Hot Rods Tallest, skinniest READILY AVAILABLE radial tire

Hey all,

Forget coker classic and specialty tires, dont want to spend that or use bias ply. I am looking for the tallest skinniest radial for a 16" rim with a roughly 28" diameter. I did find 205/75r16 which is apparently for commercial vans and is easy to find and inexpensive. Its 28" tall (perfect) but 8" wide - the perfect tire would be like 155/100r16 which is about what a 6.00-15 bias ply would be (see photos). I know thats not going to happen, outside of Cokers bias look radials at $1,600 per set ($2000 with the spare). I am just not doing that. Even If i had it to spend without second thought, i just cant bring my self to.

That said, the knowledge on here is the best in the world - so if ANY of you know a passenger or light truck (im too chicken to use trailer tires) radial that is any narrower while being as tall, i want to hear about it.

Narrow for steering ease, radial for ride comfort and straight tracking. My sedan had 6.70x15 bias when I got it and the ride was awful... followed every crack, too but the steering was much more tolerable that it is now. This is for another project all together. The sedan is parked.


Looking forward to your wisdom!

 

FYI light truck tires are too stiff IMHO.

I’m looking for similar street tires, but bias or radial, that are even taller from 32-34” diameter on 16-18” x 6” rims. No slicks or dirt track tires.

 

The never ending search for the unicorn....

 

FWIW, in my sedan, the 205/75r15 inflated to 36psi are not noticeably stiffer but steer noticeably better. Might push that to 40 next time I drive it and see what I got.

I dont want to add power steering in this other project. Dont feel i'll need it with the right tires....

 

Most of the tires that fit this criteria are eight ten or more ply light trick tires.

 

I see listings for 195/80R16 at 28.3" tall. Fits 5 to 6 inch rim width. I've never used any but they seem to be passenger car tires.
Here is a random link: https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...cdl:1,prmr:1,rsk:PC_15070274266939592377,cs:1

 

Looks interesting. Wonder if they even have taller versions? FYI, I had some "Eco" Michelins on a daily awhile back. Same size as the OEM tire it replaced and they made my HHR SS ride like a Cadillac.

 

16 radial tire fore Electric vehicles,
130 ish Michelin

 

This is what I use on my avatar. I always regretted only buying 4 and tirerack doesnt have them any more so I bought this one. Thank you onetrick!

 

If you want the same size as a 6.00x16
https://dbtires.com/product/auburn-deluxe-radial-15-16-sizes/

Or if you can find these somewhere.
https://www.tiremart.com/federal-mr295-lt-195-85r16-114l-f-12-ply-as-a-s-all-season-tire

 

12 ply rated to 75MPH.

 

I have them on my '47, they work great and not too stiff. They were sold by Diamondback years ago.

 

Might be onto something there! Probably not much use on road trips though as they required a nice rest for a good few hours after only 100 miles or so! Then again, many drivers here need that too, it sounds lovely!

Chris

 

Looks like Diamond Back has several tall skinny radials in their Auburn Deluxe line. They're not cheap but they are way less than Coker, and better quality, IMO.

 

Check out

MICHELIN
Agilis CrossClimate
215/85 R16 115R BSW

jack vines

 

I use 195/75 R16 and 185/75 R16

Dirt cheap and a regular tread pattern, not AT

 

Thanks all!

i looked into everythin - the michelin 130 was a head scratcher... as for diamond back and coker, I simply wont pay that for tires for a truck... probly not even my 50 sedan. I DONT have it like that right now but even if my ship came in this week and I did, I am not sure I could peacfully spend it hahaha

I am going to really dig into this more. I tried my own 2 tire distributors I work with; no wierd sized. 205/75r16 will get the job done. If it sucks cause its not skinny enough, I will probly just get bias plys.

Thanks again all

 

Sorry, Its a Bridgestone, it was around 8 yrs ago , I also believe it was a factory tire for a Toyota EV,, side wall said
EV tire
Bridgestone Ecopia Epo2 16 inch
rim/wheel .they resemble Diamond backs I found the Bridgestones (rear) alternates after I purchased the Diamondbacks ( front )
Price $130 ish

 

Those actually aren't too bad looking, I expected worse. Those might be a good option on a budget.

