Bias Plys or Radials

[leadheavy52]

Hello all,

 

I am making slow, but steady, progress on my Suburban. Since the old tires were all but old and crusty, I removed them from the wheels. Originally, I was going to replace them with OE-style Bias Ply tires, but at $250 a pop plus mounting and tubes, I am looking at near $1800 just to get rubber back on. The severe limiting factors are the size of the wheels (18 x 3.5"). This makes tire selection hard to come by. Now, I am open to running bias ply tires, but have had another through creep into my head. I know some of you run radials on the stock wheels for the 15" and 16" set ups. Unfortunately, they do not make radials in this size, unless it is a temporary for a spare only. The only way to put radials on this safely, would be to widen these rims to 7" or 8". This way, I could utilize a wide variety of tires. I am committed to keeping these wheels with the car, but am stuck at tire options. 

 

My question:

Should I eat the cost of the bias ply and stick with an original look, or spend the money to widen the wheels to 7" or 8" and enjoy the benefits of radials? 

 

Here are a few shots of the wheels sans tires. 

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

unless you have a severe addiction to using the original poverty style hubcaps....wheels updates are very affordable and easy to find.  If you plan for disc brakes...you will need to ensure the proper wheel to fit these also.  A very good wheel choice is the last of the Diplomat/5th Ave wheels for fit...you may need a 1/4 spacer in the front for clearance on the tie rod end to side wall issue as the radials do bulge a bit....secondly, you will need to add positive caster for steering issues so to prevent road walking as a radial needs +caster.  bias ply has this built into the tire's rolling characteristics.  IF you want 16 inch which I think is the wheel shown....finding these in steel will lead you to a later model car but the offset will now be an issue in play as will an alloy for these years.   These older wheels are basically a centerline design.  New wheels are +offsets.   Summit Racing is just one company that sells wheels for the older cars in a wider profile and are reasonable in price.  Maybe browse their online site before rushing out to buy.   

[pflaming]

When I put disc brakes on my truck i found  full set of rims on a '56 Dodge pickup. They fit over the disc brakes and were wider than original, just perfect for me. I have 15" radials on.

[knuckleharley]

24 minutes ago, leadheavy52 said:

Hello all,

 

I am making slow, but steady, progress on my Suburban. Since the old tires were all but old and crusty, I removed them from the wheels. Originally, I was going to replace them with OE-style Bias Ply tires, but at $250 a pop plus mounting and tubes, I am looking at near $1800 just to get rubber back on. The severe limiting factors are the size of the wheels (18 x 3.5"). This makes tire selection hard to come by. Now, I am open to running bias ply tires, but have had another through creep into my head. I know some of you run radials on the stock wheels for the 15" and 16" set ups. Unfortunately, they do not make radials in this size, unless it is a temporary for a spare only. The only way to put radials on this safely, would be to widen these rims to 7" or 8". This way, I could utilize a wide variety of tires. I am committed to keeping these wheels with the car, but am stuck at tire options. 

 

My question:

Should I eat the cost of the bias ply and stick with an original look, or spend the money to widen the wheels to 7" or 8" and enjoy the benefits of radials? 

 

Here are a few shots of the wheels sans tires. 

 

 

One thing you can do is grind down/drill out the rivets so you can save your rims,and then have a wheel shop rivet your old centers into newer and wider outers. That way you haven't destroyed anything and can go back to stock wheels if you ever decide to do that.

 

What *I* would do would be save the old wheels and tires and look for new/newer wheels and tires with the same bolt pattern and similar backspacing.

[DrDoctor]

 .

Edited September 4, 2018 by DrDoctor

[Plymouthy Adams]

Nankang makes a 165/80/r18   but finding a distributor local to you that may have these or will to get them may be difficult.   These will likely be the only real option you have....the tire series is a 668

[Reg Evans]

If I were you I would get rid of those pesky 18" wheels and take that guys very generous offer he sent to you a while back. ?

Edited August 15, 2018 by Reg Evans

[leadheavy52]

4 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

One thing you can do is grind down/drill out the rivets so you can save your rims,and then have a wheel shop rivet your old centers into newer and wider outers. That way you haven't destroyed anything and can go back to stock wheels if you ever decide to do that.

 

What *I* would do would be save the old wheels and tires and look for new/newer wheels and tires with the same bolt pattern and similar backspacing.

This is what was more leaning towards. I've look at a few examples and it is cleaner looking and reversible. I'll follow the advice from Plymouthy about measuring for offset and such. I feel more confident in radials and with my other plans, this would be a large step towards creating a safe family ride. 

 

Thanks.

Edited August 15, 2018 by leadheavy52

[leadheavy52]

4 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

unless you have a severe addiction to using the original poverty style hubcaps....wheels updates are very affordable and easy to find.  If you plan for disc brakes...you will need to ensure the proper wheel to fit these also.  A very good wheel choice is the last of the Diplomat/5th Ave wheels for fit...you may need a 1/4 spacer in the front for clearance on the tie rod end to side wall issue as the radials do bulge a bit....secondly, you will need to add positive caster for steering issues so to prevent road walking as a radial needs +caster.  bias ply has this built into the tire's rolling characteristics.  IF you want 16 inch which I think is the wheel shown....finding these in steel will lead you to a later model car but the offset will now be an issue in play as will an alloy for these years.   These older wheels are basically a centerline design.  New wheels are +offsets.   Summit Racing is just one company that sells wheels for the older cars in a wider profile and are reasonable in price.  Maybe browse their online site before rushing out to buy.   

Plymouthy, these are the 18" wheels off my car. I am quite fond of them and want to utilize them so I can keep my spare mount in the rear in use. I would hate to cut it off ?. Thank you for the heads up on the clearances of the tie rod ends. I will keep it at a 0 offset for widening purposes, but do you think a 7"wide wheel would pose a problem? I'll play around with the measuring tape when I get home. 

 

Thanks

 

[leadheavy52]

3 hours ago, Reg Evans said:

If I were you I would get rid of those pesky 18" wheels and take that guys very generous offer he sent to you a while back. ?

They are troublesome at the moment, but I am hoping they will be worth it in the end. I'll keep that offer on my mind.

 

Thanks

[Richard Cope]

If you are going to be installing disk brakes, may want to see if the wheels will be moved outward.  I used a kit from Engineered Components, brakes work great however wheels moved outward .5 in.  My stock 16 inch wheels will still work.  Finding that an offset may be useful to keep wheels inline with rear wheels.  Believe Wheel Vintique, (can be purchased through Summit) will custom make the wheels as to width and offset.

 

Regards, Richard