185-16 radial tires

[Lind]

Is anyone out there running 16" radial tires on their barndoor?

I see these Michelin X 185SR16 tires, which look pretty good in overall diameter, but they recommend a wider rim than the stock barndoor rims. They are also kind of expensive.

https://www.lucasclassictires.com/185SR16-Michelin-X-66250L.htm

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[djfordmanjack]

unfortunately not a direct answer to your question, but when I picked up these barndoor wheels they had 185/75 R16 tires used on a farmers stake wagon.
The width looks quite ok, even though the 3.50 rims are quite narrow.
if you want I can take measurement of the OD of these tires, since they are still mounted.

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52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
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62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
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[djfordmanjack]

the 185/75 R16 are approx 670mm tall over worn tread. probably more like 680mm new. pretty much exactly what a 5.50 16 is at 26.88" ( 672mm). acc to Coker tire.
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Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[EmpiGT]

What's the difference in the 185sr16 and a 185r16, is it a load rating?

[djfordmanjack]

I believe the S(R) is the speed index limiting the tire to 180km/h ( approx 113mph)
Probably not an issue on a stock 52 SC.
_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[Lind]

[djfordmanjack]

You are welcome. Please keep in mind that these tires are 185/75 R16.

the 185/SR or R16 will have 80 percent height ratio and probably have a little more OD.

Maybe this pic helps. it shows how obviously the tire tread is wider than the rim, but it's not that bad imho.

If you are thinking to put these on your smoothgate, unless you want to drive it crosscountry, I personally would NEVER chose Radials. no matter what brand and tread or width, they will allways look awkward in comparison to og bias ply tires. Radials will seriously take away from the looks of your truck. I have had great results in improving the ride and roadholding on bias plies simply by adjusting the tire pressure and toe in. You surely have enough experience of your own. In my 25 years of driving bias ply tires, I've gone as low as 1.2 bar (18psi) on some cars. JMHO.

_________________
Hotrods, Fords, Veedubs and Triumph Twins !

52 Barndoor DLX Coachbuild project
55 Wolfsburg panel project, og paint Taubenblau L31
62 Dickholmer, custom color Seeblau L360
63 1500 Notch, og paint Rubin Rot L456
67 1500 Käfer, og paint Lotus weiß L282 w/red interior

[Lind]

[sled]

radials will always handle/perform better than a comparable bias ply....when mounted on their intended rim width and recommended tire pressures that is. The issue with running a radial on a too-narrow rim is that it causes the tread to deform and the tire will roll side to side considerably when cornering or when affected by a side wind (semi truck passing). Now, I know you're not going to be rallying your panel like crazy around mountain roads, but a 185 will roll a LOT on a 3.5" wheel, and negate a lot of the better handling characteristics of a radial.

for a 3.5' I'd personally stick with a narrow bias ply, but if you're willing to widen the wheels then I'd go to a 5" and the 185's would handle amazing.
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[djfordmanjack]

my bad, I mixed up the Südfunk with the smoothgate.

Funny, I can rather imagine using those radials on the panel. I have no clue why. Maybe the Südfunk has so much partina, it shows as a real work horse and will work with the radials.

[Lind]

[Lind]

[Mr. OGPaint]

I just ordered 5 of these. Michelin X TT 5.50R16. Reproduction of the earliest Radials offered since 1949 by Michelin. Offered by OEM manufacturer Michelin

https://classic.michelin.com/en/Classic-Tyre-range/X

https://www.ebay.com/itm/402858559193?hash=item5dcc3dc6d9:g:NjUAAOSw6V5gyHic
I got them from jegs off ebay, $222 each w/ free shipping. Also, most bias plies are no longer in stock because of the everything shortage.

I prefer the factory sized 5.50 tires to the 6.00's most are running. These have "the look" in IMO, though the pie crust is not as obvious as a firestone. Load index 88, so they are 1235#, higher than any 5.50 bias ply and about 50% more than the equivalent firestone

I'm excited to try them out.

From the michelin website.
"The radial tyre was the first major innovation from Michelin and was initially marketed as the “X” tyre in 1949.
Lancia was the first car manufacturer to fit the X tyre as original equipment on the Aurelia model.
From 1955 onwards, radial technology became increasingly popular and the majority of European car manufacturers opted for this solution.
The X could be fitted to cars of very different categories, from the original and popular 2CV or Beetle to the fascinating Mercedes 190SL or Facel Vega

Radial technology
The benefits of the radial tyre compared with the standard tyre were visible in all areas:
- greater safety: clearly improved road-holding, grip, braking.
- economical to use: double the mileage, significantly reduced fuel consumption.
- increased comfort thanks to sidewall flexibility.
In the 1950s, the superiority of the X tyre was such that a number of racing drivers adopted it, although Michelin was not officially involved in car racing."
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Patrick Hall

[FritzCP]

Diamond Back Tires has their Auburn Radial now. This tire is a pie crust bias look radial tire. They offer a 5.50 16 and a 6.00 16 and run about $250 each in a black side wall.

https://dbtires.com/product/auburn-deluxe-radial-15-16-sizes/

best of both worlds.
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[mandraks]