 

Those would be just Dandy!

strange I am way involved in toyota and their hybrids for work, never came across anything with sidewall. They did just come out with a 20” run that’s stupidly narrow. I don’t like this new “all rim no tire” crap it ruins the ride and adds unnecessary expense. Like camry. 16” is more they enough wheel good grief.


Anyway… thanks. I will try to track one of these down. My bridge stone distributor doesn’t have it.


My truck - when it’s built - will NOT be fancy. So as much as I like the look of 100 aspect bias plies, longer lasting better riding cheaper radials just kind of float my boat.
Thanks again

 

Sad news. Those Bridgestones are discontinued. Everything I am finding in a 16” is light truck.
That means run 15s. open to sizes but 215/75r15 is likely the suggestion I’d get and that’s getting darn wide. $139 each for 6.00-16 bias ply but they suck.

shame. I guess if I add power steering I don’t need to worry about the tires being so narrow to enjoy the truck….

 

….. looks like 165r15 is readily available! I so wish there was a 150r16 or something haha

they even have thick whites. Not wide whites that go to the rim but thick white stripes and they are cheap. Maybe grind down the back and cheap wide whites?

 

I’m with you on these ridiculous prices from Coker. I was looking into the Excelsior wider tire, and holy hell. Factory in the CAN/USA rate, shipping, etc, I was looking at over CAN$2K! Not happening.
Have you looked into spare ties? IIRC, I thought folks were using them in some instances.

 

The 165 X 15's are standard for air cooled VWs. Lots of them around.

 

Ziggster I know right!? as much as I want to be annoyed with Coker and diamondback, being in the automotive industry myself, I’m certain their profits have gotten a little bit smaller if anything, while they’re overhead has skyrocketed because of the economy we’re in. Our prices have doubled and our profit stayed the same, but our interest burden has made us overall a little less profitable

As for spare tires, you wouldn’t catch me using them for daily use! They would be fantastic for a car that only gets used once in a while or in parades etc. But junkyard pull out are good for very low speed and not many miles. Replacement spare tires are pretty expensive actually





noboD exactly! I cannot in 1 million years guess why I never considered them when I built my 19 5010 years ago! But I am most likely going to grab a set of them with the thick white wall for that 1950, and grind away the thin black line between the rim and the tire assuming it’s not too much rubber, and come up with a set of cheap wide whites for myself. I am legitimately stoked about this! I will have to run 15 inch rims instead of 16 inch rims on the truck, but ironically it came with fifteens. So this saves me money on both fronts

Is really tight, so this is a massive success. I’m just waiting for somebody to reach out and say “they can’t take the load” or something

 

I did a couple 32 highboys with 16 inch rims and used a 235/85/R16 Michelin light truck tire (30.5 inches tall) I bought at Sam's Club. Good tread pattern, clean side walls. Can't remember the tire pressure I ran. They wore good, I never wore out a pair while I owned the car.

 

This is a great recommendation Krylon32! Its too beastly for my truck project BUT if i was building one with a v8 and power steering, you can bet your bottom dollar that THOSE would be my tire! nice skinny truck tire. but 9.3" wide is too much for this application, sadly. LOVE these, though, for so many hotrod/old truck purposes. Thanks man

 

Vredestein Sprint Classic has a 185-16 size but no diameter specs. on their site. I don't know if this fits your "readily available" criteria, either.

Gary

 

I've used good used tires.

In the late 1980s, I got 16-inch radials for cheap for my 1948 Chevy truck from an older guy at work who bought new tires for his new Chevy dually truck.

I've got four good used tires (two pairs) that I pulled from the junkyard on my S10. I checked the DOT date code. This was from a yard that doesn't leave many wheels and tires on cars in the yard. I imagine that they pull most good tires and sell them to used tire dealers. You might be able to find a complete set of pretty fresh tires at a local junkyard.