Wheels / Tires: Wheel question?

[FlatheadGeo]

My '57 Champion has 15x7 rims with a 5x4.5 bolt pattern. I suck at measurements, so I am told by my wife! What would the stock back spacing be???

[jimmijim8]

measure up from the inside of the bolt circle that meets the drum to the inside outermost part of the wheel. straight up perpendiculsr to the bottom of a straightedge laid from side to side across the backside of the wheel. Width of a wheel is the measurment between the right and left tire bead area. Not the measurement from left outer extremity to right. Are you ok with this. My stock Stude 1963 drum brake wheels are 4 1/2 inch wide by 4.25 backspace. My Lincoln 6 1/2 inch wide wheels have a backspace of 4.20 inch. No problem with either them and 215 75R 15 tires. jimmijim

[RadioRoy]

The stock wheel size is 15X5. Are you sure that yours are 7 inches wide?

[StudeRich]

So George, they are NOT stock 5 Inch '57 Studebaker Wheels? You definitely do NOT want more than 6 Inch Width for a Non-Drag Strip Car.

Is this for your Driver '57 Champion 6, 2 Door Sedan?

[FlatheadGeo]

Thank you all for the quick response. jimm8, yes those directions help. RadioRoy and StudeRich the car is my '57 Champion 2dr sedan. The seven inch width I got from online sources. I checked my Shop Manual and there is no mention of the wheel width being either 5" or 7". That was the reason for posting the question here. I bow to more knowledgeable forum members. Thanks again, this helps immensely.

[candbstudebakers]

The early wheels the ones with the hub cap clip slot are the width that is the most and I think off hand if measured from out side across it is 7", might be wrong but will check tomorrow.

[studebakerkid]

AS I recall from what I have sitting here in my stuff the 7 inch wide rims were an option on station wagons.

[jimmijim8]

Time for a wheel seminar as there is too much misinformation in the posts. Help us get right Rich. jimmijim

[raoul5788]

My '57 Packard wagon has 5.5" rims, which were the widest available IIRC.

[FlatheadGeo]

...and here I thought that I had a very simple question!!!! Interesting replies.

[Buzzard]

Hi Guys,
I've spent the last 40 years in the tire & wheel industry so here goes... I have successfully used the Dodge cop car wheels in both 15 x 6.50 & 15x7.0. I favor these because the Stude lug nuts fit the acorn holes better than the larger Ford type and the center bore size is acceptable along with back spacing. These being disc brake wheels also clear any cars that have been upgraded to front discs (the inside configuration is considerably different on drum vs disc wheels). You can use up to a 235/70R15 in most applications (I have this size on my '63 GT Hawk) although the 225/70R15 size would be a better all around application for most popular Studes. If you prefer a narrower tire an acceptable size is 205/75R15 as it is about the same height as a 225/70R15, just a little narrower. All these sizes have higher than necessary load carrying capacities for Studes (1578 to 1896 lbs). For better handling try to upgrade the speed ratings of the tires to "H or V" however, remember, the higher the speed rating, generally tire mileage suffers somewhat. I plan to use this wider application on my '57 Clipper Wagon for driveability reasons and stay with the narrow factory wheels (5.5) with the larger whitewall bias tires for show purposes. Most full wheel discs will fit OK but dog dish caps will probably be a problem if the stock look is preferred. I hope this helps you all.
Cheers, Bill

[ddub]

Buzz, are those wheels widely available or found only in junk yards?

[FlatheadGeo]

The Chrysler cop car wheels come up for sale on the A Bodies Forum by members. I just passed on a couple of sets due to shipping costs being high over long distances. I was thinking of going with the 15x7 bbp wheels. A Studebaker member in NJ just gave me an almost brand new set of 215/75 radial tires from his Avanti.

[RadioRoy]

The 215/75-R15 tires will fit on the stock 5 inch wheels just fine. The later wheels, at 4.5 inch width are too narrow, but I have several sets of 215/75's on stock 51-56 wheels and they are just fine.

The wheel width is measured on the INSIDE of the rim, not on the outside.

Used radial tires take a set. If they are not rotated side to side frequently while in use, they will not be happy staying balanced if operated in the opposite side of the car. I always keep my tires rotation the same way; rotating them from front to rear only, not side to side. Did you keep track of what side of the car the tires were on?

[StudeRich]

Time for a wheel seminar as there is too much misinformation in the posts. Help us get right Rich. jimmijim

Yep, you are right Jimmy, way too much misinformation out there and here.
As Bob P. said there are a lot of the '51 to '57 Hub Cap Clip slotted 5 Inch wheels out there, but actually since they are Newer and more plentiful the '59 to '64 4 1/2 Inch Wide Wheels are even more common.

The rarity is the Avanti and Jet Thrust 5 Inch late Disc compatible Kelsey Hayes Wheel, or even more rare are 5 1/2 Inch '57 Packard 15 Inch or '58 Packard (both, ALL Models) 14 Inch Wheels.

When it comes to Owner preferred/Upgrade Wheels, there are just too many options and preferences, I am NOT going there!