Hot Rods 32 Highboy roadster 16" tire size....?

I need some profile pictures of 1932 Ford highboy roadsters with a couple different tire sizes..... Please ?

I want to run whitewalls on my car, I have 16"x 5" wheels, and I cant decide between 5.50-16 and 6.00-16. In the tire I plan on running, those are the two choices I have.

I plan on going 7.50-16 in the rear

anyone have any pictures of cars with known tire sizes ?

 

No offense @wildwest , but umm, pictures would help give us an idea of what you’re working with.

 

I have 7.50-16 on my A coupe. Body style is very similar

 

I'd probably go with 16x5.00 or 16x5.50 up front.

 

I like 500-16's on the front and either 750/16 or 700/18's on the back.

 

I think a 6.00 tire is too big for the front. 5.50 at the largest. Prefer a 5.00.

 

I did 7.50's and 5.00 , but thought they were too small in the front so went to 5.50's,
only a deuce grill..

 

wwhen I did the 500's on the full fendered A without a drop axel they looked way too small... but thats the size I allways go to, but this is a first for me to have a stock axel..

 

4.50/4.75-16" is perfect match to the 7.50-16's in Firestones

 

5.50 would be my choice as I think that 6.00 looks too large as @alchemy says.
for anyone else reading this thread , if you drop below 5.00 you might like to check the load ratings. It may surprise you.
Plenty of threads about all of this.

 

If your going to run bias look radials 5.50 is the smallest they make. These are diamond back classic auburn deluxe 5.50 16” and 7.50 16

 

I will take a picture of the car as it is tomorrow when I go back to my shop. Thanks for all the pictures so far.

The one reason I wanted to go with a 6.00-16, was the whitewall itself is an inch bigger than the 5.50-16, and the amount of white looks more in-proportion to the rear. but it does make a pretty tall tire.

A 6.00-16 and 7.50-16 are 3" different in total diameter

 

Here is the car as it looks now, I have some other changes planned. The 5 spokes and blackwall tires that are on it now might be an alternate set to steel wheels & whitewalls. I already had them, and needed something to put it on for awhile. I kind of like a taller tire than some on the front of 32 highboys, the ones on it now are 6.70-15.

 

• 
  
• 600x16 on 4” rims and 750x16 on 5” rims Diamond back auburns. Stock front axle.

 

15’s in the front with 7.50-16’s un back, just for comparison.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. Years ago, when I was a teenager, I had a picture on the wall of my bedroom, probably the center out of a Rod & Custom ? that was a dark green roadster, it might have even been a 29. It had big whitewalls front and rear, on black wheels, and it looked awesome. I wish I could remember more about it, but that was 25 years ago...


Here is a roadster I saw at Puyallup this year, it had 6.00-16 and 7.50-16. I think a whitewall would make it look a bit lighter ? not sure.

 

I dig the five spokes!

 

Thanks ! I love the 5 spokes too ! I have ran that set on a few different cars, the front wheels I have had almost 20 years and they have been on at least 6 cars that I can think of. I am going to sand down the sidewall on the rear tires. straight spoke 5 spokes are probably my favorite wheel of all time, but its kind of fun to have a couple sets of wheels/tires.


I searched around today and actually found the poster I had on my wall as a teenager ! The magazine is long gone. I wish I could see the tire size, I looked with a magnifying glass, but no luck. Anyone know this car, or what the tire size is? I'm guessing 6.00-16, and 7.50-16 but ?? It was in American Rodder some time in the later 90's ?

 

Hello @wildwest,
We ran 5.50/16 and 7.50/16 Firestones on original 4.5" wide steel wheels on our old roadster.

 

These are not white walls but front are 5.50x16 on 4" wide wheels and rear are 7.00x16 on 5" wide wheels.

 

wow this roadster is perfect. exactly how im planning mine. nice work on everything!

 

They only look too small because your car isn't lowered in the front and you can see a bunch of daylight between the tire and the fender.

 

I think the large white walls detract from the car.
You see the tyres first, as the car is hidden behind them.
Better balance to @catdad49 coupe in post 15, but his is not a high boy.

 

Yep, the fenders add a little more “meat”.

 

I'm running Firestone 16" 500/525s on front, 750s on rear. Something to keep in mind are tire load capacities and your car's actual weight, and is why I chose the 500/525s with max load cap. of 1070 lbs, vs the 450/475s with 660 lbs. My '32, with hood, top, trip tools and 1/2 tank (9 gal) of gas weighs just under 2600 lbs, with 1240 lbs on the fronts. Add two people and you're easily pushing 3000 lbs GVW.