Will these wheels fit my '72 C20?

[emil77]

Hi y'all,

Here's a picture of my wheels:

My tires say 9.50R16.5LT

Will these wheels fit? Will a tire shop take my current tires off and reinstall them on these rims?

https://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/P...view_Container

[Stocker]

Nope -- you say your tires are 9.50R16.5LT which by definition mounts on a 16.5" diameter wheel.

The wheel in your link is a 15" diameter wheel. Your 16.5 tires cannot be mounted to 15" wheels.

[emil77]

Hi, I noticed that when I posted the first time. I relinked to the correct rim size, I think?

[leddzepp]

If your tires are more than 10 years old probably not.

If the wheels are not 16.5 definitely not.

[emil77]

How do I find the year of the tire?

[Killer Bee]

Determining the Age of a Tire

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by emil77

How do I find the year of the tire?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...171002050251:s

[emil77]

Ok, so I checked and they were made in 2009.

So are these the correct wheels? Is the backspacing correct? It says Wheel Size: 16.5x8.25
Bolt Pattern: 8 on 6.5

Do any of these wheels work? https://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/W...PQ=16.5+Inches

Do I need 16.5x9.50?

[Killer Bee]

check the tire data for the tire brand, model, and size you have.. the chart will tell you what rim widths they will work on..

typically though, the tread cross section is not the same as section width which is how the tire is sized..

for example;

Firestone TRANSFORCE HT - SIZE: LT9.50R16.5 Specs

rim width bolded, table on web page doesn't carry over very well..

9.5R16.5LT 121/117R E None 3,195 lbs. 80 psi 15/32" 40 lbs. 6.8-8.3" 6.8" 9.5" 7.3" 30.6" 682 CA

this will help you with backspace questions;

How to Measure Wheel BackSpace

[71sierragrande]

They'll go on but if they have dry rot at all the tire shop will try to sell you new tires. Mount them yourself, its easy

[special-K]

I have been putting this wheel and that on 8-lug trucks since these trucks were new and I never knew what the back spacing was on any of them...the ones that came off or the ones I put on. There was a time when things were kept normal and actually standardized. Stay with older style wheels, which all 16.5s are, and they will fit just right.

I would want 9.50s on an 8.25 rim. If you need new tires you can get Firestone Workforce HTs, which are radials.

[emil77]

So in other thinking areas, can I change to a 16" rim without causing problems? I know I would need new tires also. Just thinking of this idea because of the odd tire/rim combination.

[jocko]

yes, 16" wheels with correct 8 lug 6.5 bc will work. Just have to make sure you use 16" tires, not the 16.5s you have. I'm not tracking your "odd" tire rim problem(?) Don't you currently have all 16.5 gear?

If you have 16.5 tires you want to save and reuse, then you just need a 16.5x8.25 rims - note there is only ONE of those in the recent list you linked. The rest are either 9.75s or are for a different bolt circle/lug count.

If your tires are shot - then you have two choices:
1) get the 16.5 rims you want (sounds like you don't want the wagons anymore) (8.25 or 9.75) and new 16.5 tires (of appropriate size for the rims). 9.75 rims if you're moving to bigger tires. Check chart provided above.

2) get new 16" wheels (with 8 lug x 6.5 bc) and 16" tires. Your tire selection will be greater (but there are several 16.5 tire options still available if that's what you really want).

EDIT: BTW, the answer to your question in post 1 is YES, now that you've changed the link. The pic is of a 5 lug, but that's just depicted for a style, the wheels listed are correct lug and bc for your current 16.5 tires. Also, if you're ditching your current wheels AND tires, I'd personally switch to 16" wheels and tires all the way around, spare included. 16.5 tires aren't hard to find today (my opinion), but they will likely become more difficult to find over time and 16s probably won't.

[emil77]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes I would like to go to a 16" rim with new tires, mine are 9 years old.

These are good to go? https://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/P..._pn=PCW97-6881

Also, forgive my dumb question. But what size 16" tire should I look for? 31" or?

[jocko]

Originally Posted by emil77

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes I would like to go to a 16" rim with new tires, mine are 9 years old.

These are good to go? https://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/P..._pn=PCW97-6881

Also, forgive my dumb question. But what size 16" tire should I look for? 31" or?

Those wheels will work. Candidate tires are too numerous for me to just start guessing. You'll need to decide what tire you'd like and then see if they have a 16" tire that has a recommended 8" rim. (do you want all terrain, highway, etc). 8" is a little wide for a stock look, but will work - but I'm assuming you want something wider than stock since you chose an 8" rim. 265/75/16 will fit that, but it will fit even smaller width wheels. Pictured below are 16x6.5 steelies with 265/75/16s (white truck) and 16.5x6.75 steelies with 9.50s (green truck) - both are Firestone HTs.

Have you considered bone stock steel wheels or even Accurides (indistinguishable from stock steelies, even though not original to GM).

[franken]

4wheel parts are thieves. Go to discount tire.
Wheels have number of lugs, width and diameter (and hub vs lug centric). Newer went to metric so not all 8 lugs bolt on anymore, but Ford/Chevy/Dodge used to interchange. Diameter is obvious, and wider tires don't work well on narrow wheels.
Then there's offset, which (I think) changed a bit when makers converted from drum to disk brakes in front. Disk wheels work on drum vehicles, but maybe not so w/ drum wheels on a disk vehicle. The OP has a 72 so disk.