Anyone running 255/85R16 tires?

This is my truck with 255/85-16. They rub on the leafsprings when steering is fully locked left or right. But i like the tall and skinny look[emoji106]
487373cddd0cb6f9777d2418a1447bd5.jpg


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Andy FitzGibbon said:
Pete has his 235s on stock rims. I'm not sure if they're of the 4.5" or 5" variety.
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My wheels were on my wagon when I bought it, so I don't know their history. I've been told that they are M38 16" wheels, and I think they are 5". Not sure though, I didn't measure them when I had the tires off of them. My local Les Schwab didn't have any concerns mounting the Toyo tires.

They run out nicely on the highway, handle fine at 60mph (my wagon's max downhill speed...). I air them down to 12-14 psi on the rocky trails in Moab and have not had any issues with them at all. I have about 15k miles on them now.

Pete
 
Here's a shot to give you an idea how far the rear wheels will tuck on a stock suspension in a hard twist.
Most of the articulation on my wagon is in the rear axle.
In this shot, the inside of the tire is against the inner wheel well, and the tire is tucked almost to the rim.
moab15-165.jpg
 
Pete said:
My wheels were on my wagon when I bought it, so I don't know their history. I've been told that they are M38 16" wheels, and I think they are 5".
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that M38 rims were 16x4 1/2. The Minimum recommended width rim for a 255/85r/16 is 6 1/2". Not sure I would try and mount those a 4 1/2" rim.
 
cwdtmmrs said:
I am pretty sure that M38 rims were 16x4 1/2. The Minimum recommended width rim for a 255/85r/16 is 6 1/2". Not sure I would try and mount those a 4 1/2" rim.
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I'll see if I can figure out a way to measure them out of curiosity. And, they may not even be M38 wheels, but they look just like the later wheels shown in this guide: http://willysmjeeps.com/downloads/M38JeepRim.4.pdf

IMG_8092.jpg


To be clear, I have 235/85R16 tires on them, not the 255's. They've been on these wheels for over 7 years now, and I've put them through just about everything imaginable and they've been great.

Edit, I just looked up the min rim with for the 235/85R16 tires on the Toyo site, and they list 6.0"-7.5"... for what it's worth. :rolleyes:

Pete
 
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This thread may be helpful to me. My truck had 16" stock wheels and when I took the tires off I found terrible rust, too bad to try to fix and be safe so I started a search for new wheels that are stock or look stock. The used ones I found were too rusty so I opted for the Omix wheels and got them off Amazon. I got them today and they measure 4.5" inside width. My old wheels measured 5" inside. I wanted to put 7:50-16 tires on them but not even sure I can do that. I may send these back and keep looking for good stock ones if the 1/2" is going to make that much difference. What do y'all think?
 
Pete said:
I'll see if I can figure out a way to measure them out of curiosity. And, they may not even be M38 wheels, but they look just like the later wheels shown in this guide: http://willysmjeeps.com/downloads/M38JeepRim.4.pdf

To be clear, I have 235/85R16 tires on them, not the 255's. They've been on these wheels for over 7 years now, and I've put them through just about everything imaginable and they've been great.

Edit, I just looked up the min rim with for the 235/85R16 tires on the Toyo site, and they list 6.0"-7.5"... for what it's worth. :rolleyes:

Pete
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Yes, I knew that you had 235/85R16's. I didn't word my response quite right. I want to state that mounting a 255 on a 4 1/2" or even a 5" rim was a bit dicey. I just sold what I believe to be a M38 rim that was 4 1/2" with the 1/8" hole. Also you can see how well my 7.50R-16 tires on stock 16x5 rims tuck completely inside the rear wheel wells. I have been off road with chains and the wagon loaded to the nubs with gear and not rubbed the body anywhere.20200121_175225_Burst01.jpg20190201_120047_Burst01.jpg20190201_120039_Burst01.jpg
 
Willys PU said:
This is my truck with 255/85-16. They rub on the leafsprings when steering is fully locked left or right. But i like the tall and skinny look[emoji106]
487373cddd0cb6f9777d2418a1447bd5.jpg


Sent fra min moto g(6) plus via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
omg they look amazing do you have manual steering? How do they turn with that? WOW it looks awesome love it
 
Willys PU said:
This is my truck with 255/85-16. They rub on the leafsprings when steering is fully locked left or right. But i like the tall and skinny look[emoji106]
487373cddd0cb6f9777d2418a1447bd5.jpg


Sent fra min moto g(6) plus via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
For some reason the first thought on seeing that front tire was, “That looks like a Power Wagon.” Definitely a good look.
 
