16 inch tires on 16.5 wheels?

[Smogmonster]

ok so ive read some horror stories about tires exploding off of rims etc
but im not sure they are talking about the same thing?

i am refering to fitting a tighter fitting 16 inch tire onto a 16.5 rim
i have bought several sets of wheels and various trucks where i have found 16 inch tires allready on 16.5 wheels NOT looser fitting 17s on 16.5.

i was also told once by an old time offroader that this was a common ,,trick,, before bead locks

can anybody give advise (from personal experience) on this please? its a road going truck and i cant see why it would be a problem ??

im not building a ,,bro dozer,, so i would like some more old school wheels for my truck but most are 16.5 that i like and 16, tires seem easier to find plus i allready have some.

[Mike C]

Uh.....

NO. Tires are a specific size for a reason. A 16 is NOT a 16.5. A 17 is NOT a 16.5.

I've not seen this in actual application and wouldn't even consider it. I have a tire machine of my own and knowing how it works wouldn't even begin to try.

The real horror stories from 16.5" rims are the split rims with the retainer that comes off and kills you when inflating without a cage.

16.5's have no "safety bead" so even with a 16" tire on it it would be MORE likely to come off due to low inflation. 17's might go on a 16.5 rim but it would be near impossible to inflate and wouldn't be anywhere near round.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Don't even think about it.... It says right on the 16" tire "Do Not Mount on 16.5" Rim". And that's Gospel.

[Smogmonster]

Thanks but please re read my post again.

i did NOT say i wanted to fit a 17 on a 16.5

of course i realize a 16 Is not a 16.5

i am NOT talking about split rims

i KNOW its not 100% by the book but neither are a lot of things that work. ( but try explaining that to most self proclaimed ,,experts,,)

i ALSO have a tire machine and HAVE removed many 16,s from 16.5 wheels i have scrapped. so i KNOW they fit.

why is it MORE likely to come off if its a TIGHTER fit in the first place??

so what your REALLY saying is you havent done it and dont know but theres a marking on the tire

im NOT saying it SHOULD be done im saying it HAS been done many times but NOT by me.
and wondered if anybody here has done it

[70stroker]

I personally wouldnt do it in my shop. Its unsafe for you and others on the road, peronally wouldnt even do it on a trail only rig either.

[b454rat]

Go for it, let us know how it comes out. Good thing I'm on the opposite coast....

[Smogmonster]

Originally Posted by 70stroker

I personally wouldnt do it in my shop. Its unsafe for you and others on the road, peronally wouldnt even do it on a trail only rig either.

i kind of agree with you and certainly not on a customers car but im not sure why it would be unsafe if its a little tighter unless it would somehow stretch the bead and break easier????

as i said i have removed lots like it and the bad state of some peoples correct fitting tires in usa never ceases to amaze me basicly if theyre still showing ,,some,, rubber where the tread used to be and hold some air they use them! forget how old they are or cuts bulges odd sizes each corner etc etc crazy yet i see it all the time.

[Smogmonster]

[QUOTE=b454rat;7034397]Go for it, let us know how it comes out. Good thing I'm on the opposite coast....

and its a good thing im on this coast nice and warm with no rust. i lived in that area for a while and witnessed the patched up rusty brake lines and broken in half with rust pick up trucks and flintstone cars doing 70+ down the interstate
these tires are the least of your car worrys

[andrewmp6]

No way i would try it,You can still get good off road tires for the 16.5 rims from http://www.intercotire.com/

[Smogmonster]

Yeah I kind of want easy and economical to get in an emergency
Quiet road pattern highway tires

[andrewmp6]

Change your wheels the 16.5 have a small tire market and running a 16 inch tire on one sounds like a really bad idea to me.

[special-K]

The answer couldn't be more simple: No, they are different sizes.

There are 16.5 tires out there. I'm stuck on the wide wheels that existed in the 60s/70s on the same era trucks and just deal with finding 16.5s that people have been saying are going away for some 25 years now. Just buy 5 if you love the 16.5 wheels but don't want issues finding a replacement, if needed. It's cooler to have a matching spare anyway. And a 5 tire rotation trumps a 4 tire any day

[Smogmonster]

That's just it i like the old wheels too and im not keen on heavy truck steels or wagon style 8 spokes it's an old truck so iv been searching out 8 lig old school alloys in a 16
I can't stand the look of these pimp wheels people have
But they're mostly 16.5 available and I even have some on another old
C20 here but I got real stuck once on a long road trip
(Orange cali to middle ohio) trying to find an easier 16! In a strange size that was allready on the truck. Luckily I ended up getting a motel and buying a complete set on nice wheels from a classified ad and decided from then on i will run a common easy size

[Mike C]

Here is the warning from the Rubber Manufacturers of America on your question:
http://www.barrystiretech.com/16.5warning.gif

Seems like you have answered your own question about moving away from 16.5's.

I have them on my Jimmy because I got a screamin' deal on the wheels and the first set of big tires I had. The current 35 12.5 BFG AT's were also significantly cheaper than the 16" version. I don't put a lot of miles on it, so they will be out of service date long before tread wear an issue.

