47-55.1 Tire Options for 1954 Chev 3100 15x5 Rim

[Darthintel]

I finally found / purchased a rim and hub cap for fitment from Jim Carter truck parts.
Rim and hub cap fits hub and spare tire carrier! This is exactly what I was looking for. I think they look great.
I'll be painting the rims black - as they will eventually match the running boards when I paint them black.

I settled for a 15" rim vs a 16".
Rim is 15x5 , 6 on 5.5, with 3" backspace.
Now to order 4 more.

For the 16x6 rim I was planning on mounting a LT215/85R-16 tire.

What is recommended for the 15x5 rim for this truck?
I will be keeping the original drive train - so speeds will not be over 45 MPH.

Thanks

[mr48chev]

Some may argue but this chart says that a 185 tire is as wide as you want to go on a 5 inch rim. It matches about 5 sources that I checked but an 85 tire is pretty tall and skinny to begin with

[mr48chev]

I've just spent the past 16 minutes looking for a 205-85 15 tire and I can't find one listed. Where are you finding that tire size?

I did find this that says they don't have any tires that size available. https://tiresize.com/calculator/

[mr48chev]

I also found this rather nifty bias to radial conversion chart. http://www.vintagecarconnection.com/...sion_chart.htm

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I've just spent the past 16 minutes looking for a 205-85 15 tire and I can't find one listed. Where are you finding that tire size?

I spent the last 10 minutes trying to figure out what you are talking about.

he said he was putting a 215/85/16 on the 16s but wants a tire for his 15s.


for the OP, remember that SECTION WIDTH is not the same as TREAD WIDTH. section width is the widest part of the tire, usually the sidewall bulge, tread width is the tread width and isnt listed on the sidewalls. on older cars they used a big balloon section width with little bitty tread. usually they were bias ply. to get those type of tires in radial you might need a specialty retailer like coker. I would suggest a 7.60 15 or 8.0 15, the 8.0 will be ~29" tall which is close to your 285/65/16 (30" tall). unfortunately though, they both recommend a wider rim than you have, 5.5 for the 7.60 and 6 for the 8.0.

https://www.cokertire.com/american-c...blackwall.html


you could also go to a 7.0 15 but I am only finding them in bias ply. still around 29" tall. you could go radial sizing, 225/75/15 but that will require a 6 inch wide wheel too.

[Darthintel]

Local tire shop told me the 205/75R 15 is the tire for that rim. (15x5)
I'll go take a look at it.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Darthintel

Local tire shop told me the 205/75R 15 is the tire for that rim. (15x5)
I'll go take a look at it.

thats a full two inches and some change smaller than the 215/85/16. see what it looks like installed.

co-inky-dinkly, thats the stock size on an S10 2wd. here is what my 205/75/15s looked like

[Darthintel]

What other choices do I have for a taller tire that would fit a 15 x 5 rim?

I know stock is 29 or 30 inches tall, and the 205's are 27" tall.

For reference, the tires on the front now measure 25" tall, and 29" tall on the back.

[Darthintel]

What other choices do I have for a taller tire that would fit a 15 x 5 rim?

I know stock is 29 or 30 inches tall, and the 205's are 27" tall.

For reference, the tires on the front now measure 25" tall, and 29" tall on the back.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Darthintel

What other choices do I have for a taller tire that would fit a 15 x 5 rim?

I know stock is 29 or 30 inches tall, and the 205's are 27" tall.

For reference, the tires on the front now measure 25" tall, and 29" tall on the back.

for radial? not much of anything. anything wider (and thereby taller) would be pinched on the 5" rim.

the numbers on the side, 205/75/15, they mean 205mm section width (widest part of the tire) and the sidewall height is 75% of the section width, so 154mm sidewall height, and 15 is the rim diameter.

so a 205/75/16 will be one inch taller than a 205/75/15, and both will have a 154mm sidewall.


you can increase sidewall and height three ways, either by going to a bigger rim, or by increasing the sidewall percentage, or my increasing the section width which directly increases the sidewall height. there arent any sidewall percentages greater than 75 for a 15" tire, 85 for a 16" rim. and the wider the section width the less likely you will find a high percentage. BFG used to make 285/70/15s, looked like gumballs! I think silvertown still makes them. I digress

what you are up against though is the rim width, because section width usually corresponds directly to tread width. sidepoint: the higher the sidewall percentage the less likely this fact is, lower sidewall percentage tires (low profile) usually have a very close section width to tread width ratio, but its not as bad as it was in the 50s when it was possible to have a 235 section width and only a 175 tread width. your rim width is 5", in mm that is only 127mm. so on a 215 section width tire you would have two inches of sidewall bulge on EACH SIDE OF THE RIM. thats dangerous, the tire would want to roll around on the sidewalls and could come off the bead. late model radials need wider rims than old bias tires, so if you cant find a radial you might consider a bias ply tire. if you are still running a solid axle and dont plan on highway driving, a bias ply will be fine.

