Tubeless tires?

B

biggieou

Senior Member
Can you run tubeless tires on 17 inch wheels?
9d11f6462e205f4321dea66c1872203f.jpg


Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
Tubeless tires on old wire wheels would be a very poor idea. Wire wheels would require tubes and wheel liners to protect the tube from the spokes.
There are probably radial tube type tires that are available from companies like Coker, however, they would be very expensive.
 
I'm sorry, your post is a little confusing. Are you saying that you can't run tubeless, or that they would just be expensive?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
I've run them on my 16 inch wires for years. Never any problems running tubless.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4878.jpg
    IMG_4878.jpg
    95.2 KB · Views: 34
  • IMG_4879.jpg
    IMG_4879.jpg
    79.4 KB · Views: 36
I run tubeless radials on the 16" 1935 Ford wires on my '33.The spokes are welded so do not protrude into the drop center of the rim. On a '35 roadster I once owned I had 15" adjustable Kelseys and sealed the spoke nipples with silicone in the drop center then put a band of wide black tape around.I ran them tubeless.
 

Attachments

  • 33 front wheel:Nankang tire.jpg
    33 front wheel:Nankang tire.jpg
    65.2 KB · Views: 25
blucar said:
Tubeless tires on old wire wheels would be a very poor idea. Wire wheels would require tubes and wheel liners to protect the tube from the spokes.
Click to expand...


Perhaps you could explain just why running tubeless tires on a WELDED-SPOKE wheel would be a "very poor idea". What we seem to have here is very poor advice. DD
 
Sheldon,


Pursuant to V8COOPMAN's comment and my own thinking, I assume that the only reason you sealed the spoke welds on the rims was to prevent leakage of air around any spoke weld that was not air tight, correct? Obviously it wasn't to protect an inner tube given that you did not use inner tubes.
 
I would personally not mount a tire without a tube on a rim that does not have a "H2" marking (https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/wheels/wheel-markings).

I was taught at school that the bumps on each side of a "H2" marked rim is safety bumps that hold the tire beaded in case of a puncture.

I understand that a tube will not hold the tire in place if all air is lost suddenly, but I think that it will help if there is a small puncture, you notice the puncture, and can stop the vehicle before all air is lost.

Rune from Norway
 
This has been kicked around many times in past threads (do a search) and there never seems to be a final conclusion arrived at - there always seems to be those who firmly believe one way or the other.

On an unrelated note, are you sure that those are 17" 1933-34 wheels pictured at start of thread? Just by eye-balling I'd have thought that they are 1935 16" (?).
 
DavidG said:
Sheldon,


Pursuant to V8COOPMAN's comment and my own thinking, I assume that the only reason you sealed the spoke welds on the rims was to prevent leakage of air around any spoke weld that was not air tight, correct? Obviously it wasn't to protect an inner tube given that you did not use inner tubes.
Click to expand...




I did not have to seal the wheels that had welded spokes-they were air tight,only sealed the adjustable spoke wheels.
 
Rims made for tubeless tires have a small bead just in from where the bead of the tire sits and it's only on the "out side" of the rim. The theory is that if a car is suddenly put into a hard turn, such as trying to avoid an accident, the side loading on the tire could pull the tire far enough to break the air seal resulting in a blow out at precisely the wrong time. People who say that they've used them for years without a problem have never been in a situation requiring evasive measures. People who have had a tire failure during an evasive maneuver are probably not likely to post on this forum anymore.
 
Last edited:
Guys, guys, I keep hearing a myth repeated.

The "bumps are for tubeless tyes."

Wrong.

Tubeless tyres were introduced many years before the bumps were thought of.

Millions of motorists did billions of miles on tubeless tyres before the bumps were introduced.

I have not run any early ford on tubeless, but my 58 GMC had less problems running tubeless than it did with tubes, admittedly with radial tyres.

No bumps in sight.

Don't let the lack of bumps put you off.

As with all things, good maintenance of tyre pressures and inspection of tyre condition is always a necessity.

Mart.
 
A relevant safety topic. Tubeless OR bias.

A good friend of mine just lost his 40 coupe due to running OLD tires. At 50-60 mph, a blowout on the LR tire had a chunk of rubber tear out the filler neck to the gas tank, and sparks (probably from the bare wheel on the road) ignited the tank that was filled for a rod run.
We all need to think about this, tires that LOOK GREAT and have lots of tread due to not much driving can be older then 10 years. I think the tires in question here were closer to 20 years old. Don't let this happen to you. This is the second person this summer I know that has had an old tire either blow out or separate.
I just uploaded pictures to a new album called MISC of the aftermath.
 
Last edited:
Here in France if the tire is over 10 yrs old it or they must be replaced.Per axle the tires (2)must be the same brand and size.Insurance will reject a claim if that was the cause of the accident.
 
i agree with mart, tubeless tires were out long before the extra bump on the rim, which my theory is that its there to help center the tire on the rim.i do notice on older drop center type wheels, model A thru 48 ish, it seems the tire is fairly loose on the rim until its inflated. that extra bump would help to center it and probably make it seat and seal faster when inflating. just my thoughts, no data behind me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top