Radials on original steelies

[Fabulous50s]

Has anyone had any issues running a modern radial tire on the original steel wheels? I know radials flex more putting more outward stress on a wheel as compared to a bias tire which distributes the load more vertically to the wheel.

The reason I'm asking is because I have Coker Classic 205/75R14 on my Galaxie and the hubcaps creek if I roll the car back and forth or turn the steering wheel while not moving. This seems to me me that the stock wheels are flexing a fair amount....enough to make the S.S. hubcaps creek.

Anyone else notice this? I could find some other 14" wheels that will bolt up, maybe newer wheels are heavier?

[CobraJoe]

No, but I have heard this mentioned before; curious to how this turns out as I plan on changing out my 25 year old www bias plies to www radials next year and I would like to utilize my existing Kelsey Hayes wires.

[Ford Blue blood]

Never had a problem with that.  Both the 58 Edsel and the 65 Bird have radials on original wheels.  The stock covers are a pain in the butt to put on and take off!  They do not squeak or make noise and have never fallen off.  But then again I am not running a road course with either car so don't know how they would react under extreme stress.  Very fine for normal street use IMHO.

[RICH MUISE]

Think back to in the day when the world was changing from bias to radial...............I don't recall massive wheel sales.

[lalessi1]

Wheels designed for radials are stronger than those designed for bias ply tires. This was discussed on the forum a while back and I didn't believe that was actually the case but after a little research I realized I was wrong. That said, I agree that under normal driving conditions there shouldn't be an issue. You are probably well within the "factor of safety" range.

[59meteor]

I can`t sure if the steel wheels designed for radials are actually thicker or not, but the later wheels were equipped with a raised bead on either side near the bead seating areas, which the early rims are lacking. Apparently, since radials allow for much more cornering , the beads were added to help prevent the tire beads from sliding away from the bead seating flanges during enthusiastic cornering. Likely not much of a concern for normal cruising. I was wondering what you guys are running for tire pressures, with radial tires, especially with larger sizes. My 59 has 15x6" steel wheels with 215/70R15s, on the front, and 275/60R15s on 8" wide steelies out back. I started at 35, which was fairly jarring over train tracks and rough roads, dropped to 32 , which was better, currently at 30psi, which seems not too bad, don`t know that I want to go much lower than that. Thats still quite a bit higher than the factory 22/24 psi that Ford specified, for the skinny 14" bias ply tires on 5" wide rims.

[Fabulous50s]

I guess what is a bit jarring to my mind is that when I roll the car by hand in the garage to work on something all 4 wheels emit a creaking from the PIA stainless hubcaps.

I do have 35 psi in all 4 corners. The car rides beautifully over bumps etc. My experience with bias tires is limited to trailers, and with practically no air at all in them they still stand tall. I believe this is due to their construction which doesnt allow much movement in the sidewall.

A trick I learned when I was active in the VW arena, was to find a smooth parking lot and to draw a chalk line across all 4 tire treads. Drive as straight as possible to the other side, and then observe where the chalk is worn. Worn in the middle indicates too high of a tire pressure and on the sides too low.

That said, if radials are kept too low they will wear in the middle of the tread if driven at highway speeds a lot. May or may not be a concern for our cars. Too low of a pressure allows the tire to blow up like a doughnut and not keep a flat tread across the ground.

We used to note that Mercedes Benz recommended higher tire pressures if the car was to be driven over 80mph for extended periods.

[Fabulous50s]

Threw a hubcap last week. I ebayed a replacement. Found some aftermarket Kelsey Hayes 14" steel wheels which I'm going to mount. The wheel which threw the hubcap was the loudest offender and I had been keeping an eye on all the hubcaps. This wheel appears to be original and is not at all rusty. I believe it (they) just flex too much and im not risking losing another hubcap or worse wheel failure.

[djfordmanjack]

yes I have observed that wheelcover squeaking on several on my cars, also while pushing them around in the garage, like you said. I have to say that I have 1970s Granada or Mustang beaded wheels ( for radials) on my 34 Ford and the wheelcovers still creek.
my 57 wgn has the small dogdish hupcaps on 1965 Mustang wheels and they also creek. I wouldnt think that is a sign to be concerned. rather a shame to lose those precious old hubcaps today.
From my experience, tire pressure can be so different on this and that car. I had a had light hotrod that used only 17psi in the rear bias ply tires. the 22/24 psi that Ford stated work pretty well for me on the 57 wgn. Also my old 1966 Mercedes 250SE drove much better in town on very low pressure ( 20 psi) on radials, but I would inflate to as much as 30 psi on extended highway driving.
in gross opposite, my little 1964 Ford Transit (1-1/4ton) van rides best with 45 psi ( on light 6.70R15 truck tires).
I have used radials on old (bias ply equipped) wheels many times before and never had one fail or suddenly lose air.

[Marc]

The internet is full of articles describing the dangers of running radial tires on rims meant for bias plies. I suppose there's some merit to these stories but I also believe that unless you're trying to relive the chase scene from Bullitt, there shouldn't be any problem. I've run radials on my old steel wheels for many years with no issues other than 1 lost hubcap, but at that time I lived in an area where there were train crossings everywhere so I think that might've had something to do with it.
Right now I've got new bias ply tires on a set of OEM wheels, and I still get some creaking from the hubcaps rolling the car around the garage. 

[Fabulous50s]

Upon inspection of the aftermarket steel wheels which I was looking to replace my OEM ones with. They are no thicker and weigh pretty much the same.

I'm less convinced now. The creaking was what really seemed jarring at first and now losing my hubcap. The hubcaps are readily available on Ebay, but once I put on the my yet-to-be-installed red/white/blue sunray centers then I'll have $100 in each hubcap.....dont want those flying off clanging past me on the road.