Tire suggestions for 16" wheels

G

Gil Sissons

Senior Member
We are looking at putting a set of KH 16" wheels on our 31 Vicky.
Looking for suggestions on tire size as well as radial tires that have
Worked well for you. Making more modifications for better touring.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Gil. NoCal
 
I looked into putting radial tire on mine, but so far I haven't put anything back on the road that still has bias ply tires on it, so I have put off the expense. I did go down to the local tire store with one of my bias ply 6:50/16 Firestones on a wide 5 wheel and the guy at the tire store and I compared dimensions of my tire and wheel to what he could order in a radial with approximately the same dimensions. It took a half hour or so on the computer to compare the specs on the various size tires he had in a 16 inch. Perhaps the same would work for you. I have seen numerous comments about radial tires/sizes, and the like here on Ford Barn over the years. I do not have any familiarity with 31's so I do not know about clearances for the rear or for turning. People on the Model A Forum might be helpful.
 
Gil Sissons said:
We are looking at putting a set of KH 16" wheels on our 31 Vicky.
Looking for suggestions on tire size as well as radial tires that have
Worked well for you. Making more modifications for better touring.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Gil. NoCal
Click to expand...

Gil, The closest in size is 195/80R/16.. Bridgestone makes the Ecopia (made for Toyota electric Rav4), I put them on my 47... looks good & rides as smooth as a modern car! No more bias-ply boogie.. Unless you want to spend big bucks on bias look radials from Coker, this is the way to go!

https://tiresize.com/tires/Bridgestone/Ecopia-EP-02-195-80R16.htm
 
I went with the Coker radial tires on my 36, wide five wheels with 550's on the front and 700's out back. Have a great ride and still look somewhat original with the wide whites. Coker should know what you need , very helpful when I called.
 

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Is the Bridgestone not too wide for the early wheels?

Specs:
The 195/80R16 Bridgestone Ecopia EP-02 has a diameter of 28.2", a width of 8", mounts on a 16" rim and has 739 revolutions per mile. It weighs 20 lbs, has a max load of 1609 lbs, a maximum air pressure of 44 psi, a tread depth of 8/32" and should be used on a rim width of 5.5-6.5".

I have seen some folks say they use Diamondback:
https://www.dbtires.com/2017_catalog/2017_Catalog_Lo.pdf
 
I've got about 3000 miles on my Coker Excelsior Spal radials on my deuce pu and they drive great. I've got 500/16s on the front and 750/16s on the back. For a stocker I would go 550s on the front a 700s on the rear for a little Hot Rod Rake. For a stock look you could run a 600 or 650 16 Excelsior Radial.
 
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One other tire to consider is the Austone sold through Universal Tire. A 5.50-5.75x16, they are on my avatar and my 32 5-window project. Got over 10k on them - no problems ...
 
I have run the Ecopia radial from Firestone/Bridgestone for over 3500 miles on my 40 wagon, they are also on my 49 F1. We have also put them on two 40 coupes all are driver cars and we love the ride/handling of these tires and yet they look original to most people
 

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barnfind said:
Is the Bridgestone not too wide for the early wheels?

Specs:
The 195/80R16 Bridgestone Ecopia EP-02 has a diameter of 28.2", a width of 8", mounts on a 16" rim and has 739 revolutions per mile. It weighs 20 lbs, has a max load of 1609 lbs, a maximum air pressure of 44 psi, a tread depth of 8/32" and should be used on a rim width of 5.5-6.5".

I have seen some folks say they use Diamondback:
https://www.dbtires.com/2017_catalog/2017_Catalog_Lo.pdf
Click to expand...

My wheels are 4.5 stock 16" inch rims... they fit fine
ALSO, I thought the question was for tires as near as stock size as possible for all four tires, not as others stated; small up front, large in rear.. :cool:
 
Greatly appreciate the input.
We very much look forward to a better touring car
When we change from the 19" wheels to 16"
With radials.
Gil. NoCal
 
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