abdywgn
dismantler
any recommendations for some or better off getting 16" 8 lug rims? another option is 15" 8 lug rims but they have limited widths. what are your opinions? Thanks! Bob
16.5 tire options?
- Thread starter abdywgn
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Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
16.5s are getting pretty tough to find in any selection... or at a decent price. I went 16s on my Sweptline. I wanted to get away from the 16.5 split rims anyway.
I have 16.5's on my 74 3/4t club cab. (9.50x16.5).
They are getting HARD to find and yes, expensive.
Not split rims though.
They are getting HARD to find and yes, expensive.
Not split rims though.
I replaced the 16.5 on my D200 with Wheel Vintiques 82 series 16s. I had several options for new tires
You might want to think about 17's. Depending on the 16", they can be hard to find as well. 215/85R & 235/85R used to extremely popular. Not so much now.
Depends on what they are going on. When I bought my 2504x4 CTD 07 Doge new it had 17" A buddy of mine had a nice set of 16" wheels and tires cheap.Hope wouldn't clear the calipers. Make sure they will fit.
flingdingo
Well-Known Member
I haven't seen 16.5's in a loooong time. In fact, I had a guy arguing with me on another forum that there was no such thing.
Check Craigslist or your local wheel shop for a set of factory take-offs from some dude upgrading to 24's or whatever. A buddy of mine got a brand new set of 18" Ford alloys with tires for his older F-250 for around $500. The guy didn't even drive his truck off the dealer lot before upgrading to bigger wheels and tires.
Check Craigslist or your local wheel shop for a set of factory take-offs from some dude upgrading to 24's or whatever. A buddy of mine got a brand new set of 18" Ford alloys with tires for his older F-250 for around $500. The guy didn't even drive his truck off the dealer lot before upgrading to bigger wheels and tires.
pishta
I know I'm right....
16.5 tires...what a mess. Why for F sake did they make a 16.5?
Beware that though the 16 " Ford rims have the same 8 lug bolt pattern as all standard 16" truck wheels have had for many years, the register/axle center hub size is different on Dodge/Plymouth vehicles. You must make sure that you have the clearance before you buy another brand of rim. If you happen to find a 16.5 " tire, check the DOT date codes, if they are only 3 digits long, they were made before the year 1999. Anything over 4-5 years max would be dangerous as the rubber compound degrades with age not mileage.
And to the person wanting to know about tires, here is a little tire history lesson....... Because at that time if you had a 3/4 ton anything and needed to carry a heavy load you only had a choice of at the biggest, a thin tread 7.50 X 16 sized tires and 10 ply rated ( load range E ) 80 lbs. tire pressure. "Being the most common HD tire. The older HD truck rims were of the split ring or split rim type. This 3 piece wheel allowed for the changing of the tire on the road without needing a tire machine to remove and install the tire. A hammer a rim bar and a couple of tire spoons and it could be done on the side of the road. Many Tire/rim explosions caused by mostly damage rim rings were becoming more common. This type of rim was used for many decades of trucking. But as loads and trucks got bigger the tires were reaching their limits and were also very hard riding because of the high air pressures needed to increase load carrying capability.
Think of the difference in ride between the tires on a 10 speed, narrow, high pressure tire and a mountain bike, large, low pressure tires.
Tire technology was getting better and rim technology as well. Cars in he 50's first the bigger luxury cars were starting to be equipped with what were called "Balloon tires". These were physically larger and because of the larger volume of air capacity they could be run at lower air pressures and still safely carry their load. The ride was much softer/smoother and the larger tread gave better stability and braking traction. One reason the 16.5 sized rim was designed so that someone would not accidentally try to mount a 16" tire on the 16.5 " rim. The standard rim width increased from 6.5" on the standard 16" rim to 9.5 " on the 16.5 " . Again, because the tire was physically much larger in total air volume, lower pressure could be run and still maintain load. Beginning in the 70's large 4 X 4's were getting popular and the favorite tire size and the biggest standard size of the time was the 12,50 X 16.5 tire. This was 12 1/2" wide. The downfall of the 16.5 " rim size was that tires were getting better, radials were becoming popular and getting more sizes and applications for trucks. The the 70 and 60 series tires were new to the scene and were wider and lower profile than the standard tires of the day. They also were not of the safety rim design and at low pressures could/would rapidly deflate and dismount from the rims which was dangerous. I was in the tire business back then, in fact I worked for a company that is long gone called " Mark C. Bloome Tire Co." they had a store that was on Tustin ave just north of Chapman, back in 74-76. They had very good reasons to make the 16.5 in sized tires and they were the top technology of their time. Just like high performance radials are all that are available since the original bias ply tires were banned for regular passenger cars because of Fuel economy back in the mid/late seventies. After the Fuel Embargo by OPEC.
Gas where I lived went from 27 cents a gallon to 50 cents a gallon and we swore that we would never pay that much for a gallon of gas. The good old days...
