16" wheels on 3/4 ton: what size tires?
 

just wondering what F2/F3 folks with 16s are running for tires...

looking at specs/sizes, on paper (er, online) it seems like it boils down to 215/85/16 or 235/85/16 (for radials). also noted: 7.50-16 for bias, but i suspect the radial is still best option for truck that will get driven.

bonus points for photos of wheels/tires in wheelwells. :-X22

thanks in advance.

Your tire sizes are spot on. But one of the others will have to share their pics and get the bonus points. Stu

Here's a side view of my F2 with the 215/85-16's. The last picture is shown with 2,125 pounds in the bed. That pallet is full of wood pellets that I burn in my stove. Also have a hefty tool storage box and a spare tire in there. Still had room around the rear fenders with those size tires and stock rear springs.

Tom

I am running 9.50R16.5. I found them at picknpull on a 77 f250 that had just come in. The tires were next to new and the rims were in great shape as well. Got the set for about $250 if I recall correctly.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...efb4047a2.jpeg

These are 235- 85- 16 on my F3. I took a few leaves out of rear springs.https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...2f04d9e26a.jpg

My signature tells what I'm running and my avatar shows how they look. Sorry, I don't have any bigger pics to share. Stock suspension.

thanks...
so for the 235s on the front with stock suspension, no issues in turning clearance? i have some junkyard 245s that are being used for "rollers" and they will hit when turned full-stop.

No issues with mine. I don't know what the backspacing is on my wheels. They are the stock 16's off a 1948 F2.

I had some stock 16's off a late 80's E350 with used 235/85R16's on temporarily. They didn't hit either.

I still have the stock brakes.

I run 255 85 16. They are 33" compared to 31.5" for most 235 85 16. Same width, nice and skinny. Both these f350 are wearing them. Sorry wrong year trucks.

I am not trying to hijack this thread; but I have a safety concern about your used tires. How old were the used tires? "Next to new" is pretty general and the important point is when they were manufactured. Tires have a finite life and become unsafe to use after a period of time. For example, when I bought my father-in-laws 1995 Riviera in 2011 we replaced the original tires. The tire dealer told me that safety regulations would not allow him to work on these tires because they were 15+ years old.

So the question for you is, how old are your tires? You can go to any tire dealer and they can tell you when your tires were manufactured and if they are still safe to use. I like to save a buck like anybody else, but safety issues are NOT the place to safe money.

Philip

Thanks for the 255/85R16 size suggestion GB. I had to really search for them as they don't seem to be carried or even offered by my local tire shops.

Seems to be mainly all terrain or mud terrain designs. The only commercial type I found was a Toyo M-55 commercial traction tire. Approved rim width range is 6.5"-8" so not sure if a shop would mount them on my 16" innies?

They are 33.3" tall and 10.4" wide so not real skinny but, it would be nice to have a taller tire on my F3. Not cheap @ $300+ each. If I was in mud country I would probably run a set this size.

yeah, the 255s definitely wouldn't work, as these junkyard 245s are too wide...

i actually used to run 255/85/16 cooper discovery MTs on a lifted jeep cherokee -- really liked those tires, but as Scotty pointed out, it is a very obscure size these days.

one thing i should've mentioned: i'll be running a dually rear-end, and i've heard some people say the 235s will have sidewalls touch when truck is under load. but i suppose that would depend on the brand since they're all slightly different and of course backspacing on the rims. guess the only way to know for sure would be to buy 2 of them to start and see... then if they're too wide, downgrade to the 215s.

similar to the 255s, i wish there were options in a 225 (all i see there is a bias-play rock-crawling TSL).

With 16" dually rims the 5" offset are for the 215's and the 5.35" offset is for the 235's.

From the research on manufacturing dates on tires this is what I came up with. 11th week 2012. :-drink,Doug.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...33337e4e9.jpeg

P215R70-16 front and P235R70-16 rear. This was after installing Posie's Dual Flex in the front lowering it about 2.5".


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6304684ee3.jpg
Note: At this point I have not yet moved the rear fenders to compensate for the shortened frame.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...bbfdd401a8.jpg
Note: Rear after fenders moved forward 4" and with Posie's Super Slider springs installed.