Technical 15" or 16" Aftermarket Wheels? Opinions? Pics?

Up until the early '50s, 16" wheels (or larger) were pretty much standard on most Detroit offerings. First 15", then 14" were used as cars became lower. 14" fell out of favor, so most 'trad' cars run 15" but you're starting to see some larger sizes creep back in. Of course, new cars are using much larger sizes.

One of the issues is 15" tire size availability is growing worse as manufacturers discontinue slow-moving sizes. And you're seeing more than a few cars with larger (sometimes much larger) wheels, nearly always alloy.

Now my personal opinion is if you have a mid-'30s car or older, larger diameters can look fine if they're a 'period correct' style wheel. But by '39, wheel size had shrunk to 16" primarily, and by the mid-'50s 15" was usually the wheel size used on most 'traditional styled' rods or customs.

But I'm seeing more than a few cars with 17" or larger wheels, and they just don't look right to my eye. 16" versions are available, but I haven't seen any personally. Wheel style will affect the final look to a degree.

So what's your opinion? How big is too big? I'd really like to see some 16" wheel pics (not OEM steel, just aftermarket) on '40s to '60s cars as I'm thinking a 1" increase won't be so obvious. I would think they should work on the '40s cars as that size was OEM, that's not as obvious on the later cars.

 

not traditional wont find any 16 inch wheels here unless 30s style on 30s style car

 

Depends on the car I suppose. I always gravitate towards 15". I have a standard look, 15" steelie with 40 Ford caps and ribbed beauty rings.

 

Remember, 16" was the choice in '40s, so you can't say it's not traditional...

 

I like narrow wheels that are tucked under the fender on 30's through 50's cars.. I often buy new 5x15 and 6x15 for some of my 30's/50's cars from Summit and others.. My 38 has 5x15 fronts and 6x15 rears with 165/80 R15 and 235/75R15 tires that are tucked nicely under the fenders....**clic pic**

 

not aluminum

 

Even though my Cyclone balances on the edge of HAMB I am trying to keep it somewhat timeless. When it came to deciding on wheels I knew that the Halibrand big window and kidney bean style would always be in vogue. I decided on American Rebel copies, they were available in 15”, 16”, or even 17’s. I went with the 15’s because they look more period correct on my build, it cost me to use smaller size brakes but there is more there than I will ever need.

 

I really have to agree about those big diameter wheels on 60's cars, I'm guessing most anyone that grew up in the 60's would agree.
The ones that really look odd (to me) are those 17" American five spokes with that elongated spoke.
On my Nova, I had no choice but to go to 16's due to the brake calipers chosen, I thought long and hard about trimming the fins then discovered Halibrand offered their five spokes in 16 inch, visually, they look no different than the old standard American Torque Thrust "D" wheel.
I have 8 inch on the back and 7 inch on the front.

 

If the tires are low profile, then they just aren't traditional, in any way.

 

These are 16s




The right wheel/tire combination incorporated with the stance is absolutely the most important thing to get right on any car.

-Abone.

 

I agree with that, with the caveat that 'low profile' can be a matter of opinion and use to a degree. One of the reasons I've asked this question is there's slightly better choices in tire sizes now for 16" tires as opposed to 15" and I expect the 15" choices will narrow further in the future. I'd like to avoid being captive to the 'specialty' tire manufacturers where price goes up and quality can be suspect.

I haven't seen any 17" or larger wheels that look 'right' IMO, but given that '40s cars were originally designed around 16" wheels and the availability of light truck sizes that aren't 'low profile' (which a lot of people are already running in 15" sizes), I'm thinking 16" would work on some cars. 16" was and still is a common rear wheel size in drag racing.

The reason I asked this is my avatar has 15" five-spokes and a big-n-little tire combo. I like the look, but the wheels have always struck me as looking a bit 'small' on the car. I'm hoping that a switch to 16s will fix that...

 

I agree. I do think the 16's are an odd duck though. I have 16's on my OT DD and I have limited choices already. They went from 30 years on 15's to a small window of 16's and then on to mega wheels.

 

The curved-spoke 'D' TT don't look right IMO (in any size, sorry). They're really not a 'traditional' wheel anyway, being introduced in late '64 to specifically fit the new disc-brake-equipped '65 Corvette. They were very rarely seen until later in the decade when disc brakes became much more common. When AR first brought back the TT wheel (after being discontinued for a time), they chose the 'D' version rather than the 'traditional' straight-spoke version for some reason. That's what I have, and is another reason for changing wheels.

Denny's example is much less obviously a 16" when compared to the 'D' version...

 

If the car is supposed to be traditional, then you can't go larger diameter than it came with from the factory. But, there are a couple exceptions I'd allow.

You can use 18" high clearance wheels on 30's Fords since they have a precedent on the Bonneville salt flats.

And, you can put 15" wheels on the 60's cars that came stock with 14" wheels, because nobody likes 14" wheels.

 

It should be pointed out that most '60s factory performance versions either came upgraded to 15s or had them available as an option... usually to allow fitting bigger brakes.

 

my wife's dart has 14" wheels and came with 11" drum brakes...Lots of late 60s-70s cars came with disc brakes and 14" wheels. I don't think brakes was the reason.

I think a lot of the switch to 16" and 17" wheels these days on mainstream (not traditional) hot rods has to do with keeping up with modern trends. You can still run the old look, if you make the effort. Remember, the percentage of hot rodders who give a damn about tradition is really small.

 

16 in steel wheels, after market 15 in. The torque thrust D wheels look good and arn't real expensive, I had them on my A in my aviator. Big wheels and low profile tires ruin a car, I don't care what year it is.

 

I like slots, but they are late 60’s.

 

15's have more tire options. Consider a side wall tear while you are a zillion miles from home, it may not match the others but the 15" can be procured at any tire store. 16, 17...not as likely in a pinch. Also more wheel options on 15's.

 

What's the traditional rulebook have to say about 13" wheels?

 

Post pictures here and on the Photoshop thread.

 

I needed a multiple choice. Column A and B both apply.

 

There you go.

 

Are you building a Corvair or Chevy II or Falcon?

 

I have a 61 Ranchero project.

 

View attachment 4766174 View attachment 4766175

16” x 6”.........on my current in build ‘37 Chevy. OEM was 16”. Take-off visible photo #2 on the floor, in the background.....www.

Ray