My truck has 8 lug wheels with tires that read 8-17.5 and I cannot locate any tires in that size. Anyone have input into this? Can I use a 17" tire??
None of the places I've called has any info for 17.5" wheels, just 16.5".
I need a tire so I can drive the rig!

Thanks in advance!
Bill

 

Your F-2 should have 16" wheels, are yours stock? F-3s came with 17" wheels, which are the two piece Widow Makers that are hard to find places that will work on them.

The major problem with F-3s 17" wheels, besides being the WMs, is the wheels have to be able to clear the big rear drums.

 

Wheels came with the truck, so not sure about stock, not stock, etc.
But I assume they're not stock at this point.
But 17" tires should fit, no? Just wasn't sure about the 17.5 on the tire...
Thanks.

 

NO, 17" tires will NOT fit. It says 17.5 and that's what you need to mount. You have wheels that are tubeless and, to my mind, very desireable. I have a pair that I pulled off a parts truck. They will give you better road speed than the stock 16s and are perfectly safe as opposed to the F-3 17" widow makers that Bob mentioned. Universal Tire carries 17.5s, here's the link: Universal Vintage Tire.
So does M.E. Miller. Here's their link: M.E. MIller Tire. Stu

 

Stu, were the 17.5s a Ford wheel or another maker like Dodge?

 

Both Ford and Dodge during the 1960s as best I can figure from the wheel listings. Budd made two wheels in a 17.5" x 5.25" size. The difference was in the style of lug nut used. I would have thought that IH would have used them too, but apparently not. All I find for their 3/4 tons is the 6 lug x 7.25" pattern in the 17.5" and 19.5" sizes.

And now that I've looked it up, the other reason that a 17" won't work on these rims is the bead profile. The 17" tube type rim has a 5° bead profile while the 17.5" tubeless is a 15° bead profile. Here's a cross section diagram of the two different designs. The 5° on the left, the 15° on the right. The diagram is of big truck wheels and tires, but it applies just the same.

 

Stu, you said, "during the 1960s", I assume these means the wheels are probably from a '60s truck. The original wheels on a '48-52 F-3 would have been 17", correct? Some one got smart to the WMs and swapped out newer wheels.

 

The first I have a reference for them is a 1958 National Wheel and Rim Association (NWRA) catalog. Budd, Motor Wheel Corporation, and NWRA catalogs show them throughout the 1960s. They are still listed in Budd catalogs through 1979 but it's hard to know whether that's as replacement parts or OEM new equipment. In the '70s it looks like the manufacturers went with the 16.5s, but I can't say that some 17.5s weren't also sourced. This is where Number Dummy is a real help in showing us what models and years came with what equipment.

If DagoF2's truck was an F-3 he'd be thanking the P.O. for saving him the trouble of replacing wheels. His stock 16s would still be serviceable, but with the 4.86 rear gear would be slower than his 17.5s.

 

What would be the primary reason the previous owner mounted the 17.5's on my F2?

 

Not sure. The original 16s should have been serviceable, unless they were severely bent, rusted, or otherwise road damaged. Another reason would be to safely use radials. There's debate whether it's safe to mount radials on old OEM rims that we designed to use bias ply tires. Radials distribute their load differently than do bias ply tires and place more lateral stress on rims. Here's a good article on the subject. A Tale of Two Tires - Classic Car Articals

Looking at the Universal catalog I see they don't say their 8-17.5s are radials, but Yokohama lists 8R17.5 radials on pages 60 (road tread) and 63 (traction tread) in their on-line catalog. Link: http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires_co...usRefGuide.pdf.

The other reason that I mentioned was road speed but I just compared them on the Universal and Yokohama sites and see that in these sizes there's really not that much difference like you'd think.

So, if you're thinking of scrapping the 17.5s to go back to the stock 16s you'll want to consider availability. Guys have trouble finding sets of the stock 16s that allow use of OEM hub caps. If you don't care about hub caps, any 16" Ford or Dodge rim that has the 8 lug x 6.5" circle bolt pattern will work.

 

Anyone have leads on a used set of 8-17.5 tires??? If not in the San Diego area, I'll ship on my UPS account. I've got a list of new ones offered, but all I need is one used. Thanks!

 

are you still looking for tires this size? I have full set for dually plus spare 8x17.5" in good shape 90% tread still on, will not fit my 1988 super duty because they are bud wheels not hub pilot.

 

How much you asking and pics? I have a friend who may be interested. Thanks.
Bill

 

Sorry for taking so long to get back with you all this damn snow hitting us hard here, how do I post pics on on here? any way the guy at the tire shop said he might cut me deal, but if doesn't I'm thinking 250ish for all 7 mounted and ready to go. the tires are bridge stone model 265 except one is a michelin x.

 

I just scored a set of 17.5's for my 1963 F350. I reconditioned the rims and ordered new yoko's. A couple of the old tires are still usable with about 30% tread if anyone is interested. I also have the original 6 hole BUDD 16" rims with the solid rings that are available. (I wanted to switch to tubeless.)