what are the pro/ cons for 16.5 rims?
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
what are the pro/ cons for 16.5 rims?
- Thread starter wazzabie
- Start date
Only real pros are that they'll clear 1 ton brakes when 15's require grinding and the H1 double beadlocks are 16.5
Drawbacks are that unless they are the H1 beadlocks there is no lip on the wheel to hold the beads on and hence it MUCH easier for the tire to pop off the wheel when four wheeling.
Drawbacks are that unless they are the H1 beadlocks there is no lip on the wheel to hold the beads on and hence it MUCH easier for the tire to pop off the wheel when four wheeling.
Other than the fact that you can eventually go to an h-1 there really isn't a single pro to a 16.5 wheel. I am pretty sure there are several new tires you can't even get in a 16.5 wheel.
If you are buying new and need a bigger rim to clear brakes go with a 17
If you are buying new and need a bigger rim to clear brakes go with a 17
Personally, I hate em.
I'm sure someone will chime in with something good to say, but not me.
When I bought my 3/4 ton truck new in '89, the only mud-grip style tires in the 12.50/33 range like I wanted, were 16.5.
At that time, nobody made a 17, and all the 16s were not 8 lug.
So, I bought a set of 16.5s. Put new tires on, drove a few miles, and they were so far out of balance, it was hard to hold them in the road.
Tire guy was a friend of mine, and had good equipment and people. Never had a problem before.
He had me go to his new store, which had the latest and greatest balancer.
They were way off. He balanced them down to a gnats whisker.
Next day, the darn truck was crowhopping all over the place.
This time he broke the tires down to see if there was something inside of them.
Dry as a bone.
Rebalanced them.
I went around the block, and they were out again!!
This time, he noticed that the mark he had made on the sidewall showing where the valve stem was, was not alongside the valve stem.
Turns out, 16.5 rims do not have a square shoulder for the bead to seat on. It sorta slopes up to a small lip. The tires, with a full load of air pressure were actually turning on the rims without losing any air.
We broke them back down, and smeared some rubber cement all over the beads. Then they held.
But, if you let them get low, the darn bead will pop off. My truck is sitting in the yard right now with a broke bead on the right rear.
I had a slow leak, noticed it was getting low and tried to drive it to the air pump in the shop.
Tire slipped off the bead on the way there. I am trying to figure out a way to reseat it now without having to take it off and haul it in to town.
J.
I'm sure someone will chime in with something good to say, but not me.
When I bought my 3/4 ton truck new in '89, the only mud-grip style tires in the 12.50/33 range like I wanted, were 16.5.
At that time, nobody made a 17, and all the 16s were not 8 lug.
So, I bought a set of 16.5s. Put new tires on, drove a few miles, and they were so far out of balance, it was hard to hold them in the road.
Tire guy was a friend of mine, and had good equipment and people. Never had a problem before.
He had me go to his new store, which had the latest and greatest balancer.
They were way off. He balanced them down to a gnats whisker.
Next day, the darn truck was crowhopping all over the place.
This time he broke the tires down to see if there was something inside of them.
Dry as a bone.
Rebalanced them.
I went around the block, and they were out again!!
This time, he noticed that the mark he had made on the sidewall showing where the valve stem was, was not alongside the valve stem.
Turns out, 16.5 rims do not have a square shoulder for the bead to seat on. It sorta slopes up to a small lip. The tires, with a full load of air pressure were actually turning on the rims without losing any air.
We broke them back down, and smeared some rubber cement all over the beads. Then they held.
But, if you let them get low, the darn bead will pop off. My truck is sitting in the yard right now with a broke bead on the right rear.
I had a slow leak, noticed it was getting low and tried to drive it to the air pump in the shop.
Tire slipped off the bead on the way there. I am trying to figure out a way to reseat it now without having to take it off and haul it in to town.
J.
i have the old school 16.5 huricane rims in great condition. the problem i've read with this rim is that if i air down the tire may pop off.
any way to fix this possibly?
any way to fix this possibly?
you could modify the rim to have some sort of safety bead, it has been done on steel rims but on the old school hurricanes I doubt it would be very cost effective.
