Tires are making me tired

[CherokeeCraig]

Okay everyone says I should be able to run 33's on a stock 79 widetrack. Okay I get that but how does that convert to metric as I want to run 16" wheels and I don't want a whole lot of wide under there? I'm going to run 8" wheels. I've read wider tires on narrow wheels and that's going to give you more height. Maybe so, any suggestions?

[tgreese]

Okay everyone says I should be able to run 33's on a stock 79 widetrack. Okay I get that but how does that convert to metric as I want to run 16" wheels and I don't want a whole lot of wide under there? I'm going to run 8" wheels. I've read wider tires on narrow wheels and that's going to give you more height. Maybe so, any suggestions?

The metric tire sizes are really easy to determine. Let's just make up a size: 275/70R16.

The first number like 275 is the 'section width' or overall width of the tire in mm. The next number is the tire height in percentage of the section width. So 70% of 275 is 192. COnvert 192 to inches (25.4 mm per inch) gives 7.6 inches. The overall diameter is the wheel diameter plus twice the height: 7.6 + 7.6 + 16 = 31.2, so that's something like a 31.

I would call the second number the aspect ratio - the larger the aspect ratio, the taller the tire for a given width.

I would go with the manufacturers suggestions regarding wheel width. If you go to tirerack.com and look up the specs of the tires you are interested in, they list a range of wheel widths. This will take a little trial and error, but you should be able to narrow it down to the sizes that will work for you.

[Stuka]

285/75R16 is the most common 33" metric tire for a 16" wheel. Most are roughly 11-11.5" section width and just over 33" tall. Some companies have a 305/70R16 which is closer to a 12" section width. Please note section width is not tread width.

While most LT 33's are 33x12.50 which equates to 12-12.5 section width and almost all are 32.5" tall advertised height.

I have 285/75R16's on my JK and they are very close in height to the 33.7" tall TSL's on my J10. Both are mounted on 8" wide wheels.

[CherokeeCraig]

So lets talk tread width, footprint?

[tgreese]

So lets talk tread width, footprint?

That is typically given in the spec table. Expect the tread width to be 2-3" narrower than the section width.

[Stuka]

Yeah, best to look at the manufacturers spec page for exact measurements.

[Strode182]

I'm shopping tires now too, and it's giving me a headache.

I'm looking on Summit's site just to get an idea, and they give actual tire measurements. For some tires, not all. Some tread widths are listed, some are not. And the sizes given are not universal by any means. Actual tires measurements for the same spec tire vary widely.

Discount Tires website gives no measurements.

[tgreese]

I'm shopping tires now too, and it's giving me a headache.

I'm looking on Summit's site just to get an idea, and they give actual tire measurements. For some tires, not all. Some tread widths are listed, some are not. And the sizes given are not universal by any means. Actual tires measurements for the same spec tire vary widely.

Discount Tires website gives no measurements.

What brand of tires?

TireRack.com shows tire height, tread width, section width and recommended wheel width.

[Strode182]

I'm shopping tires now too, and it's giving me a headache.

I'm looking on Summit's site just to get an idea, and they give actual tire measurements. For some tires, not all. Some tread widths are listed, some are not. And the sizes given are not universal by any means. Actual tires measurements for the same spec tire vary widely.

Discount Tires website gives no measurements.

What brand of tires?

TireRack.com shows tire height, tread width, section width and recommended wheel width.

Thanks, I hadn't looked there.

[90supra]

Has anyone here run the TreadWright tires? Looking at tires for my 67 truck and am considering them. Seems most reviews are favorable with the negative coming from people with heavier trucks/loads with more high temperature highway miles. My use would be DD (maybe 20 miles on a high day 50 mph tops, northern NM) and some occasional offroad/camping type deals. Sorry if its too much of a threadjack, will post new topic if preferred.

[haminawag]

I use BF Goodrich's ATs on my Wag and it clearly says right on the sidewalls 32" x 12.5" x 16", and they recommend an 8" rim width. The tire tread width measures just about 11 inches. And yet they're supposed to be metric radials.

[Stuka]

I use BF Goodrich's ATs on my Wag and it clearly says right on the sidewalls 32" x 12.5" x 16", and they recommend an 8" rim width. The tire tread width measures just about 11 inches. And yet they're supposed to be metric radials.

If they have 32x11.50 they are not metric. Those are LT's.

[carnuck]

255/85/16 gives you 33/10.50

[tgreese]

Has anyone here run the TreadWright tires? Looking at tires for my 67 truck and am considering them. Seems most reviews are favorable with the negative coming from people with heavier trucks/loads with more high temperature highway miles. My use would be DD (maybe 20 miles on a high day 50 mph tops, northern NM) and some occasional offroad/camping type deals. Sorry if its too much of a threadjack, will post new topic if preferred.

Treadwright used to be Hi-Tech - search the net, esp. IFSJA for lots of results. https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3A ... readwright

I think that most people are happy with them that have them. The main issue I recall is there aren't enough casings (in the large sizes esp.) to meet the demand, so they have raised prices a lot. Check around ... with some shopping, new is only about 50% more than the 'caps, when you figure mounting and balancing.

Used is another possibility. Here in Boston there are retailers that specialize in good used tires - maybe in your area too. Since you aren't going to put a lot of miles on them, this seems like a better option.

[TrenchFoot]

Used is another possibility. Here in Boston there are retailers that specialize in good used tires - maybe in your area too. Since you aren't going to put a lot of miles on them, this seems like a better option.

One thought on retreads and used tires, or even new large tires: consider getting them mounted and balanced somewhere with a Hunter Road Force balancer. I recently bought a 3/4 Chevy with decent tires but it rode awful. Lots of vibration, and weird harmonics at certain speeds. I suspected one or more was out-of-round so I went to hunter.com and searched for a shop in my area with a Road Force balancer here. It costs more than a typical balancing but the machine uses lasers and sensors to detect balance and out-of-round of both the tire and rim. It then tells the tech how to spin the tire on the rim to cancel out balance and roundness issues.

The guys at Les Schwab spent 45 minutes per wheel on my set but it was well worth the $125. The machines are pricey and labor-intensive, so not a lot of shops have them. I past a half dozen Les Schwabs to get to the one in my area that had one. But it was worth the drive and the money.

[rocklaurence]

255/85/16 gives you 33/10.50

Tall and Skinny --my favorite and more likely to fit.