on the rear. I want to keep the original look but everything I have read here points to the superior driving characteristics and safety of the radials. My only concern with some of the radial tire sizes recommended by others here is that the tread width is much wider than the original tires, which increases the low speed steering effort.

I measured my original BF Goodrich bias ply 6.00X16 tires which are currently mounted on my 1950 Chevy 1/2 ton as I wanted to see how they look and drive. (When I purchased the Chevy, it had 215 75R15 and had very heavy steering effort when trying to park it, but drove with little effort at normal driving speeds. Now steering effort at low speed with the 6.00X16s is like driving with power steering compared to the 215/75R15s.)

The 6.00X16 tires measure a little over 27" in diameter mounted on the truck with a tread width of 4.63". I measured the diameter with the same tire off the truck and it was a little over 28". Compare this to the information on Coker Tires website where they give the following tire dimensions for their BF Goodrich bias ply 6.00X16: diameter - 28.3", section width - 6.25" and tread width of 4.63 " The 6.50X16 bias ply traction tires on the rear of my truck measure about 28.5" in diameter with a tread width of 5.88".

Diamond Back Tires has a radial tire that matches up closely with the original tire dimensions. Their information is as follows for their 195/754R16: height - 27.7", tread width - 5.4", section width - 7.6" and their 205/75R16 is slightly larger. Coker tires does not give a metric designation but instead gives the following dimensions for their Excelsior Stahl 6.00X16 radial: diameter - 28", cross section - 6.5", tread width - 4.6".

Tires from these two companies are not cheap at over $200 each plus shipping and local mounting. I still haven't figured out their controversy on whether or not you should use tubes with their radial tires. Diamond Back is states that you should not use them while Coker recommends them, adding even more to their cost. I haven't figured all this out myself, but hope this at least helps with your question as to what radial tire size matches up to the stock size tires.

LT tires have a heavy ply rating. usually 8 to 10 ply. i think thats a little overkill, no? I work at a tire shop and they only ones that get those tires are HD trucks, 2500 and up.

I have had tubes in my Micheline X radial tires since aug. 1969, same tires. yes same tires. i replace a tube two years ago.

I'll pay for the overkill, when I can buy that tire for about @$120 delivered.

Ron,

On your truck or MGA?

Is the vehicle out in the sun much? No checks or cracks in the tires?

I have read stories about being careful with tires more than 6 years old. I am asking because the Cooper LT radials on my Suburban are over 6 years old and I wonder if I should worry (garaged parked and stored - the tire look good as new).

MGA, Garaged for most of it's life. from 74-78 it sat outside. and then stored in the winter until 1986 i had built the extra garage so the junk could be put away according to my EX. the tube got rust spots from the inside of the wheels and they rubbed and caused a slow leak.

Question related to the 215/85R16 tire size:

Some of the modern large trucks come with 215/85SR16.0E tires and I can get some fairly cheap from a friend with a 2006 Chevy (the original wheels and tires were removed when she bought the truck and have been stored in a garage since). Google says that the 'SR' is just a max speed rating, but how about the '.0E' part - any reason why those wouldn't work on original AD steel 16" diameter 4.5" wide wheels?

thats about my cost for the BFGs.

I've been told by knowledgeable sources that running LT215R85 by 16 inch radials on the STOCK rims withOUT tubes is dangerous, as there is no "bead lock" on the stock rims ... I've been running these tires with tube for 20 years and it's high time they get replaced, but I want to ditch the tubes, as they're getting hard-to-find, expensive, and if you have a flat, hard to find someone that knows how to fix 'em, and I mean when you're out on the highway traveling, because I like to go places with my truck.

Tires I can find, rims seem to be impossible ...

Running modern tubeless radial tires WITH tube is ILLEGAL and potentially very dangerous. The tube and tire inner layer chafe against each other when the vehicle is driven, causing exessive heat, leading to tire failure. I've seen them fail within 100 miles of driving. Only run tubes in tube type tires.

I have been running the LT215R85 16" Cooper SRM II radials for almost 7 years and 7,000 miles with radial inner tubes (mounted and warranteed by the Cooper dealer). I'll be running another set of those same radials on original, cleaned/blasted, trued, and powder-coated 6.50x16" 1954 rims in a year (I hope).

If I have any problems driving on the tubed radials to South Bend, IN for the May ATHS National show (around 1,800 miles), I'll post that sad story in early June.

According to Coopers own site, they do not approve tubes in tubless tires, only in tube type. Michelin, Goodyear, and Bridgestone also do not reccomend it.

Walt,

If you are not comfortable putting a radial tube in a high profile radial tire on an original wheel (either by yourself or by a dealer), you could pay the extra $$$ for a Coker radial tire.

Please note that people on this and other discussion boards have sometimes found it challenging to get satisfactory customer service from Coker and from the dealers that are willing to install Coker tires (radial tires and bias ply tires).

I've been running Michelin radial tubes in LT21585-16 Michelin-manufactured tires for 20+ years, 40K miles, no problem other than the odd flat. These were recommended by the Michelin tire dealer that installed the tires on the stock 1952 rims. You do have to use tubes that are intended for use with radial tires, and these are getting hard to find (like special order) and are very expensive (like 60 bucks each). Regular tubes in radials are a no-no.

Tim : where did you find 16" by 6.5" 1954 rims?

6.50 (tube section) x 16" tires on 4.5" rim-width (rim-section) wheels

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyresto/54159.htm

Those must have been tube type radial tires, Michelin does not reccomend tubes in their tubless tires.
BTW, I've been in the tire business for 20 years, mainly dealing with Michelin and Goodyear tires.