And I bought 5 wheels and tires. I made the mistake in the 80's with my Centerline Pro Truck wheels and NOT buying the 5th one.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Mike C

Here is the warning from the Rubber Manufacturers of America on your question:
http://www.barrystiretech.com/16.5warning.gif

Just because it may be possible to do something, or that someone may have done it in the past, does not mean it's the right thing to do. The link explains why not to mount 16" tires on 16.5" rims. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[Smogmonster]

i didnt say it was right or even a good idea i said i wanted to know who here has done it because i have removed dozens of 16s on 16.5 wheels to scrap them so people must do it.
theres a 100 hot rod tricks that are ,,not right,, or by the book

i guess i could try to find a good common source of road pattern 16.5,s or keep searching for a local set of period alloy 16,s

[special-K]

I don't know that any 8-lug 16s were ever made in aluminum slots. At least not in wider than stock. Reason being, there were no wide 16" tires made back then. 16.5 was the wide tire wheel. The stock 16.5s were 1/2" wider than 16s. For the floatation tire option an a K/5 or K/10 GM offered 6-lug 16.5 x 8.25s because no wide 15" tires were made in truck load ranges. Remember, this was all bias ply tires back then. Not sure exactly when wide 16" tires and wheels came into the aftermarket, but it seems to me it was in the '90s. You could find finned aluminum easier because it was a later design, but most will be 16.5. I don't know what size you want, is it 9.50 hiway?
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.eXY&cad=rja

[b454rat]

16s didn't really become popular till the 90s as Special said. I remember I put 16s on my car and thought they were huge lol....Put 17s on my 90 GMC and people thought they were huge!!!! Both looked sweet tho....

I just don't see the benefit of doing that. So many rims and tires out there, why risk it? I don't really like 16.5s, I have a set, had many in the past, but rather use 16s at least. I don't like the lack of safety bead on the the 16.5s. Looses too much air pressure and the tire falls off the bead. Now I plan on welding a bead on mine, but need to get the damn truck back first....

[franken]

Anyone who has seen a tire burned and seen the steel inside knows this should not be done.

[Redcap]

Originally Posted by Smogmonster

Thanks but please re read my post again.

i did NOT say i wanted to fit a 17 on a 16.5

of course i realize a 16 Is not a 16.5

i am NOT talking about split rims

i KNOW its not 100% by the book but neither are a lot of things that work. ( but try explaining that to most self proclaimed ,,experts,,)

i ALSO have a tire machine and HAVE removed many 16,s from 16.5 wheels i have scrapped. so i KNOW they fit.

why is it MORE likely to come off if its a TIGHTER fit in the first place??

so what your REALLY saying is you havent done it and dont know but theres a marking on the tire

im NOT saying it SHOULD be done im saying it HAS been done many times but NOT by me.
and wondered if anybody here has done it

I have a real hard time believing that.

[leddzepp]

No tire shop will mount them for you, but you have the equipment to do so and are set on doing it so let us know how it turns out

[72 k10]

I ran tire shops in ridgecrest and bishop ca for years and never saw 16 on 16.5.... One time a cust brought in his own 16.5 recaps to be mounted while airing one up the bottom bead broke it only came up about 2" before the machine stopped it still broke my hand. The beades are very strong and designed to be installed on specific sized wheels. When, not if this idea of yours fails someone is going to get hurt. Do not attempt this for your own safety.

[special-K]

Ever since "they" have been saying 16.5s are being phased out it was said to be because people where getting hurt trying to install 16s on 16.5 wheels and visa-versa. I never wanted to see 16.5s go because on an early 4wd the only big wheels that are "right" for me are 16.5s, and I always wondered who those idiots were. This was before the tire industry shot itself in the foot by giving in to the big diameter trend, created all sorts of confusion in tire sizing, backspace requirements, and most of all, complicating the ability to have a good selection on hand. To have one set in ech size of only one particular tire means a storeroom full. you used to know when you were buying an oddball size that might be hard to replace in an emergency out on the road. Now that could be about any tire. Heck, 15s and 16s are right behind 16.5s if anything gets phased out. Life was good when we just stuck with what worked

[Stocker]

^ Spoken like a true geezer, Tim! I kid of course, but I did get a chuckle reading that. Pretty sure I'm older than you and I share the same sentiments. But you failed to mention good ol' 14" tires. If I'm not mistaken, my grandpa's last car, a 1964 Bonneville, had 14" tires.
Bias ply, of course.

[special-K]

Oh yeah, 14s got hard in the '90s I remember. My son drove a '65 Biscayne Wagon and when we went to get tires in '95 I was surprised when they acted like they hadn't sold a 14 in a long time. Had to order them in. Whitewall,too. Made me realize they had all but vanished even back then. I guess they were still on a few cars in the mid-90s.
I guess I'm an official geezer...by behavior not age. Understand? Times ain't what they use to be. heh heh.

[dieseldawg142]

yeah, i remember when they started putting 15's on cars, they were huge & belonged on trucks....still, better than going buying 4 12inchers for the wife's old firefly....go-cart wheels

like has been said over & over, 16" tires belong on 16" rims.
i'm lucky (unlucky?) to have a set of both 16's & 16.5's. i have 38x14.5/16's & a set of 39x 14.5/16.5 & there's NO way that 16 is going on the 16.5. and if you did manage somehow to stretch it over it, i too would want to be on the other coast