16x7 steel wheels need tires

[windhamdw]

I have a 1971 f100 and just got some 16x7 steel wheels, what size tires do you think i should put on the them?

[Ranchero50]

7 x 25.4 says 180 width but I like 225's or 235's.

[windhamdw]

What about the middle number 235/ ?? R16. Thanks

[Ranchero50]

That's what ever height you want out of the tire in percent of width. 235/50 should have a 117 mm tall side wall more or less.

http://fordification.com/forum/viewtopi ... 75#p727458

I want to say the fronts are 235/70's and the backs are 185/85's Same height, just thinner in back so the dual's don't rub tire to tire.

A 245/60 would look good on the rear for a cruiser, 225/70 on the front should be about the same height. You can google tire specs and see what will give the profile for width on different model tires.

[colnago]

Do you have 16x6 or 16x7? Title says one, post says another.

I have the stock 16" steelies, and I'm running 245/75R16 on them. Nothing special. I personally don't like low-profile tires. I'm pretty traditional with tires and rims.

Joseph

[windhamdw]

Sorry about that they are 16x7, them came off of a Dodge Ram and i even got the rings for them.

Thanks for all the input, I know i have to do some more research.

I do want the widest tire i can get for the back on the these wheels and maybe a little thinner in the front. Tires are confusing to me.

Thanks

[colnago]

On a 7" rim, you can probably put 265's on them. When I had a Chevy, some of the guys would try to go wider than that on the stock 16x7 rims, but some shops wouldn't go wider because of liability issues. I ran 245s on those as well. Up front, maybe go 225 or 235, if you want narrower.

I think tirerack.com has a calculator you can use to compare tire sizes, and gives some guidance on how narrow/wide you can go on a rim. As I stated above, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to tires.

You also might be able to find wider/narrower rims at the junk yard pretty cheap, if you want to try radically-different sizes.

Joseph

[windhamdw]

Looks like I don't have worry about it right now, because the Dodge Ram wheels want fit. I thought a read some putting them on there trucks, but the problem is the center bore is to small. I was so wanting to put them on, I wonder if you can grind it out more.

Dodge Ram center bore- 77.8mm
F-100 - 87mm

[Ranchero50]

You can but it sucks. I ran into that problem after getting new tires mounted to a set of dually lugcentric style rims. As long as your truck holds the rim true by the lug and not the hubs it doesn't matter. It should be lugcentrically aligned.

[windhamdw]

im pretty sure they are lugcentric , but remembering back i have never seen a shop balance a tire using the lug holes only the hub. I would think that would be a problem, i guess.

thanks

[Ranchero50]

It will be if you don't machine the holes. Mine was already mounted and balanced so I just went after them with a die grinder. Hell of a mess and took forever to do all four but it got the truck back on the road. I'll need another set of rims once this set of tires are worn.

[windhamdw]

After test fitting them it looks like I can make them work. On the front I will need 3/8 to 1/2 spacers and on the back I will need 2 inch spacers. This will also make the rear even with the front. Now to search the internet for spacers.

Thanks

[colnago]

I'll need another set of rims once this set of tires are worn.

That sucks, but I bet you can have them machined when you need new tires.

Joseph

[windhamdw]

These are the wheels that i got and with the spacers everything will work out, they did come with beauty rings but they will need to be paint if i use them. My son wants me to paint the rims red.

I found some tires on craigslist 245/75-16, supposed to go look at them tomorrow.

Two of the rims had that size of a tire on them when i did a test fit and it looked pretty good, i guess we will see. depend on the deal on get on them.

[geradr4]

Nice wheels. What paint did you use?