Check it out. I think I may have come up with an oddball combination of wheels and tires that will work for my 67/69 F250 at the track and hauling a load, and look good doing it.

Of course, I may just be losing my mind.....

http://www.thedreyerfamily.com/69f25.../tireplanA.htm

 

Doh, already found a kink in my plan...I'm gonna have a hard time putting that 18" tire on that 17" wheel.


Still scheming....

Looks like I can get a similar 17" setup. It's gonna be tight up front with 275/65r17s. I know that's a bit much for the 1/2 tons, do you think I'll have the clearance on an F250. maybe some new springs are in order anyway :-) I'm currently running 255/70r16s, with no issues.

 

them are some real beauties, and the price is a lil to high for me but they look great and i dont think you will have any issues with 17's on a f250 but a f150 there could be a problem, keep up the good work greg

 

Hey there,
Back in my 2wd days when I was concerned with going fast I found that studded bias ply snow tires on split rims worked great both for hauling a load and going fast. I've got timeslips for my 4000 lb old chev swb for 13 flat @ 103 mph on a set of snow tires I power braked at 7 grand in drive for a minute to get the studs out. The rear end was a 62 ford dana 60 4.10 with a powerlok and it came with the tires. I can't say I disagree with the tire/wheel companies on not offering tires or wheels particularly suited to your needs of hauling heavy loads and performing at the track, but best of luck.

 

I've got a set of 16.5x12" load rated tires (wheels are also wider than stock, not sure where he found these) on the white stock style steel wheels that came with my 67. I thought about trying them at the track with less pressure in them. But, I just don't see them biting like a newer performance radial. you can see the tires here. They are quite wide for a load-rated tire. And they are basically new tread.

http://www.thedreyerfamily.com/69f25...0/p5010012.jpg

 

gtex, I'm running 275 60 15's all the way around on my F100, lots of room.....until I lower it
I don't think that you'll have to many issues with going up in wheel size.
A general rule of thumb (shot in the dark) is for each inch of wheel diameter increase, you should increase the width of the tire by 20mm and go down 10% on the aspect ratio to keep the same overall tire diameter.

Example: 205/65R-15 = 225/55R-16 = 245/45R-17
This keeps the tire diameter approx. 1/2" of original.

Don't forget to take rim width into consideration also.

 

Also remember the rim offset. The back is narrower than the front and the truck will look goofy if you don't offset the back correctly!

 

I'm in the tire business and if you are carrying a substanial load any length of distancethere are three things to consider. 1 Number of plies in the tire( 4 ply tires,tires starting witha P, build up heat faster than a 6-10 ply tire desinged for carrying a load). The load carrying cappacity may be high on the tirs but that is only at maximum inflation. 2 Sidewall strength is important for load carrying and stopping power. A thin sidewall at a high load will not flex under extreme braking conditions. Were as a larger side wall load rated tire is designed to give a little to provide better stopping power. 3 How much wieght will those rims carry. The tire may hold up to 2600lbs at maximum inflation, but what is the maximum inflation on the rim and its maximum wight carrying cappacity. 1990's F-150 stock rims are really bad about this. With only a max wieght of around 1800lbs and inflation up to 41psi.
Those tires and rims may look nice but you maybe sacraficing looks for safety, especially at speed under load situations when the tire is the most important part of the truck. Remember that just because something fits on your truck doesn't nessecarily mean it will work correctly when you really need it. Any tire questions go ahead and ask. I'll get alittle more info at work tomorrow for you about the tires you are looking at and some alternatives to think about.
One other thing to think of is most people use 15's at the trackbecause there is alot of sidewall flex and that helps to keep the tire on the ground, rather than smoke up a $150 low profile tire.

 

These Weld Wheels are load rated at 3200 lbs apiece.

As for 15s, I would not mine going with a set of 15s in therear and 16s up front. But, there isn't much selection for 15s in the 8x6.5" bolt pattern.

Trust me, I've been looking at wheels and tires a long time. This is one of the few combinations that do what I want wothout finding a Custom Wheel. Of course, I'm asking a lot. I like that hese are a little taller as well, I'm running 4.10 gears and this thing is screaming at highway speeds.

If things get bad, I've got 2 other sets of wheels/tires that have more sidewall and the bias plys that are plenty capable for hauling.

 

As far as the rearend goes I had to go from a 33's to 35's to get a little lower rpm on the highway. The formula to figure out the affetive gear ratio of a tire change is:

Current Ratio x (Revs per mile of new tire/ revs per mile of old tire)=New rearend ratio

4.10 x (550revs/585revs)
4.10 x (.9401)= 3.85 new rearend ratio

Hope that can help. The tire dealer should be able to tell you the tire revs or you could find it online. Most tire brand have similar revs for the same sizes.

 

If you want to run steelys, stockton wheel may be able to make you some 15s for the rear. About the only ones I have ever seen are the white spoke wheels and they just don't turn my crank. I would think also that You could get whatever you want in a 16 inch format. Of course a good set of alloys will knock a bunch of unsprung weight off as those 3/4 ton steelys are heavy. I just don't like hauling heavy loads on some of those alloys.

 

I have been running Lt235/75R15s on my F-100 with 50 in the front and 40 in the rear. It has no power steering so it makes it easier to steer, obviously. They are on the original steel wheels. The one spare wheel I am running says 35 PSI max pressure on it, I got it at the junkyard. It is on the back.

I am guessing that the original bias plys on this truck when new never were intended to withstand 40 or 50 psi, which were on the current wheels. Is what I am doing not a good idea? Is it really unsafe?

This really intrigues me as I have been working with tires for six years at work. When replacing or checking pressures I usually keep them close to what the manufacturer reccomends, unless it exceeds the max pressure of the current tire on it.

 

All I was saying is that there are reasons they have max inflation pressures on rims. And I believe the original bias plies on the truck were only supposed to be at 32psi. But when going to radials and light truck tires that came around after these trucks were built you have to play it by ear (there are conversion charts availible in most fitment manuels to help get the correct air pressur for your vehicle). The rule of thumb is to go about 10 psi over the stock pressure when going from a 4ply pasenger tire up to a 6ply tire. Tires rarely need to be inflated to there max pressure unless the load you are carring calls for it.
But you are right. The original bias tire had a max inflation of 35 or 41 psi. But radials are different. Always take into consideration all of the limits of the after market parts from different companies that you are putting on your truck. Otherwise if you exceed the limits on the different parts you are using you are asking for trouble. Of course nothing may happen right away but who knows it could. Your risk!

 

This last week I've hauled 6 loads of rock with my F-100 4 wheeler. The most I've put on there is 4400lbs, + full 50gal fuel tank in bed. Do you guys think this is too much? I know it is, but it sure makes the manual steering feel like power! One trip the scale said 10,000lbs.

 

whatever you do, don't significantly lower the pressure on a 16.5 if you are drag racing. the 16.5 rim has a different bead design and will come off on a hard launch very easily. anything under 20 pounds is sure to deflate on a hard launch. hawkrod