The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs '59 Tire Size

I have a 59 panel. With the standard ride height, will 30" tires fit? What about 32?

thanks

that's about original, which would have been 6.70x15 or optionally 6.50x16

Bill

6.50x16 is the tread and rim right? What about the diameter?

original diameters are about 28-30", check tire conversion charts, the height isn't as critical as the width of the rim - 5.5" original ... if you're looking at modern sizes, do you have 15's or 16's? unless you go to real truck tires you're not likely to find anything 32" unless it's way too wide for the stock rims or you're using aftermarket modern rims, which will likely cause problems with full lock turns

Bill

I'm looking to use truck tires. Considering 30 or 32" to help with mileage. The current rims are 15, but maybe it's better to go with 16s?

I'm planning to use the vehicle as a part-time driver, not a show car.

700R15 Yokohama 10 ply, about the tallest narrow radials I found .... but you won't do much for mileage with tires, you might look for an original 3 speed overdrive or spring for the 3.38 rear gears from Patricks

Bill

Thanks, Bill. The current thinking is the SM420 with 3.38 gears. The larger tires will keep the RPMs in the mid 2000's on the highway. (Assuming the on line converters are correct... )

I need to replace the wheels on this truck. Anyone have an idea of what offset will allow the larger tires?

It's going to take a combination of offset, backspacing, and wheel width to get larger tires. Depending on what width and rim diameter you're looking at will determine the other 2 dimensions. As Bill mentions, tall and narrow 15s are getting hard to get, you almost have to go wider. On the otherhand, tall narrow 16" tires can still be easily found, with 215/85/16 (30.4" tall) and 235/85/16 (31.7" tall) being the common sizes. With the 15s, you almost have to get into floatation sizes to get a tall tire, 30x9.50x15 and 31x10.50x15 being the common ones. The are also a 32 and 33 inch tall 15s, but they start getting rather wide, and really push the limits on fedner clearance, and swell as stress on the front wheel bearings and steering gear. For the 30x9.50 and 31x10.50, you would want an 8" wide wheel, 3"-3.50" backspace, and -25mm offset, which is a standard GM 4x4 fitment for '73-'87 (I'm running this setup on mine). For the 16s, which will the tricky one to find, you would want a 6.5"-7" wide wheel, 3"-3.5" backspace, and 0mm offset, though a little bit of negative offset, say about -15mm, probably won't hurt anything.

thanks '55, that is exactly what I was looking for