LOVE it or HATE it? (New Member, First post)

[Ruby63_GT_Hawk]

Keep in mind that the majority of posters here are mostly into stock Studebakers. Anything other than stock is not going to get a lot of praise.

In addition, most of us are old farts and not current with what the latest wheel trends are...and we probably wouldn't care if we knew

Lastly, aftermarket wheels and tires are a very individual thing. The few of us that enjoy (or can at least tolerate ) modified Studebakers have our own opinions on what wheels and tires we would put on the same car.

Bottom line...you're not going to get a real good cross section of the hobby giving you input here on your choice of wheels and tires. Don't get discouraged. Consider the source.

Thanks Dick. I'm thoroughly enjoying the responses. I had a feel for the demographic of "typical" Studebaker owner/poster/etc and have been very pleased with the quality of responses. It's entertaining to get such a myriad of responses as I expected such a polarizing choice would elicit! I figured it would be a great icebreaker for me to get involved with this group rather than just lurking in the background.

[StudebakerGene]

wheels

Tire and wheel technology has changed monumentally in the more than five decades since these cars were produced. That being said, the ride quality and handling is usually so much more friendly that, for some of us, it's simply a no brainier. I have owned countless makes and trying to wrestle a huge hunk down the road with the factory skinny rims and bias ply tires was an exercise in futility at best and even shodding them with radial tires is always a home run. Car looks fantastic!

[am not r2]

I like it. I like the craigar ss with spinners too....I have a pic someplace with a very nice red Hawk with magnums that looks just right....My hawk stays stock but I am tempted from time to time....the Solid wheels look cool.... good for you, Rich

[paintim613]

While, as many have already said that the choice is yours, the stock wheels and wheel covers would be my choice. Our very different custom (pics in signature link) looks much better with period correct Stude wheel covers even though some purists still gag at the sight of our car. The fact that you already have yours makes the change easy, though radial tires typically handle better than bias tires. Always good to give it some time before making any changes.

[mbstude]

I like the look!! Tasteful and different.

But I'm a young guy (25) that generally doesn't like wheelcovers at all.

[gordr]

My .02 worth? Too much rim, not enough tire. The proportions of the wheels look wrong for the car. It's kind of like seeing an 80 year-old granny wearing stripper shoes. And I really doubt the car's suspension can really use the kind of stickiness that style of tire can deliver on smooth pavement. And I'll bet it rides like a lumber-wagon on rough pavement. There are plenty of custom wheels that look like they belong on a GT Hawk. And reasonably lower profile tires would be OK, too. Torq-thrust mags with 215-70R15 tires? Now we're talkin'.

[52-fan]

The neat thing about just changing wheels is that it doesn't harm the car and you can go back. If I could afford it, I would like to have several sets of wheels and tires for my car depending on the type of trip or show.

[studegary]

Your car - your money- your choice.

With that said, it looks like you are just following the current trend. For example, I recently watched three days of Mecum auction. Many of the cars were mostly stock except that they had these oversize wheels and low profile tires. To me, they looked like cartoon cars.

I appreciate some custom wheel/tire combinations, but these are too far out for the era and styling of that Hawk.

The good part is that you can simply bolt on something else and sell these to someone to put on a more recent car.

[Studebaker1962]

My 62 GT Hawk. American Racing Torque Thrust II. I worked hard to get the back-set and off-set and tire size right. Before and after. Love or hate it as said by Ruby63_GT_Hawk.........

[StudeRich]

Jim, your '62 looks a whole lot more "Period Correct", even though technically they were probably not available in '62.

[ddub]

[QUOTE=Dick Steinkamp;921474]Keep in mind that the majority of posters here are mostly into stock Studebakers. Anything other than stock is not going to get a lot of praise.
Dick,
This could be a good poll topic. We may not be quite as fossilized as you think.

[StudeRich]

[QUOTE=ddub;921546]

Keep in mind that the majority of posters here are mostly into stock Studebakers. Anything other than stock is not going to get a lot of praise.
Dick,
This could be a good poll topic. We may not be quite as fossilized as you think.

Maybe;
So Far I got NINE Likes out of 56 Posts, but I would need to delete all of the OP's Posts and then there are those Neutral Posts that did not want to disappoint by saying they do not like them or they had no opinion, even Mr. Steinkamp!

[cycledog]

Looks good. I like em. But then again I painted the top of my 55 coupe heavy metal flake red. And lets face it Studebaker made some of the ugliest wheel covers known to man.

[52-fan]

You could put me in the "like" column, but I would not personally want those on my car. It always comes down to the owner's choice.

[StudeRich]

Looks good. I like em. But then again I painted the top of my 55 coupe heavy metal flake red. And lets face it Studebaker made some of the ugliest wheel covers known to man.

What, you do not like one of the MOST beautiful Wheelcovers EVER made? The '53 to '55 Full Wheel Covers how could you not like one without all the Made and Model Lettering all over it like the Big 3 had?

The 1953-1955 Wheelcovers -just The Best EVER, on any Car!
The Avanti Wheel Cover -Beautiful
The '51-'52 Plain full Moon with the Crest, -very Classy!
The '64 Wheel Cover -very High Class
The 1957 Wheel Covers, both Standard and Spoked Type -very Rich Looking.

All some of Best and well designed in the Industry, and always High Quality real Stainless Steel.

Maybe you just do not like Wheelcovers!

Wheelcovers and Whitewalls is what completed "the Look" of 1950's and 1960's Cars, without either they just look CHEAP.