Tires, Wheels & Gears

[TheMoose]

I'm currently running P215/70R15 Pirelli tires on 15 X 8" wheels, thing is they are 26 1/4" tall.

Add in a 4:13 gear & 3 on the tree with a 218 & 45 MPH is "comfortable".

I've done 65 for a short blast on the freeway but it sounded like the tips of my fan blade were going supersonic!

So I'm looking at getting a set of 16 X 6" smoothie wheels with 700 X16 Firestone black-walls from Coker Tire.

These will give me a tire highth of around 30 1/4".

Stock tires were 600 X16 & 28" tall but it's got a low enough gear I think it'll pull these tires & make it easier to keep up with the youngins' at the cruises while staying stock.

Is my thinking right here or should I keep it closer to stock highth ?

[JBNeal]

you're gonna hate that truck if'n ya go from radial to bias-ply tires; also, that Firestone tire is for rims up to 5" wide. Coker lists the Excelsior Sports Radial as made in the USA and for rims 5" to 6.5" wide, but they are nearly a Franklin more per wheel. Choose wisely...

[Young Ed]

My truck has 215 85r16s with a 3.90 rear end and moves along quite nicely. I've even been thinking of going down to a 3.73. You shouldn't have any issues.

[TheMoose]

you're gonna hate that truck if'n ya go from radial to bias-ply tires; also, that Firestone tire is for rims up to 5" wide. Coker lists the Excelsior Sports Radial as made in the USA and for rims 5" to 6.5" wide, but they are nearly a Franklin more per wheel. Choose wisely...

I remember the days before radial tires, flat spots in the morning, following every crack in the highway, but I was concerned about the weight of a radial truck tire but would rather go radial if possible, I'll check the Excelsior tires at Coker.

My truck has 215 85r16s with a 3.90 rear end and moves along quite nicely. I've even been thinking of going down to a 3.73. You shouldn't have any issues.

What brand tires are you using? How tall are they & what rim size do you use?

Have you noticed any problem with tire (unsprung) weight?

[Young Ed]

They are fleet farm tires their old house brand that I don't think they even make anymore. I've been running them since 03. I have them on stock rims which I think are 16x4.5. The only probably I've noticed is due to the suspension design of my 46 I had to adjust the steering stop for left turns to keep the tire from rubbing the pitman arm. So I have poor left turn radius. I'm not sure what you mean by tire unsprung weight.

[Plymouthy Adams]

to keep my bz cp speedo correct with the donor drivetrain which in turn gives me a full figured look, I am looking at these sytle tires here..not so much the brand name but good street tread and not a singing mudder for some light truck...common to Isuzu and Jeep smaller vehicles..

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=215%2F85r16&_sacat=0&_odkw=225%2F85r16&_osacat=0

[TheMoose]

Found this tire on Coker, at 30 3/4" highth is good but 285/70R-15 is a big tire!

[Plymouthy Adams]

the 225/75/16 is tad over 29 in height..the 85 series tire is taller...if duplicating the look of the old car and gaining tire diameter..the 195/85 may be your ticket to glory..but i admit Ihave not plugged that tire into the calculator...you try putting too much meat under the fender and changing tires along the road in the rear may prove a big challenge...

[Plymouthy Adams]

Stock Tire - 195/85R16 Search Tires

Section Width: 7.67 in 195 mm

Rim Diameter: 16 in 406.4 mm

Rim Width Range: Unrecognized tire size.

Overall Diameter: 29.05 in 737.87 mm

Sidewall Height: 6.52 in 165.60 mm

Radius:

14.52 in 368.80 mm

Circumference:

91.26 in 2318.0 mm

Revs per Mile:

716.0

Actual Speed: 60 mph 100 km/h

Speedometer Difference: -

Diameter Difference:

Tire 1 - 205/85R16 Search Tires

Section Width: 8.07 in 205 mm

Rim Diameter: 16 in 406.4 mm

Rim Width Range: Unrecognized tire size.

Overall Diameter: 29.72 in 754.88 mm

Sidewall Height: 6.86 in 174.24 mm

Radius: 14.86 in 377.44 mm

Circumference: 93.36 in 2371.3 mm

Revs per Mile: 699.8

Speedometer1: 58.6 mph 97.7 km/h

Speedometer Difference: 2.314% too slow

Diameter Difference: 2.26%

Tire 2 - 215/85R16 Search Tires

Section Width: 8.46 in 215 mm

Rim Diameter: 16 in 406.4 mm

Rim Width Range: 5.5 - 7 in

Overall Diameter: 30.38 in 771.65 mm

Sidewall Height: 7.19 in 182.62 mm

Radius: 15.19 in 385.82 mm

Circumference: 95.44 in 2424.1 mm

Revs per Mile: 684.6

Speedometer1: 57.3 mph 95.6 km/h

Speedometer Difference: 4.586% too slow

Diameter Difference: 4.38%

Tire 3 - 225/85R16 Search Tires

Section Width: 8.85 in 225 mm

Rim Diameter: 16 in 406.4 mm

Rim Width Range: Unrecognized tire size.

Overall Diameter: 31.05 in 788.67 mm

Sidewall Height: 7.52 in 191.00 mm

Radius: 15.52 in 394.20 mm

Circumference: 97.54 in 2477.5 mm

Revs per Mile: 669.8

Speedometer1: 56.1 mph 93.5 km/h

Speedometer Difference: 6.897% too slow

Edited August 17, 2012 by Tim Adams

[TheMoose]

the 225/75/16 is tad over 29 in height..the 85 series tire is taller...if duplicating the look of the old car and gaining tire diameter..the 195/85 may be your ticket to glory..but i admit Ihave not plugged that tire into the calculator...you try putting too much meat under the fender and changing tires along the road in the rear may prove a big challenge...

Yea I noticed the tire in my last post are bigger than the tires on my 03 Cummins!

[John-T-53]

On a side note, tires are getting expensive these days - have you guys noticed a recent spike in cost?

Last time I bought a set it was $100 each, now it's hovering around $200!

[Plymouthy Adams]

yes..tires and batteries both have gone off the charts...soon be time to remane the parts stores to , Arm Leg and Beyond..

[Don Coatney]

Inflation!

Last week I observed that the headlight cover on my Gravley tractor was broken after someone (not me) cut the grass. I found the paperwork where I last bought this lens in March of 2002 for $29.00. I contacted the same place where I bought it and they quoted me a price of $98.00. I went on line and found one for $62.00. This was still too much for a hunk of plastic so I am still looking. Most likely I will cut one from a light fixture cover as I will not spent that much for a hunk of plastic.