About Radial tyres on OEM rims...

[studeclunker]

I've been looking for tyres for Bess. Looks like I won't be able to afford the WWW that I want. In hunting around I found this on the Diamond Back website:

I have not yet heard first hand experiance on this forum or anywhere else (save adverts wanting to sell new rims, and even there no first hand proof) proving that there's a problem. Yes, rust and age can cause a rim to fail. That rim would fail with a glas belted tyre as well. Still, this sounded interesting. If someone has proof perhaps they'd be kind enough to e-mail to this fellow.

quote:
mailto:wwtires@sccoast.net
For personalized service
Can't find a size? CALL US!
Need a special Width Wide White Wall?

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(843) 399-5900

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Diamond Back Classics
4753 Highway 90
Conway, SC 29526

Sadly, eight hundred plus shipping for five tyres is a bit more than I can afford. But they sure are beautiful...[8D] But I can drool, I mean, DREAM, yeah, dream, can't I?[8D]

Yeah, cool is just a bit out of my price range right now. I need front fenders, rear wheel wells, floors, upholstry, paint....


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
Lotsa Larks!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[railway]

I always get a laugh at the idea that you can't use tubeless radial tire on an original rim. I was doing it back then, with no trouble, and some of the places I've been, there sure should of been.
Ebon...

[railway]

I always get a laugh at the idea that you can't use tubeless radial tire on an original rim. I was doing it back then, with no trouble, and some of the places I've been, there sure should of been.
Ebon...

[gordr]

Well, he's talking about CORRECTLY FITTED radial tires. Find a set of radials that actually FIT Studebaker rims, and you'll be OK, I think.

Put 215 or 205R15 tires on your typical '60s Lark rim, and you can expect to see the rim crack around the outermost perimeter of the plane of the bolt circle. I had it happen to me on a '63 Wagonaire.

During the time frame referenced in that article, you could get radials that were basically the same size as your old bias tires, and you could also get fabric-belted radials. Nowadays, skinny, fabric-belted radials have gone the way of the dodo. If you buy the correct size radials from one of the vintage tire suppliers, and drive the car sensibly, you ought to be OK. If you buy whatevers's on sale at Happy Tire, and wind up with 205-70R15s on Lark rims, you can expect the trouble I had, especially if it's a daily driver. With older rims from maybe '57 and back, you might actually fare better.

BTW, ALL Lark owners should check their rims frequently: the outermost perimeter of the plane which includes the bolt circle, and also look for cracks around the lug holes themselves. This is at least as great a risk as the potential for failure in the tapered axle ends, in my humble opinion. And the potential for disaster is equally great for both kinds of failures, too. Good news is, rims are cheap and easy to change.

I believe at least part of the problem is that radials allow you to corner comfortably at greater speeds than were possible with bias tires; that means the rims have to resist greater cornering forces, and they eventually fail from repeated stress reversals. Oversize tires simply compound the problem by swinging more mass around. Compare the weight of a 215-75R15 with that of a 6.50X15 bias ply job.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[gordr]

Well, he's talking about CORRECTLY FITTED radial tires. Find a set of radials that actually FIT Studebaker rims, and you'll be OK, I think.

Put 215 or 205R15 tires on your typical '60s Lark rim, and you can expect to see the rim crack around the outermost perimeter of the plane of the bolt circle. I had it happen to me on a '63 Wagonaire.

During the time frame referenced in that article, you could get radials that were basically the same size as your old bias tires, and you could also get fabric-belted radials. Nowadays, skinny, fabric-belted radials have gone the way of the dodo. If you buy the correct size radials from one of the vintage tire suppliers, and drive the car sensibly, you ought to be OK. If you buy whatevers's on sale at Happy Tire, and wind up with 205-70R15s on Lark rims, you can expect the trouble I had, especially if it's a daily driver. With older rims from maybe '57 and back, you might actually fare better.

BTW, ALL Lark owners should check their rims frequently: the outermost perimeter of the plane which includes the bolt circle, and also look for cracks around the lug holes themselves. This is at least as great a risk as the potential for failure in the tapered axle ends, in my humble opinion. And the potential for disaster is equally great for both kinds of failures, too. Good news is, rims are cheap and easy to change.

I believe at least part of the problem is that radials allow you to corner comfortably at greater speeds than were possible with bias tires; that means the rims have to resist greater cornering forces, and they eventually fail from repeated stress reversals. Oversize tires simply compound the problem by swinging more mass around. Compare the weight of a 215-75R15 with that of a 6.50X15 bias ply job.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[StudeDave57]

I ran some big radials on my daily driver's original rims for a long, long time. But then I learned that the size I was running (215/70-15) ought to be on something a little wider then what was stock on a '65 Cruiser. [B)] I never had any problems with the OEM rims mind you, but the way she gets driven, I thought it would be the smart thing to do. So I switched to a set of new 6" rims and feel much more confident in knowing that I'm actually getting good use of all that BFG rubber I paid BIG $$$ for!!! [^]
Sweet Pea handles so much better now~ it's like night and day...

StudeDave [8D]
V/P San Diego County SDC
San Diego, Ca

'54 Commander 4dr 'Ruby'
'57 Parkview (it's a 2dr wagon...) 'Betsy'
'57 Commander 2dr 'Baby'
'57 Champion 2dr 'Jewel'
'58 Packard sedan 'Cleo'
'65 Cruiser 'Sweet Pea'

[StudeDave57]

I ran some big radials on my daily driver's original rims for a long, long time. But then I learned that the size I was running (215/70-15) ought to be on something a little wider then what was stock on a '65 Cruiser. [B)] I never had any problems with the OEM rims mind you, but the way she gets driven, I thought it would be the smart thing to do. So I switched to a set of new 6" rims and feel much more confident in knowing that I'm actually getting good use of all that BFG rubber I paid BIG $$$ for!!! [^]
Sweet Pea handles so much better now~ it's like night and day...

