Best Wheels/Tires for Steering?

[homer]

Hello. I'm new. I just bought a '67 F-100 131" V8 auto on Saturday. I threw out my left shoulder trying to drive it. Been popping Ibuprofen like candy since then. It has oversize rims (don't know what size) and bald tires. The tires are so bald you can see the air on the inside. The rims/tires are not matching all around. Anyway, I've seen a lot of posts about what size rims/tires look good, fit well, etc., but I was wondering, do the bigger tires/wheels make it harder too steer? I definitely need it to be EASIER to steer, so I guess what I'd really like to know is what combination will make it the *easiest* to steer? Thank you! homer

[kaptnkaos]

Hi Homer,

welcome to the forum...

I have never heard of one being that hard to steer... wow
It sounds like you might have some really stiff king pins in addition to the over size tires & rims
Tire size is pretty much a matter of preference.
I have 235 85 16's on my '68 CS. It has manual steering, it steers pretty easily for manual steering.
I just parted out a '71 CS that had power steering. It had 245 75R 16" Wild Country's they worked really well on that truck. I am not sure I would want ones that wide on my '68 until I convert the steer over to power.
With manual steering a narrower tire will steer easier.

Good luck...
KaptnKAOS

[FLATBEDFORD]

My F350 has 7.5 16 LT which seem to be the bias-ply equivalent to 235/85 R16. With manual steering and proper inflation its not too bad. Don't try to steer unless the truck is rolling, even a little bit will help a lot. Power steering has made is forget this important tip.

[studdmstr]

I'm running a 235/75 15 on the stock 7 inch rim. When I had manual steering they were pretty easy to turn. Like Flatbedford said alway be moving just a little when you try to turn. You might check out this link to see about maybe checking your kingpins and freeing them up if they are stiff. http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=23520

[homer]

Thanks for the responses! I don't know what a kingpin is, so I guess I have some research to do. I did find a grease gun under the driver seat. I guess grease is a big deal with these trucks. BTW, it doesn't steer any easier when it is rolling. And it is pretty difficult to stop, too, but I suspect that problem is unrelated to the steering problem. Thanks again. homer

[layedout72]

something sounds severly worn!!! take the steering column away from the steering box and try to turn the wheel. Make sure the colum is firmly held or something first though! I believe if it won't turn, you have yourself a bad column. I could turn mine by hand at the joint to connect at the box. Should turn quite freely actually. If it's not that, I would check all your steering joints, skipping over the steering box right first. If the joints are worn, could be rusted, I could see it being VERY difficult to steer! If the joints all move smoothly, time to see whats up with the box! That or the king pins! I guess them being full up with old hardened grease could be a big deal...

[ToughOldFord]

I'm running a 235/75 15 on the stock 7 inch rim. When I had manual steering they were pretty easy to turn. Like Flatbedford said alway be moving just a little when you try to turn. You might check out this link to see about maybe checking your kingpins and freeing them up if they are stiff. http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=23520

That's what I would, and do, run on an F-100 with manual steering. My '67 steers fairly easy as long as it's rolling. There's some debate that bias ply tires will help with manual steering, but I don't think it's worth the sacrifice in handling.

BTW, welcome! Shoot us some pics when you can, we like pictures of old trucks.

[67heavystepside]

[cathynkeith]

Once all the mechanical is up to par, find an oldtimer at a front end shop and have him align it to be easy to steer, they can toe it in without causing the tires to wear, I had this done before I converted to power steering it worked great! after the conversion I had him realign because to was too twitchey. Find a shop where they have one of those roundy round race cars sitting out front they will know how to set the alignment for easy steering.