16.5" wheel alternative

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tpripps

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So my newly-acquired pickup has the original 8.75x16.5 tires on the back, though it has 16 inchers on the front. I'm having a heck of a time finding low cost options for the rear. I'm looking for something to just get me by while i'm working on the rest of the truck. Basically looking for rollers. The tires that are on it are waaaaay past shot (on all 4 corners). Do I just convert to 16" all around? I DO like the look of the old lugged farm truck tires like the Coker Traxion. But i'm not spending $300 ea from Jegs to get them.


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FireTruck1984

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So my newly-acquired pickup has the original 8.75x16.5 tires on the back, though it has 16 inchers on the front. I'm having a heck of a time finding low cost options for the rear. I'm looking for something to just get me by while i'm working on the rest of the truck. Basically looking for rollers. The tires that are on it are waaaaay past shot (on all 4 corners). Do I just convert to 16" all around? I DO like the look of the old lugged farm truck tires like the Coker Traxion. But i'm not spending $300 ea from Jegs to get them.


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Here’s your “Rollers”
$88 each and free delivery.. on Amazon
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That would be 16” all around
 

Bextreme04

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16's are getting to be pretty hard to find for a decent price too. They are becoming the next orphaned size like 16.5's.

That being said, you'll have a much easier time finding 16's than 16.5's, but if you can go to 15's or 17's you'll have way more available options for tires.
 

BKING33

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There are plenty of options in 245/75R16 and 265/75R16.
The 245 are one of my most popular truck sizes I sell at my work.
 

tpripps

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So it sounds like you're all advocating going to 16 or 17 rims? Now I have to figure in the cost for rims too. Yikes
 

Grit dog

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You’re looking for “rollers”, I don’t understand why you don’t just buy a set of 8x6.5” rims or rims n tires off CL or FB or Offerup or a junkyard.
They’re not rare. 16/17” steelies off of a Dodge or pre 2011? GM. Or older Ford.
Heck I just sold a set of matching 16” old white steelies for like $75 and I thought I got a good deal since the guy I got them from was throwing them away.
Now if you didn’t mean rollers but rather something to actually drive on, same thing applies and 245 - 265 75/16 tires are plentiful and cheap especially used.

Not sure what $300 vintage looking tires have to do with the necessity of having a set of tire and wheels that hold air and maybe even safe to drive down the road.

If you’re not near a city then the used selection will be less, but these are not rare or hard to find.
 

tpripps

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I think I'm either making this more complicated than it needs to be or there's just so much I don't understand. I found a set of 8 lug steelies with good rubber today but when I went to pick them up the hub measured much larger than my truck's. The hub of the wheels I looked at were just under 5" whereas the hubs on my truck 4.375.

According to the prestige wheel website, my hubs should be OVER 5" and not under. Whatever happened to automotive standardization?!
 

Bextreme04

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I think I'm either making this more complicated than it needs to be or there's just so much I don't understand. I found a set of 8 lug steelies with good rubber today but when I went to pick them up the hub measured much larger than my truck's. The hub of the wheels I looked at were just under 5" whereas the hubs on my truck 4.375.

According to the prestige wheel website, my hubs should be OVER 5" and not under. Whatever happened to automotive standardization?!

Is it a dually? A C30 in 78 should be 14BFF, right? The wheels aren't hub centric on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, you need to have a big enough wheel opening to clear the hubs and that it, they will center on the lugs.

My 14BFF hubs are about 4.5" diameter and the rims I have on the truck and a few spare sets are about 5" center hole.
 

Catbox

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Go to the local junkyard and see what they have for you.
I have used plenty of junkyard tires before and they are cheap.
I picked these little fellers up for $120 out the door for one of my other cars.
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I am sure they will have something for you to at least get going on.
We pulled these chrome wagon wheels out of the junkyard for $80 total one day, changed the tires with a set that were $40 for all 4 and put them on the truck.
I hated them and we traded them off for the old chrome modulars.
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I found a set of wheels on the Craigslist and the seller wrote the tires off as garbage.
I have been driving on those same tires for sometime now and NOW they are real garbage.
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You can also run Ford or Dodge wheels from '98 down as that is what my Square came to me on.
 

tpripps

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Thanks everybody for the input! I found a set on craigslist for a "reasonable" price. 16" with a larger hub hole than needed. Should work out alright.
 

Craig Nedrow

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My wife's 2017 Jimmy has Firestone Transforce tires, we like them and they do make two sizes for your truck. Go Here : https://tiresize.com/tires/Firestone/Transforce-HT.htm
One of the few mfgs that still make the 16.5. BF goodrich A/T TA's are no more, a shame as I love those, have them on the truck now, but bald.
 

AuroraGirl

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16's are getting to be pretty hard to find for a decent price too. They are becoming the next orphaned size like 16.5's.

That being said, you'll have a much easier time finding 16's than 16.5's, but if you can go to 15's or 17's you'll have way more available options for tires.
i think rn the price of tires is just higher, the 2356515 on my f150, i checked the price the other day, are 30 dollars more a tire than when I bought them a year ago. They are falken wildpeaks. I think the covid amazon-*****-profiteering and precise-shorting of supply is where that price increase as of late is coming from

also 88 a tire is not at all a bad deal in 16 inch, so If that was concerning anyone then I have some bad news about how much tires just generally cost lol
 

Bextreme04

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i think rn the price of tires is just higher, the 2356515 on my f150, i checked the price the other day, are 30 dollars more a tire than when I bought them a year ago. They are falken wildpeaks. I think the covid amazon-*****-profiteering and precise-shorting of supply is where that price increase as of late is coming from

also 88 a tire is not at all a bad deal in 16 inch, so If that was concerning anyone then I have some bad news about how much tires just generally cost lol

I should qualify that my comment was mostly regarding larger off-road tires. It appears that passenger car and light truck tires are still readily available and cheap.
 

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