And to the person wanting to know about tires, here is a little tire history lesson....... Because at that time if you had a 3/4 ton anything and needed to carry a heavy load you only had a choice of at the biggest, a thin tread 7.50 X 16 sized tires and 10 ply rated ( load range E ) 80 lbs. tire pressure. "Being the most common HD tire. The older HD truck rims were of the split ring or split rim type. This 3 piece wheel allowed for the changing of the tire on the road without needing a tire machine to remove and install the tire. A hammer a rim bar and a couple of tire spoons and it could be done on the side of the road. Many Tire/rim explosions caused by mostly damage rim rings were becoming more common. This type of rim was used for many decades of trucking. But as loads and trucks got bigger the tires were reaching their limits and were also very hard riding because of the high air pressures needed to increase load carrying capability.
Think of the difference in ride between the tires on a 10 speed, narrow, high pressure tire and a mountain bike, large, low pressure tires.
Tire technology was getting better and rim technology as well. Cars in he 50's first the bigger luxury cars were starting to be equipped with what were called "Balloon tires". These were physically larger and because of the larger volume of air capacity they could be run at lower air pressures and still safely carry their load. The ride was much softer/smoother and the larger tread gave better stability and braking traction. One reason the 16.5 sized rim was designed so that someone would not accidentally try to mount a 16" tire on the 16.5 " rim. The standard rim width increased from 6.5" on the standard 16" rim to 9.5 " on the 16.5 " . Again, because the tire was physically much larger in total air volume, lower pressure could be run and still maintain load. Beginning in the 70's large 4 X 4's were getting popular and the favorite tire size and the biggest standard size of the time was the 12,50 X 16.5 tire. This was 12 1/2" wide. The downfall of the 16.5 " rim size was that tires were getting better, radials were becoming popular and getting more sizes and applications for trucks. The the 70 and 60 series tires were new to the scene and were wider and lower profile than the standard tires of the day. They also were not of the safety rim design and at low pressures could/would rapidly deflate and dismount from the rims which was dangerous. I was in the tire business back then, in fact I worked for a company that is long gone called " Mark C. Bloome Tire Co." they had a store that was on Tustin ave just north of Chapman, back in 74-76. They had very good reasons to make the 16.5 in sized tires and they were the top technology of their time. Just like high performance radials are all that are available since the original bias ply tires were banned for regular passenger cars because of Fuel economy back in the mid/late seventies. After the Fuel Embargo by OPEC.
Gas where I lived went from 27 cents a gallon to 50 cents a gallon and we swore that we would never pay that much for a gallon of gas. The good old days...
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black954
Well-Known Member
Interco tires still makes some tires in 16.5", but they're all mud terrains. I agree with mopardug and 17" wheels are probably the best solution. 16" truck wheels are going extinct pretty fast so the 17"s should give plenty of reasonable options for years to come. I typically prefer take-off wheels from stock trucks. They are American made and much higher quality than most aftermarket wheels. Plus FB Marketplace are full of good 8 lug options in the 8x6.5" bolt pattern.
abdywgn
dismantler
Thank-you all for the comments and advice so far. I had not thought of 17" tires, figured 16" was the best bet. My idea on using the 15" was that the tires could then be swapped onto regular rims for a car. Now we add the price of tires AND rims...I did find new 16.5" tires from some company I never heard of before, maybe India? Sounds like the best plan of action is to look for 17" take-offs on Craigslist,tire stores or dealerships. Thanks again! Bob
Bill Crowell
Well-Known Member
When I bought new 16.5" tires for my D-300 dually last year, I checked out all the usual sources. My truck has its original 16.5" Budd steel wheels, powder-coated, baby; they're lookin' good, and I'm keeping it stock, thank you very much!
The only truck tire I could find was the Firestone TransForce. They weren't terribly expensive. You can buy them from WalMart, but beware: often WalMart can't install 16.5" tires, so you have to go to a tire shop to get them installed, and you lose the benefit of WalMart's free installation. You're probably better off buying them from a tire store in the first place. The only other 16.5" tires that I could find at the time were bias-ply, for agricultural equipment. Now some of the previous posts in this thread are telling me about highway tires that I didn't know were available. Thank you kindly.
Did you know that when your old dually tire throws its tread, it will destroy your fiberglass fender extensions? And that those are NLA for older Dodge duallys, so you have to fix your old one? I guess you should replace the tires when you first start to have doubts about them.
The only truck tire I could find was the Firestone TransForce. They weren't terribly expensive. You can buy them from WalMart, but beware: often WalMart can't install 16.5" tires, so you have to go to a tire shop to get them installed, and you lose the benefit of WalMart's free installation. You're probably better off buying them from a tire store in the first place. The only other 16.5" tires that I could find at the time were bias-ply, for agricultural equipment. Now some of the previous posts in this thread are telling me about highway tires that I didn't know were available. Thank you kindly.
Did you know that when your old dually tire throws its tread, it will destroy your fiberglass fender extensions? And that those are NLA for older Dodge duallys, so you have to fix your old one? I guess you should replace the tires when you first start to have doubts about them.
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