Tires

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fixitphil

Member
The normal 1931 tire on a 19" rim is a 4.75/15.00-19.
Lucas sells a 550-19 that they say will fit on a 19" Model A Rim. Has anyone had any experience with the fit on this tire/rim fit.
I'm thinking of going with this tire as I feel it will be a little wider and a little more stable???
Anyone have an answer??
 
I so far only have them on the rear,have to paint 2 more rims,fit fine.
The speedometer in not accurate now,35 showing reads 40 by the radar,at 50 I am keeping up with the slower cars on the parkway,at indicated 60I am passing 1/2 of the cars on the 65 mph limit road
 
They fit and the overall diameter is acceptable. But I did not like mine. I bought 2 new ones to go on my slant window. They seemed like a decent tire when they came. I put them on the rear. I had 2 old but decent shape Demin brand tires on the front. When I drove the car myself with no passengers, it handled ok. But fully loaded with passengers the back of the car wagged like a dog's tail and I couldn't go more than 35 and still keep it on the road. My wife said it made her seasick. I switched them to the front and it helped some, but still didn't handle as well as I'd have expected. This was a full rebuild car, so it was definitely the tires and not something with the car.

Also, the Lucas had cracks in the sidewalls after just 500 miles. I would not buy Lucas tires again. I switched to new radial tires on all 4 and have been very happy. I went with a bridgestone tire made for a BMW i3 (Blizzak LM-500). They are about an inch shorter. But they sealed tubeless on my 19" rims and handle great. Yes, I know they're not original, and yes I know they are winter tires. But you can't beat the price at $62 on clearance at TireRack and I am very happy with them.
 
ErnieF said:
I switched to new radial tires on all 4 and have been very happy. I went with a bridgestone tire made for a BMW i3 (Blizzak LM-500). They are about an inch shorter. But they sealed tubeless on my 19" rims and handle great...
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I'm more interested in the fact that you were able to get tubeless tires to fit on your Model A rims. What size tire did you end up going with, and how was the mounting process?
 
Mike1291 said:
I'm more interested in the fact that you were able to get tubeless tires to fit on your Model A rims. What size tire did you end up going with, and how was the mounting process?
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They are a 155/70R19.

Nothing special to the mounting process. My rims have a bit of pitting - I cleaned them up with a wire brush and painted with rustoleum. I sprayed a bit of WD40 around the bead of the tire and they went on easy. I threw a pack of balancing beads into each tire as well.

I just did this - they've been on a week now. But tire pressure is holding steady at the 40 pounds I put in them when I mounted them. I did need to order metal valve stems designed for a .625" hole. Got those off amazon.

They do make the same size tire in an all season, but I went with what was on clearance. This car is my daily driver and I do drive in the winter, but price was my deciding factor since I wasn't 100% sure they would work when I ordered them.
 
Nice. Hope they work out well for you! I would think that even a 155 tire would be too wide for the Model A rims but if it worked for you then it must not be.
 
ErnieF said:
They are a 155/70R19.

Nothing special to the mounting process. My rims have a bit of pitting - I cleaned them up with a wire brush and painted with rustoleum. I sprayed a bit of WD40 around the bead of the tire and they went on easy. I threw a pack of balancing beads into each tire as well.

I just did this - they've been on a week now. But tire pressure is holding steady at the 40 pounds I put in them when I mounted them. I did need to order metal valve stems designed for a .625" hole. Got those off amazon.

They do make the same size tire in an all season, but I went with what was on clearance. This car is my daily driver and I do drive in the winter, but price was my deciding factor since I wasn't 100% sure they would work when I ordered them.
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That's cool. Do you have a picture of your car with these tires on it so we can see them?
 
I was so interested in seeing if there was a better tire size than the 155/70R19 but I couldn't find any that had a higher sidewall from three different tire distributors. So if anyone now (or in the future) is interested this is the one to get.
 
Here is a link to the tires: Bridgestone Blizzak Tires. If you go to the site and look at the specs, they specifically fit a rim width of 4-5". I would have liked a little bit more sidewall. But again, the price decided it for me. When on the car with 40 lb. of pressure they are 27" tall. Reviews say these tires wear out quickly, but even if they don't last as long, I can buy a set of 4 for the price of 1 radial from Snyder's. Reviews also said they go on clearance fairly often.

Some pictures of the tires on my car. Not the most flattering overall shot, but she's in the shop for a water pump repair I haven't gotten to yet due to hay making weather.

IMG_3149.jpg

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image1 (5).jpeg

image2 (3).jpeg
 
Cmspohn said:
Are these still holding up? Are you running radial tubes and if so what brand?
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I remain very happy with these. I've put several hundred miles on them, driving in hot weather and pouring rain. Traction has always been great. The ride is good and they handle great. Wear seems to be minimal. At this point, I would not hesitate to buy another set when these finally wear out.

I am running these tubeless and the air pressure is holding steady.

The stock OD is approximately 30", but that would vary a little bit depending on brand. Not sure why.
 
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ErnieF said:
I went with a bridgestone tire made for a BMW i3 (Blizzak LM-500). They are about an inch shorter. But they sealed tubeless on my 19" rims and handle great. Yes, I know they're not original, and yes I know they are winter tires. But you can't beat the price at $62 on clearance at TireRack and I am very happy with them.
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This is interesting... I drive an i3 and never thought about trying the same sized tires on my Model A...
 
When I buy tires, appearance is a big factor for me along with ride, price, etc. Those Blizzak Tires just look small and out of place. Too much gap between the tire and fenders. Maybe if the car was lowered a bit?

JMHO and worth less than 1¢. But if you are happy, I say go for it.
 
Mostly it's been price for me.My biggest disappointment was some expensive Firestones.That was about 15 years ago,and a couple of years after mounting them they had little smiles showing up around the beads.Very disappointing for a set of tires on a car stored in a virtually climate controlled garage.I have some 20+year old Lucas tires that are fine,and a set of Universals about 20 years old too.I have a set of Insa's from the 80's that are holding up just fine too.I had a lot of Wards Riverside tires,really liked them.Had a lot of Allstate's in the past,(Garfields) Ugly,rode like iron,and wore like iron too.A friend just bought a new/old set of American Vintique.Never heard of them,but they look good.My biggest criteria for tires used to be,hard,black,and round,and run them until I could see the air inside of them.
 
Keith True said:
Had a lot of Allstate's in the past,(Garfields) Ugly,rode like iron,and wore like iron too
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I actually like the look of my Garfields. The whitewall is less wide and the tread pattern is right. They have 10k miles on them and I could probably get 40k from them. But mine are starting to crack from age (as any 50 year old tire would do).
 

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If the 5.50 x 19 tires get "squishy", try raising the tire pressure to the maximum load rating pressure noted on the sidewall of the tire. If necessary, go to 40 PSIG, but this will end the smoother ride advantage of the bigger tires. There is a Model "A" in my club with 6.50x19 tires on it, and the owner likes them a lot. Personally, I have 5.25x18" tires on my Coupe. The 5.25x18 are a 1932 Ford size, and the ride is so much smoother than the stock Model A wheels give.
 

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