explain wheel and tire sizes

[thirdjoker 11]

hey everyone. I am in the process of a repaint of my 60 400, and i was reading an old post of Bell's where he put 23x10.5 ags on a 12 x 7.5 wheel. Would someone please take the time to explain what a newbe like myself needs to know about wheel and tire sizes? It looks like any ? 5 bolt wheel with around 1 5/8 to 2 inch back spacing will fit? a 23 x10.5 tire =23 inch high and 10.5 inch wide. but how do i know what wheel diameter it fits on? Do i need a 10.5 wide wheel? and my stock rear tire is a 6-12 silverline but its 22inch tall? what size is the wheel?  How do I know what tire fits what wheel? Please don't laugh.Some times I have to ask the right question to get the right answer!

 

[Martin 2,133]

first of all if i remember correctly the 23 x 10.50-12 tires bell used were duro brand. they are undersize and like the deestone brand will work on the narrow wheel. the carlisle 23 x 10.50-12 really needs a 8.5 inch wheel.

 

right, quick run through the size thing....

23 x 10.50-12 as an example....

23 height or outside diameter of the tire

10.50 is the section width of tire, in theory when the tire is mounted on the right width wheel you will have 10.50 inches width.

12 is the mounting diameter, or inside diameter of the tire, so you need a 12 inch diameter wheel.

 

now lets take the standard size wheel for that size tire...

 

12 x 8.5

12 is the wheel diameter

8.5 is the rim width at the seat, (where the tire sits) not the outside of the rim.

 

the 6-12 tire is 6 inches wide and fits a 12 inch diameter wheel. the outside diameter or height isn't in the designation.

[Martin 2,133]

i dont have any 6-12 tires on wheels and am not sure what width they would use. i dont think they would be 12 x 7.5 wheels though. my 1054 has 6.40 -15 tires on the standard wheels and they are about  4 inches wide if i remember correctly. 

 

 

i went searching 1960 to 1964 manuals and they dont mention rim width. 

Edited May 14, 2013 by Martin

[Martin 2,133]

if you go to most tire sites they will have some info that explains what will fit what....

heres a page on the carlisle turf masters i recently used myself......

 

http://www.carlisletirestore.com/trf_mstr.htm

 

i didnt purchase my tires through these guys, but they do have these useful charts with the dimensions you need to consider.....

 

i used a 24 x 12-12 tire on an 12 x 8.5 wheel.

if you look up that size, (right down the bottom) the diameter is 23.3 inches, the mounted or section width is 11.4 inches, and this is on a 8.5 inch rim width.

 

if you go back up to the 23 x 10.50-12 tire you can see that they recommend 8.5 inch rim width for this size. being a carlisle tire they run wider than the duro and deestone i mentioned before.....

 

now if you search ebay for deestone  or duro you should find a listing that shows a pic of how some of the 23 x 10.50-12 ags compare next to each other and you can see how much smaller they are than the carlisles, that is why you can run them on the 7.5 inch rims ok.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Martin

[thirdjoker 11]

now thats an explanation anyone can understand. I understood some but now i get it. Very kind of you !

thank you!

[Don1977 604]

Now to really confuse you 23" is the given height, but if you measure different manufacturers tires they are not all 23" tall.  Mine are turf tires 23 -10.50 -12 they measure around 22" tall. Sign of the times. I was talking to a fellow in the Walmart parking lot he was measuring tires on several 4x4 trucks. He had bought some 35" tires for his truck only to find out they measured 33". He was looking for a different make tire that was taller.