bias ply were measured in section width and rim size, tread width and overall height were really a secondary consideration. so a 7.0 15 is a 7" section width that fits a 15" rim. that is only an inch hanging over each side of a 5" rim. most bias tires stay in the same diameter too, 28-30".

if you are adamant not to change rim width you might have a hard time of it. your wheels look like wheel vintique smoothies, they are probably cheaper on jegs.com than jim carter if that is the case. I would just go to 6" wide rims and run a 225/75 and be done.

[Darthintel]

I'm keeping the original running gear - so cannot drive on the freeway - or speeds over 45 - 50 MPH.

I didn't buy Wheel Vintiques because they have stock / delivery problems. Jim Carter was less expensive, and they had the hub caps that I wanted that fit the rim.

Rims are bought - so I need to put tires on the 15 x 5 rims.

Bias ply tires will probably work fine in my application.
A 7.0 - 15LT Bias Ply has a section width of 7.7" and an outer diameter of 29.3 "
May work fine in my application.

[weim55]

I just put a set of 205-90-15 radials on my '50 last winter. I wanted the tallest narrowest 15 inch tire I could get my hands on. These measure 29.6" tall and really help with the gear ratio to keep the RPM down, plus these have a very factory look on the truck. Also reduced steering effort required with the factory manual box. I'll get further information for you when I get home tonight.

Steve weim55 Colorado

[Darthintel]

Originally Posted by weim55

I just put a set of 205-90-15 radials on my '50 last winter. I wanted the tallest narrowest 15 inch tire I could get my hands on. These measure 29.6" tall and really help with the gear ratio to keep the RPM down, plus these have a very factory look on the truck. Also reduced steering effort required with the factory manual box. I'll get further information for you when I get home tonight.

Steve weim55 Colorado

Thanks Steve - I really look forward to seeing more information on those tires.
Also would like to know the rim width you have, but from what I know - the 205's will fit on 5" wide rims.

[weim55]

OK, these tires are a Power King brand load range E that can go up to 80 psi. They are sold as a trailer tire but I consider that a non-issue considering the type of use my completely stock '50 3600 3/4 gets (55mph tops). Heck, it even has the same leaf spring solid axle suspension a trailer has. It's a radial tire which is a real plus and the truck drives fantastic. The tread width is about 5.75 inches. I believe my stock wheels are 5.50 inches. Advertised diameter 29.6 inches. I had to run tubes in mine as i'm still using the stock split rims. I work for an equipment company so I was able to purchase these wholesale from US auto force $76.00 each.

Steve weim55 Colorado

[weim55]

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[Darthintel]

Thanks for the great information!
Did you have any problems with the tire shop installing "for trailer service only" tires on your truck?

[weim55]

Mounted the tires myself. I wouldn't think a tire shop would care but if you did have a problem maybe just drop the wheels loose at the shop and take the mounted assemblies home to mount on the truck yourself. (?)

Steve weim55 Colorado

[Darthintel]

Originally Posted by weim55

Mounted the tires myself. I wouldn't think a tire shop would care but if you did have a problem maybe just drop the wheels loose at the shop and take the mounted assemblies home to mount on the truck yourself. (?)

Steve weim55 Colorado

I called the tire shop - they have no problem installing on rims as a carry out - which I was going to do anyways.
Thanks so much for you help. Going to buy that same tire as I like that it's a radial and 29.5 inches tall! Also have free shipping and a
45 days return policy with free return shipping.

[Darthintel]

Installed new tires and rims - huge improvement with the steering!
I really like the 29.5" tall radials that look like the stock bias ply.
Thank you everyone for you help on this one.
I tried running with the 80 psi max pressure, but may lower to 70 psi.

For reference, this is what I bought:
Rims and hub caps from Jim Carter Trucks

Rims: MST150 steel 15x5 6 lug 5.5 bolt pattern
Chrome Hub Caps: MST159

Tires from Tires-easy.com
ST205/90R -15 Radial

[Darthintel]

Found a spare tire carrier on ebay for $20.00.
New tire fits perfectly.

[weim55]

I run mine mine at 45 or 50psi so the truck doesn’t ride like a brick unloaded. And like you mentioned, the effort to steer with manual steering was cut in half with these tires. Amazing what a difference it makes having a narrow tire that the truck was designed for in the first place.

Steve weim55 Colorado