I am buying new tubeless radials from Coker. Can I run them on my 16" Kelsey Hays rims without tubes?
Yes but you're running 35 wires with welded spokes where the OP is running Kelsey Hayes bent spokes where the spoke goes through the rim. On my K-H wires the rear Auburn Deluxe Radials have no tubes while the front Excelsior Stahl Sport Radials have tubes fitted, this was done by the antique tire company who fitted the tires to my wheels. On adjustable spoke wheels a rubber band is fitted over the head of the spokes so movement of the spokes does not affect the tube.
Technically speaking the wheels do not have what you would call a bead set which is basically a little bump just inward of where the tire sits once it is properly mounted to the wheel, You don't really see the little bead set bump until the mid '50s on most vehicles. That little bead set is what is supposed to keep the tire from rolling off the bead And it is what makes a wheel tubeless. Numerous people on here including myself have ran tires without inner tubes directly mounted to wheels without the bead set And we have lived to talk about it without ever having any issues but you are not supposed to do that And if I am being honest I have had tires that are really low on air on vehicles that aren't running where just turning the wheel to the left or the right the tire has managed to pop off the bead I would guess they probably had five maybe 8 PSI in them. Realistically it should have a tube for safety reasons.
So how do you explain all the (off topic) 16.5 wheels that don't have the "safety bead" and came tubeless? Tha bead is to keep the tire on the rim in case of a flat so it doesn't roll off. It won't do that if it has any where close to a proper amount of air in the tire. I run 235/85r16 tires on 1940 skiny Plymouth wheels at 20 pounds on the rear. never a problem. My '31 A coupe has 16" radials on '35 Ford wire wheels, again no problem. My '36 Dodge pickup, same deal. 1936 wheels, tubeless radials. 11 years on that one now and it sits outside 24-7- 365 days a year. Yeah, they are old and I don't drive it all that far now and will put new tires on before long but they never fall off the wheels. Rant over Dave
I ran tubeless radials on stock 35 Ford welded spoke wheels.Regarding the Kelsey you might need to use a sealer where the spoke goes thru the outer band or rim. Make sure no deep pitting on the inner lip of the rim. Mine were pitted so had to take a disc sander to smooth them out.I then had them powder coated black.
You know I reread my comment and my comment is most definitely the proper advise. I have done it too it does not mean it is smart and the 16.5 is actually a prime example. The reason why we no longer run 16.5s is because the tires would fall off the wheels during hard cornering even if they were inflated to the correct PSI And mind you the average pickup truck that had a 16.5 probably had 60+ psi in the rear tires. It was safety that did those tires and wheels away and tires don't generally fall off when going in a straight line They go off when they have a lateral load on them which on a pickup truck would be a loaded truck going around a corner a little too fast. If the tire is already flat what's the difference if it falls off the wheel or not? I mean at that point you're already boned, And yes I understand if you have a blowout is it nice to keep the tire on the wheel until you can bring the car to a stop because it helps you keep control of the vehicle but outside of a blowout the only way a tire is going to come off the wheel is when it rolls off during a corner whether it is under inflated or properly inflated obviously makes a difference but the reality is anybody can pick up a nail going down the road and lose air pressure and be unaware of it even if they are on top of their maintenance. When it comes to radials they are even worse because they have a very flexible sidewall when compared to a traditional bias ply especially the old school pie crust style not the bias belted stuff of the 1970s. I don't think you realize how much stress is on your tire when you are going around a corner at speed and If bias ply tires back in the early 1950s could come off a wheel and manufacturers and engineers were aware of it so they redesigned the wheel literally to help prevent it What makes you think you are smarter than the engineers? If you were running around on tires (especially radials) that are 10 years old you're living on borrowed time just ask Paul Walker Oh wait you can't he's dead from being on an old tire... His Porsche was a 2005 he died in late 2013, his car was essentially on 9-year-old tires. The reality is you are a car guy so you probably monitor your air pressure really close and if we are being realistic You probably don't really push your car real hard either especially in cornering big and littles aren't really noted for cornering real good when compared to Paul Walker and the Porsche Carrera But there is a reason why every single tire that doesn't have the safety bead had a tube. The reality is every one of us that are into cars have done stuff we probably shouldn't do (I am a very similar to an unfilmed version of vice grip garage and I have driven some really sketchy stuff hundreds of miles) but when you are giving somebody advice you should give them proper advice not what you have gotten away with. The reality is If wheels did not need that little bead set the engineers wouldn't have put it there roughly 70 years ago and every single tire manufacturer today would not design their wheels to have it. That little bead set is there to hold the tire on You aren't wrong but The tires not going to come off generally speaking turning around in a parking lot It's going to come off at speed when there is lateral force measured in thousands of pounds pushing down/out on that outer front steer tire.
Tires without safety beads are not dangerous if tires are inflated properly. The safety beads are to keep the tire on the rim in the event of the tire going flat, they do not roll off and kill you. Sheesh! The .5” sizes are industrial sizes, 16.5, 19.5, 22.5, 24.5. My tri axle trailer has 15.5” tires on it and it doesn’t pull tires off the rim even when being drug sideways while turning.
Run tubeless tires n non safety beads and don’t worry about it, I can assure you that they will not “roll off”. Another wife’s tale that perpetuates itself.
working and traveling independently....I'm a belt and suspenders kind of guy....I run tubes in my tubeless tires ....
Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it can't happen. When it comes to air pressure as I stated it might above comment the reality is most of us are going to be on top of air pressure but how many times have you picked up a nail and not realized it until you notice the tire was low? I don't care how good you are on maintenance if you are on along drive and that happens which It's totally plausible you can pull that tire off the wheel a 1935 Ford wire wheel has no bead set and just like you and everybody else I have ran them for years without tubes with pretty good luck but I've also had them come off while turning project cars in the yard. Originally those tires were tubed and they make tubes today for radial tires for a reason. On a side note the 16.5 in tire was common after they went away from split rims on pretty much every 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck from about 1965 to 1990 ish They actually had a problem with lawsuits That is why those Wheels were quietly replaced with 16 inch wheels. Again you don't have to take my word for it Google AI has my back
The Jalopy Journal