I currently have 16.5 chrome mods (just got new inserts for my H1s
) and aired them down to about 10 on the rear and 12 in the front and have not had a problem with them at all, they do spin on the rim my gearing helps this cause I can crawl so slow, I haven't had a problem with them spinning on the rim either
If you got em and you want to, run em if we all built our trucks with logic they would be lame!
I currently have 16.5 chrome mods (just got new inserts for my H1s
) and aired them down to about 10 on the rear and 12 in the front and have not had a problem with them at all, they do spin on the rim my gearing helps this cause I can crawl so slow, I haven't had a problem with them spinning on the rim eitherIf you got em and you want to, run em if we all built our trucks with logic they would be lame!
The only ways I've seen are glue as mentioned above and to weld round stock around the wheel to create the "lip" that every other wheel already has.
Can anyone explain why only 16.5's don't have this lip?
Can anyone explain why only 16.5's don't have this lip?
I don't actually know the design reason but I'm sure it makes putting the tire on/off easier
Yeah a couple of screw drivers and some starter fluid (got tired of trying it with ratchet straps) and I mounted my own.
I just got mine because they were cheap and I had plans to run the 37x12.5x16.5 military tires.
I just got mine because they were cheap and I had plans to run the 37x12.5x16.5 military tires.
Not sure if this is the reason why but 16.5 were produced to clear brakes on one ton trucks, these trucks usually have at least 45 or 50 lbs in the tires, no real reason to have a safety bead I guess considering the pressures seen in a stock 16.5 rim tire combo would be way higher than a 15" rim
cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap is the reason, people seem to think 16.5s will never be made again or something. around here 16.5 tires go for nothing, i love it. and the only con i can think if is you gotta beadlock em, and thats a pro cause its an upgrade.
Best rime choise is a 17 period. You can weld on a bead lip out of 1/4 or whatever size round bar on a 16.5 but who wants to have to deal with that. 15's as was said don't clear 1 tons brakes, anything bigger then a 17 is just gay on a wheeler, so 17 is the optimum wheel.
Seems like 15" is the most common though isn't it? Plus just a little grinding and the right backspacing and they clear.
I run outer beadlocks with 15" wheels and don't feel terribly afraid of the inner bead breaking. It's never happened and I'd deal with it if it did.
Based on what I've seen with 16.5's wheeling I'd probably have broken dozens of inner beads by now, even if the outer bead is locked.
2BLAZERS
1/2 ton status
I have nothing good to say. I had some 16.5 aftermarket wheels on my 2000 Excursion and had to go to 17'' wheels to get the tires I wanted. Not many tires made for 16.5'' anymore which is way is hard to even give them away.
The only pro to a 16.5 is if you can get a used set of wheels or tires cheap. For normal street driving at normal pressures there is really nothing wrong with 16.5 rims, it's only when you want to run really low pressure off-road that you may pop a bead.
The key thing to note about 16.5" rims is the ".5" part. Big trucks have 17.5, 19.5, 22.5, etc... rims and the .5 distinguishes this style that has no safety bead and the edge the bead sits on is actually sloped down (versus other rims having a basically flat across bead area). So the 16.5's used on pickup trucks were just a smaller version of the big truck wheels.
The key thing to note about 16.5" rims is the ".5" part. Big trucks have 17.5, 19.5, 22.5, etc... rims and the .5 distinguishes this style that has no safety bead and the edge the bead sits on is actually sloped down (versus other rims having a basically flat across bead area). So the 16.5's used on pickup trucks were just a smaller version of the big truck wheels.
four_by_ken
1/2 ton status
Only in the offroad tire market.
Try looking for daily driver tires in a 15 inch wheel for a truck. The selection is no where near what it used to be. Going through that looking for some 31s for my Blazer.
86chevyk10
1/2 ton status
Im goin with the 16.5 bc of what was said before...military tires are cheap. In the long run, i'd go with 17's, they are the future of wheelin
