Any suggestions on a tire size

[bobdavis2010]

Hi I'm looking for suggestions on a tire size I have 14 inch wheels on my 59 Chevy I am thinking some white lettering tires but I'm not sure what size to buy to make the wheelbase look full any suggestions or pictures of your truck with 14inch wheels
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[bobdavis2010]

Here is a picture

[mr48chev]

There is a kid who works at the local Les Schwab tire store who will tell you I am not a fan of white letter tires after he put white out on my truck and had to change them around when his boss showed him the work order that had BLACK SIDE OUT in big letters. on it.

That said the tire rack site is one of the best for giving you all the specs you might want on a tire and some you never thought of. a 225 70 14 BFG radial TA is a good looking tire and is 26.5 in diameter and 6.8 wide in the tread. That would be good for the front but you might want taller on the back. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...SR4RADTARWL2V3

[1958Warrior]

I don't understand what you mean by..." the wheelbase look and gray look"
But 14" wheels are too small for these trucks,IMO will not look or work good , you will be limited on tire size. You need to think about your drive train , what engine / trans do you have? what gear do have in the rear end? you plan on changing any thing ? rear end ? front ifs?

14 " rims will not work with most disc brake calipers , if you choose to do ifs , 6 lug -14" wheels and tires will be wasted money.

But if you plan on keeping all stock suspension ,drive train, it will work Id get the tallest tires you can to fill the wheel wells. You may not get to pass any one on the highway. Looks like a 27" tire is as tall as you can go.

A modern 6 lug stock wheel will give you 15,16"+ rims and a wide selection of tires. For stock rims I see sets on CL for $100.

[1958Warrior]

here is a good calculator to see how many rpms you'd be turning to go 70 mph

I came up with 3600rpm ,with 4.11gear, 27" tire

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html

[bobdavis2010]

Thanks, The truck will move for sure with the 5.7 motor although it might not stop hahaha as I am running the stock suspension (drums) just trying to save money and keep the 14" wheels
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[1958Warrior]

An overdrive trans would help get the rpms down, stock rear gears usually are 4.11 but no replacements for more highway friendly gear for stock rear axle . that's why most change out the rear axle.
They make disc brake conversions for the front, better stopping. but then your wheels probably wont fit over the brake calipers....still limited by the rim size.

If you drive it for what it is ,a 58 year old tuck with drum brakes you'd be fine .

[Warrens69GMC]

You still 6 lug? Awesome deal for 15x8 here

https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/w...192441257.html

[mr48chev]

Here's a chart that you might like. Shows the available tire sizes for 14 inch. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/sizes...sp?diameter=14

They go up to 245 60 14 Those are BFG at 600 a set though

Here is a new one to me a tire size comparison chart that you can plug in different tire sizes and see what height and how they change the reading on a speedometer.
Toyota tacoma site but a cool comparison chart
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc...0r14-215-75r14

The two tallest 14 inch tires that aren't 4x4 off road or mud grip tires are the 215 75 14 and the 225 70 14 if that helps. That comparison shows that both are a bit over 26 inches tall.

[mr48chev]

I didn't even notice that the wheels were six lug but going to 15 inch rims sure would open up the tire options for you and let you run a taller tire that is more compatible with the rear axle gears That chart that I showed in post nine shows the rpm in different gear ratios for the tires you plug in at the bottom . It might cost some to change rims but getting a taller tire on that truck will cut down engine speed and save a bunch of engine wear and a lot of gas.

[bobdavis2010]

I think I'll have to look for a 15" set any suggestions
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[bosco]

I went with 16 x8 wheels with 235 60 16. I like a lower profile tire, but wanted to get a larger wheel closer to the stock 15" wheels and tires.

[dsraven]

here is a great tire size comparison chart with a visual comparison of the old tire and the new tire.

https://tiresize.com/comparison/


here is a tire height/rear axle ratio/trans gear ratio/engine rpm chart that works pretty good.


https://www.ringpinion.com/calculators/Calc_RPM.aspx


personally I think you need to have as much or more stopping power than you have go power. I always recommend doing a brake, steering and suspension upgrade before or at the same time as an engine upgrade. just for safety sake.