Those are a couple of nice wagons there Pete and Joseph. And in the video, those tires are "close" to the wheel well lip.

cwdtmmr's blue wagon is sure pretty and smooth, and the tires do tuck nice.

In the pdf file link, on the top of page 4, it mentions the M38 wheels having the "safety bead" and the CJ wheel "no safety bead."

My question:
Are you guys running tubeless tires on old CJ style "tube-type" wheels with no safety beads ?

The reason I ask is because in my area very rough lava caps and stuff east of town, I normally run 8 to 12 lbs pressure.
I have been running Toyo 255's on 7" steel wheels on my ford Crewcab for years with good success (not on Willys _ _ yet).
On my '77 CJ-7, I have been running 32" tires for years on 8" aftermarket steel wheels, and they barely tuck by a whisker on Rubicon.
Myself, I would get uneasy with the thought of 8 psi on a sidehill with a wheel having no "safety bead."

Any thoughts on the non safety-bead wheels and low air pressure, and or running tubeless tires on them ?
 
Greaser007 said:
Those are a couple of nice wagons there Pete and Joseph. And in the video, those tires are "close" to the wheel well lip.

cwdtmmr's blue wagon is sure pretty and smooth, and the tires do tuck nice.

In the pdf file link, on the top of page 4, it mentions the M38 wheels having the "safety bead" and the CJ wheel "no safety bead."

My question:
Are you guys running tubeless tires on old CJ style "tube-type" wheels with no safety beads ?

The reason I ask is because in my area very rough lava caps and stuff east of town, I normally run 8 to 12 lbs pressure.
I have been running Toyo 255's on 7" steel wheels on my ford Crewcab for years with good success (not on Willys _ _ yet).
On my '77 CJ-7, I have been running 32" tires for years on 8" aftermarket steel wheels, and they barely tuck by a whisker on Rubicon.
Myself, I would get uneasy with the thought of 8 psi on a sidehill with a wheel having no "safety bead."

Any thoughts on the non safety-bead wheels and low air pressure, and or running tubeless tires on them ?
Click to expand...

I'm running my Toyo 235/85R16's tubeless on the M38 wheels. Not sure if they have a safety bead or not. The lowest I have run them is 12-14psi
They are a 10 ply tire and are pretty stiff even at 14 psi on a stock wagon.

Pete
 
Pete said:
I'm running my Toyo 235/85R16's tubeless on the M38 wheels. Not sure if they have a safety bead or not. The lowest I have run them is 12-14psi
They are a 10 ply tire and are pretty stiff even at 14 psi on a stock wagon.

Pete
Click to expand...

My 7.50R-16 tires are E rated and I have them on stock 16x5 Willys rims w/o safety bead. I rub 40 PSI on the street and have aired down to 20 PSI.
 
Willys PU said:
This is my truck with 255/85-16. They rub on the leafsprings when steering is fully locked left or right. But i like the tall and skinny look[emoji106]
487373cddd0cb6f9777d2418a1447bd5.jpg


Sent fra min moto g(6) plus via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
do you have a more side shot of your truck with the tires?
 
I will be running 255x85x16s on my '53 wagon, I am using a '79 wagoneer 44 front end, changed to 5x5.5 bolt pattern, and a '77 bronco 9"rear. I will enlarge the rear wheel well inner tub and ext. "fender" opening to fit. I haven't set up my suspension yet but I am looking at about a 2" lift and the way I intend on making the rims fit (if necessary) is with any size spacer that gets me the clearance I need!

Dale
 
dad's wagon said:
I will be running 255x85x16s on my '53 wagon, I am using a '79 wagoneer 44 front end, changed to 5x5.5 bolt pattern, and a '77 bronco 9"rear. I will enlarge the rear wheel well inner tub and ext. "fender" opening to fit. I haven't set up my suspension yet but I am looking at about a 2" lift and the way I intend on making the rims fit (if necessary) is with any size spacer that gets me the clearance I need!

Dale
Click to expand...

Sounded great until the "wheel spacer" part.
 
Sorry you missed the (if necessary) part, I did my homework on axle width, if and I repeat IF the clearance isn't what I need, the spacers will be as thin as possible and of the highest quality materials for this purpose! I will also be looking at backspacing for the wheels too. I hope this clears up my stance? I don't really want to use them!!! But when push comes to shove...as a last resort, even racers use them?!.

Dale
P.S. I have some on my CJ2A w/V8 and they have worked very well...but time will tell...I expect more maintenance, though!
 
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