old trucks Radial tires??

Picked up a 49 Dodge truck and have plans on a daily driver for a shop truck.. Want to keep it looking like a old truck but would like to roll on 16 inch rubber that will take the daily wear and tear of the roads.. plan is to put 16 inch radials on it.any others out there done this? Not looking for blinged out wheels but trucks rolling on stock wheels with radials..

 

Its actually much easier to find a decent 16" truck tire vs a 15" now. Lots of choices. Head on over to your local tire dealer.

 

I had a buncha old trucks which i ran on radials. They were frankly a loy better than the Bias on our roads.

The last one i had was a 64 Ford. I got some "GT Radials with a rather wide whitewalls on them (for new tires) . it looked rather good I think...



not sure if they still make them.

 

did on a customers 49 chevy 1 ton truck LT235/85R16 are close to same size as O E

 

I have used dually tires before (215 or 225/85R16) and they looked "right"

 

I run wide white radials on my 56 F100 as it is my daily driver, and I have done some very long highway trips. I got them from Diamond Back Tires... they weren't cheap, but they look great!

 

I'm running 15" radials on mine....truck drives great!
As long as the profile isn't too short, they look fine to me.

 

I am on my first set of bias after a two year knuckle buster, next ones will be radials...

 

This nails the look I`m after.. too cool.

 

on my '48, I put 10k on 6.50x16 Firestone bias ply tires with the stock suspension; anything over 35mph was an adventure, including trying to drive in a straight line...on my '49, I put 2k on 7.50x16 Goodyear radials with the stock suspension and lock-ring rims; the truck floated over the same lumpy roads, and was durn easier to keep in a straight line, although gearing kept me under 48mph...advantage: RADIALS

 

The '56 F100 that is my avatar rode on 295-50/15 BF Goodrich radials on the back & 235-60/15 BFG's on the front. Drove the truck 6 years, including two coast to coast trips. Always rode great, never had a problem. I currently have the same type of tires on my '51 F1. Freaking thing corners like its on rails. Go for the radials.

 

Radial tires have less "binding" built into their construction, so they have quite a bit more natural resonance than bias tires. Because of that, all things being equal, radial tires should ideally have slightly stiffer shocks than bias tires. If the tires develop a odd wear pattern over time(doesn't always happen), shocks that are too soft is among the possible causes.

 

yes! cupping. I see it a fair bit, especially when tires aren't rotated. You can sometimes feel it with your paw, before you can see it. good thing to check for.

 

I ran radials on my '65. I liked them real well but 80K on them before i gave the truck to a friend. My '65 obvlously had a more modern suspension than your truck but I have run radials on older beam axle trucks as well no problems.

I am running bias plys on my '61 but it has to do with getting the style of tire (mud and snow) and staying with the old narrow rim more than anything else. You just can't find tall skinny 16" radials with a rough tread anymore.


Someone mentioned it but I'll remention to drive the point home it is easier today to find 16" truck tires than 15s.

 

I like radials on my 46 p.u.

 

Radials for me.... I know there is a diehard crowd out there... soooo My spare still has the original Bias ply.

 

Actually Yokohama makes a radial truck time that looks like a bias, almost a pie crust sidewall. The down side is that they are not made in America but I guess the Japanese need a little help financially right about now anyway.

Here is a little known fact most bias ply tires are made in India now. Mine are intercos and come from there. The fellas who sold them to me gave me the actual percentage I don't remember the numbers exactly but it was way over 90%.

OK sorry for the side trip this is a thread about radials I just wanted to get that tid bit out of my head.

 

Firestone makes a radial as well that has a bias look to the sidewall.

 

There ya go. There is no doubt more out there if someone has more info about radials with a bias look throw it on us.

 

I've run radials on the 48 since 1982 and put them on the 71 when I changed from the split rim 16.5 wheels to the alloy 16x8 wheels I run. A night and day difference on the 71 plus noticeable increase in gas mileage.
I would like to see some with better looking tread and cleaner sidewalls though.

 

Do you recall the name of the tire?

 

Mr48Chev nailed it,most sidewalls are way too busy.

 

These?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...700R5215&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

A 47 with Wheel Smith 15x8 wheels and Sportsman 255/60/15 radial tires

 

Thanks Flipper.

 

Fireant
Those look a lot like the tires I am thinking of. You may want to contact scarliner with a PM and ask him what he had on his 27 Coupe. Tell I said to right and that maybe will help him remember.

And yes scarliner isn't a typo.

 

this tire is by Radar. 215/85r/16LT. it is 30.4 inches tall. I think it works perfect for a 50's era truck.

I order up some trailer rims in the six hole pattern. plain rim, either black or white finish. will accept hubcaps, but I usually just run some chrome lug nuts and beauty rings.

 

this 50 Chevy came in on 15's. It just had too much gear to allow for highway speeds, plus, I didn't like the look. What do you think?

 

So after i put the 16x6 www bias ply tires on my '47, should i charge the passanger for the experiance they will be in for?

Kind of like admission.

 

I have BF Commercial T/A 215 85 LT16 on my '54 ford panel, so far so good. Also I have WWW Radials (Federals) from diamondback on my '47 car (looks close to bias), but as porknbeaner pointed out they are not made in the states and are SUV tires in China/Japan.