Hot Rods Tires - tall and skinny or short and fat -your thoughts?

With the Hamb focus being the style's from the 40's through the mid 60's the hiboys, roadster's & T-buckets have changed as far as the rubber is concerned.

My old roadster had more of a 60's vib but if I was to build it today I would lean more to the earlier styles with the taller,skinnier tires more like the old primered mordor. HRP

 

I'm more of a shorter and fatter type myself. Has to have some sidewall for sure.

 

Back in the late 60's the fat tires were just coming out and I put them on the 32 coupe I was building. I look back at those now and think what was I thinking. So just like a woman , tall and skinny does it for me. You decide. Then and now!

 

Any doubt in your mind Danny?

 

Always been short and skinny and tall and fat for me................

 

...............Still is.

 

I like short and fat on street rods, tall and skinny on the traditional hot rods.

 

I am with you guys, skinny minnies and wide hides...……….

 

Depends on the car and the wheels. 30's can go either way, 40's through 60's need some width to fill up the fenderwells. No matter, skinny or fat, they have to have sidewalls. I can't stand the tiny O ring tires with no sidewall on anything, no matter how wide they are. Big tall wheels with no sidewall tires went out with stock T models as far as I'm concerned.

 

Can't say it any better than that right there. Gotta have those side walls showing no matter what color they are as long as they don't have letters different than the sidewall they are on.
I've got two ot rigs with 17's and low profile tires and both will beat the crap out of you on rough roads even though one says DTS on the back and the other says 528I and both will beat you to death on rough roads. Wife complains less about the ride in my dualie flatbed than the 528.

As far as the original question goes it goes back to the total build of the rod. I still stand by the concept that you should not take specific notice of of one part of a car or truck before your eye sees the complete package. Every car in the previous posts prove that and CT1932Fords before and after show that. The before has a couple of things that draw your eye away but the after is a complete package where you just see hot rod. Even the slicks on Dean's old rp aren't distracting because they are part of that particular package. Think of the hot rod fails you saw at the last rod trot. It is almost always the wrong wheel and tire combo that causes the fail and some times it is the wrong tires on certain wheels that causes the failure.

 

I usually have @least 2 sets of different set ups for all my cars

 

I like them all but the tall tires are the best.

 

Starting to hate the look of my radial tires

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I am running bias on both my 32's, and they drive/track just fine. I do not like the radial look on traditional cars. JMO

 

I had the tall skinny bias on my '32 pickup. HRP

 

I am a die hard Bias Fan all quirks and shortcomings somewhat Overblown included...so it's big n' little...tall n' skinny



Mainly because it is all that was available back then and nothing...YET...matches the look...

I will say they have gotten almost close enough to almost eliminate that modern radial look which still is hugely popular even here...and I see there are some buying into that more vintage look that really sets the stone in a closer to 1965 look...but still gives a radial ride...which is a preference that has been argued ad nauseam here...

I was at a cruise recently and saw these Piecrust Skinny tires on a 40 Dodge that Almost fooled me...I think it's a Diamondback offering...maybe Auburn Deluxe...tread is coarser and pie crust finer but it was the closest I've seen Radials look this way...buy I will stay Bias
...as it just feels right...but I would be much happier seeing the modern radial look replaced with the newer vintage look cousins but I Don't think that'll ever happen...







​

 

I always told all my old girlfriends that "long and thin may be what's in, but short and fat is where its at..."

 

Dean has the definitive answer.
Hardest problem is where to find the correct tall n fat...
Marcus...

 

Another vote for '60's style short & skinny in front; tall & fat in back.

 

Skinny, skinny, tall, short.

 

I'm using Excelsiors , 5.00-16 front and 7.00-16 rear.

I like the look they give my RPU compared to the pre paint and shiny stuff mockup using 15 " BFG T/A radials in 155-80 and 255-70.



*An appropriate Edit *
Here she is finished and on the road.

 

I think it depends on a lot of things for me. The build the car and the budget all play a part.

My Crosley is pretty versatile as far as tires go for example. Fattys on the rear or skinnies will fly. By the fist of August it will be running short fat tires, short being a nominal term here, I think they are between 28 and 29" tall and about 8-10" wide (I haven't measured them in a while) the car will handle the tire well as it is an old dragster and I have them so it is a combo of budget and the car. Eventually I want to run 8 wides by 30s. But again it is a budget issue. LOL

 

Any super secret spy photo's being leaked out? HRP

 

Looks like short and fat between the frame rails. Tough looking chassis

 

More than the look, I love the ride of the radials on the pickup. I figure that if our rod heroes could have had radials back in the day, they would have been the standard back then.

 

Tall on the back
Skinnier on the front
Widths depends on style of the car

 

I'll be swapping the rear in the next few weeks. My time is nutz, trying to get moved and get this old house ready to sell. But I have to swap the 9" in to roll it up on a trailer so it will have to happen before Aug 1.

 

Pizza cutter front , 70 series rear .Mine are 165/80-15 front and 255/70-15 rear . Perfect on a 32 for me

 

Tall & skinny on Tom's car. HRP

 

Depends on the build theme. Need to have a sidewall either way. For the most part I like short and skinny in the front taller and fat in the back. I will add I am not a fan of white lettered tires on a rod/custom either way.