[Warrens69GMC]

Originally Posted by bobdavis2010

I think I'll have to look for a 15" set any suggestions
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See my post #8

[bobdavis2010]

If I was to change out the rear end ? What rear end would be ideal ? Is it just a swap or is there a lot of modifications that need to be done
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[dsraven]

well with any diff swap there will be mods because the spring pads etc will probably not be in the same place.

try to get a diff with the same wheel bolt pattern as the front axle or else plan on different wheel sets or a redrill of the "new" axles to match what you have. remember a redrill means a headache if you need parts while on a road trip. try to stay with stock stuff, keep a pattern for the redrill in the vehicle or keep some cash handy.

unless you plan on deep dish wheels and are going to tub the box (make room for more back spacing on the wheels so you cut into the box and "tub" the area you cut out to make a narrower dimension between the tires), look for something with the same, or close, axle width. the track width of a 55 to 59 is 61.02". that is from the GM assembly manual and may not be the actual dimension that is from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface on the axle. see this write up from crankshaft coalition on the subject that may help you pick an axle. looks like 1994 - 2003 chevy zr2 extended cab, four wheel drive is really close to the right width.

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...l_measurements

once you find a donor diff, plan on cutting all the brackets off the "new" diff and smooth the axle tubes to be ready for the new spring perches. be careful doing this because too much heat, like from a torch, can cause the axle tubes to warp and bring a whole new headache your way. a zip disc on a mini grinder is a good alternative because there is less concentrated heat compared to a cutting torch. move around to different areas too allow cooling after cutting off a bracket.
when the "new" diff is ready to go under the truck do a quick measure on the dimension between centers on the spring perches of the old diff and mock up the new spring perches on the new axle with the new ubolts etc. a trailer axle shop is a good source for these parts. you will need to know the axle tube diameter and the ubolt length. mock it up and get it centered etc but don't tighten anything up or weld on the new perches yet, just tighten stuff up enough to keep it all in place. set the truck down on the wheels and roll it back and forth a few times to get the suspension to settle into it's sweet spot. now do a drive line angle check. basically this is to match the angle of the engine and trans to the opposite angle for the diff pinion so the ujoint angles cancel each other out and you have less or no drive line vibration. check the link below to a good youtube demo on drive line angles. usually the engine and trans are angled down about 3 deg (at ride height, with the wheels and tires you will be running, measured on the oil pan gasket surface of the engine) and the diff is angled up 3 deg to compensate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmV4qwLfOMY


when you get that all dialed in and the diff is centered side to side then tack weld the spring perches on to the axle tubes. make sure to put the ground clamp for the welder on the axle tube, not the axle flange, because otherwise the welding current will go through the wheel bearings and diff bearings and leave small "weld" spots on all those surfaces. that can mean a total diff rebearing andnew axles. tighten down the u bolts, assemble and bleed brakes, connect and adjust the park brake etc to make it all road worthy. road test it to ensure the wheels don't rub, there are no vibration issues etc and when satisfied do a final weld in on the spring perches. done.

[mr48chev]

[QUOTE=bobdavis2010;8009916]I think I'll have to look for a 15" set any suggestions
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Bob it's what you like and what your wallet can swing not what we like.

We have have the whole spectrum of truck budgets on here and different guys have different ideas on wheels.

Some of the inexpensive new wheels at the tire store look like and are trailer wheels like what you see on the lawn mower dude's trailer running around town and while they are strong they scream "my owner is cheap and doesn't have a clue" when they are on a truck running around town. Still there are wheels that don't break the bank and look great. That set that someone posted off craigslist at 250 wasn't a bad deal and would rock on that truck. You can probably get half of that back off the 14 inchers and maybe more.
A 6 lug favorite of mine and many is the mid 70's 4x4 rally wheels that came on K10 or Blazers. 15x8 and they can usually still be found fairly reasonable and they always look great on a TF truck that isn't a wild custom.