Can anyone tell me what tire size would fit on a 58-59 stepside, I am going to lower the truck around 2-3 inches, and would like to end up with a street rod look, ( the wider the better). I am looking at BF goodrich radial T/A. The local tire guys suggested 275/60/15 in the rear and 255/70/15 in the front. I don't know anything about tire sizes , any help would be appreciated....Thanks.

 

It's certainly going to depend on the wheels you have, as you can only go so wide for a given wheel width.

 

I can't tell you what you should put on your truck but I can offer some suggestions as to what not to put on it. Wider is not necessarily better. I think 255/70s on the front are too big. Do you have power steering? If not, stick with a narrower tire on the front. I have run 8 inch wheels on the front in the past and never will again. A 7 inch handles much better and much easier on the front suspension and steering. It doesn't matter much how wide you go on the rear as long as everything clears. Also, a 2-3 inch lowering is fairly minor. If you go with a low profile tire like 50/60 series you will end up with an ugly space over the top of the tire. If you were lowering 4-6 inches then this space would not be as much of a problem. If you want a tire that will fill the wheelwell and not have the space over the top you need a tire with a higher profile like 70/75 series. Like Earl said, the width of your wheels is also going to dictate what size tires you run to a certain degree....

Vern

 

Shipfitter -

Welcome to FTE!!!

Regarding tire sizes, the radials you are talking about are in metric. the "255" is the width of the tread in mm. The "70" is the sidewall. In this case the tire has a width of 255 mm (10" ) and a sidewall that is 70% of that (7"). That will add up to a tire that is 29" tall (15+7+7). You can use this formula to select a tire size you like. (25.4mm/inch)

The front tire size that he recommended is way wrong! Like Vern said, it will be too wide and really hard to steer, unless you have power steering. I run a 235/60R15 front on 6" wide rims. That's plenty and it rides nice. a 235/70 will fill the fender a little better, since it is taller. I am running Goodyear Eagle GTII's. The fronts were $70 each.

The rear tire size is OK. The 275/60R15 will fill the fender pretty well and are about as big as you can go and still keep all of the tire under the fender. Use at least an 8" wide rim (with 3" backspace). I run 295/50R15's, but I have wider fenders. The rears were $100 each.

When selecting the rear tires, it also matters what rear end ratio you have. If you have a low rear end (3.73, 4.11, etc) you may want a taller tire (75's) for better highway mileage and lower cruise rpm's.

 

On our 60 we have 225-75R15 up front and 31x10.50-15 on the rear It is stock height and the rear fenders are filled. With no power steering it is easy to steer with the skinnies up front and they are tall enough to fill the fender without looking crowded.

 

Bob,

I will also be running 225-75/R15s on the front of my 48 and I do have power steering. Initially I will run 225s on the rear too so as to use up a set of tires I already have. My next set will include larger rear tires. I have some 30x9:50-15s in the corner of my garage and they might go on the rear next.

Vern

 

My front tires are P215/70R/15 and the rear tires are P235/70R15 both front and rear tires are BF Goodrich radial TA's.

The wheels are from "The Early Wheel Co" out of ca. The fronts are 15 x 7 with 4 inch back spacing and the rears are 15 x 8 with 4 1/2 inch back spacing.

When I change to wide whites the fronts will be P225/70R15. The 215's are a little small.

If mine still had manual steering I would have P225/75R15 mounted on 6 inch rims in the front and I happen to like the rear tire/rim size I have now. Like Vern I've had 8 inch front rims "never again".

Chuck

 

Chuck, I have a 1956 F100 and need to get new rims. I can't choose between a 5" wide or a 6" wide wheel. THe five would handle 205/70/15's which are more of the stock size and the 6" would handle 215/70/15's which are obviously wider. I want to keep the stock look, is there a reason to choose one size over the other and will the truck look like a rod with the wider tires. I plan on keeping the backspacing the same on either rim. Thanks.
Chris

 

In keeping with the stock look I would use P225/75R15 on 6 inch rims all the way around.

I think the 205 and 215 are a bit small but thats just my opinion, in the end it's what you think that counts.

Chuck