StudeDave [8D]
V/P San Diego County SDC
San Diego, Ca

'54 Commander 4dr 'Ruby'
'57 Parkview (it's a 2dr wagon...) 'Betsy'
'57 Commander 2dr 'Baby'
'57 Champion 2dr 'Jewel'
'58 Packard sedan 'Cleo'
'65 Cruiser 'Sweet Pea'

[go-studebaker]

Hi,
I have never had problems with radials on Stude rims.

The 6 inch wide rims are fantastic, on Hawks and Avantis. On Larks, they have a habit of bouncing the tyres on the front fenders, so on a Lark I world be hesitant. My experience with Larks is 1963 or earlier versions, so I am not sure how thw 64's on up go.

Studes definitely look better with those wider 15 inch rims.

The genuine Stude rims can crack near the wheel nuts, but that can be more due to extreme service. In Australia Studebakers rared on the Bathurst 1000 mle race did have a habit of breaking rims, but not all of us drive to win the typical street rat race to work and back.

Regards
Greg

Greg Diffen
Australian Stude nut living in Warwick, United Kingdom

1933 St Regis Brougham Model 56 Dutch delivered
1937 Dicator sedan. Australian Body by TJ Richards
1939 Packard Seven Passenger monster UK delivered
1939 Commander Swiss Cabriolet by Lagenthal
1988 Avanti Convertible

[go-studebaker]

Hi,
I have never had problems with radials on Stude rims.

The 6 inch wide rims are fantastic, on Hawks and Avantis. On Larks, they have a habit of bouncing the tyres on the front fenders, so on a Lark I world be hesitant. My experience with Larks is 1963 or earlier versions, so I am not sure how thw 64's on up go.

Studes definitely look better with those wider 15 inch rims.

The genuine Stude rims can crack near the wheel nuts, but that can be more due to extreme service. In Australia Studebakers rared on the Bathurst 1000 mle race did have a habit of breaking rims, but not all of us drive to win the typical street rat race to work and back.

Regards
Greg

Greg Diffen
Australian Stude nut living in Warwick, United Kingdom

1933 St Regis Brougham Model 56 Dutch delivered
1937 Dicator sedan. Australian Body by TJ Richards
1939 Packard Seven Passenger monster UK delivered
1939 Commander Swiss Cabriolet by Lagenthal
1988 Avanti Convertible

[RottenRodney]

Uh, pardon my typos, but other than rust around the sealing edges; the only problem I've experienced when runnin' tubeless (rags or radials) on elderly [u]wheels</u> is leakage around the rivets. If you're runnin' tubeless on riveted [u]wheels</u>, I'd recomend usin' a little sealer (RTV, panel-bonding adheasive, whatever) around the rivets so ya won't have to go back in there a second time. What about Moon-Disks?? I run them tubeless as well, but ya can't expect not to come back to four flats if ya just drill 'em, screw 'em on, and walk away. I like to stud them flush from the back-side, and use Nyloc nuts rather than Tec-Screws, that come with the disks. Are there enough hot rodders here to warrant a tech-post on that subject? RR

Faster than a rusting bullet... Gopher Grove, CA

[RottenRodney]

Uh, pardon my typos, but other than rust around the sealing edges; the only problem I've experienced when runnin' tubeless (rags or radials) on elderly [u]wheels</u> is leakage around the rivets. If you're runnin' tubeless on riveted [u]wheels</u>, I'd recomend usin' a little sealer (RTV, panel-bonding adheasive, whatever) around the rivets so ya won't have to go back in there a second time. What about Moon-Disks?? I run them tubeless as well, but ya can't expect not to come back to four flats if ya just drill 'em, screw 'em on, and walk away. I like to stud them flush from the back-side, and use Nyloc nuts rather than Tec-Screws, that come with the disks. Are there enough hot rodders here to warrant a tech-post on that subject? RR

Faster than a rusting bullet... Gopher Grove, CA

[Carl Purdy]

I don't know if this will help. But my 56 Parkview has Ford wheels and 205 75 15 they were on the car when I got it.


7G-Q1 49 2R12 10G-F5 56B-D4 56B-F2
As soon as you find a product you like they will stop making it.

[Carl Purdy]

I don't know if this will help. But my 56 Parkview has Ford wheels and 205 75 15 they were on the car when I got it.


7G-Q1 49 2R12 10G-F5 56B-D4 56B-F2
As soon as you find a product you like they will stop making it.

[fred44]

Tire for Commander 54

Hello,
Can you tell me the recommanded radial tire size (cross plie size 7.10 x 15) for a Commander 54 ? Thank you for your reply.

[thunderations]

Most common size used is 205 75R 15. Some use the 195's and some go bigger to 215's and 225's. If using a 70 series tire, the width becomes a problem scraping on the rear fenders and hitting suspension parts on the front. Wheel offset, when non-stock wheels are used cause rubbing in some instances too. Lots of posts on wheels and tires on the forum already. Just do a search on it.

Hello,
Can you tell me the recommanded radial tire size (cross plie size 7.10 x 15) for a Commander 54 ? Thank you for your reply.
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