The Ford Barn

Ford coupe · 06-21-2022, 07:57 PM

is a 55 crown vic wheel compatable with tubeless radial tires??

Dobie Gillis · 06-21-2022, 08:26 PM

Yes, but you may experience issues with full disc hubcap retention with radial tires. Radial sidewalls can cause the rims to flex enough to cause hubcaps to come off. It also affects trim rings.

55blacktie · 06-21-2022, 11:30 PM

Compatible? Yes. Best choice? No. However, someone I know drove his 57 Tbird from Sacramento to Washington and back/w radial tires mounted on the original steel wheels. No problem. However, the radial tires can cause more flexing, sometimes resulting in full wheel covers coming off.

KULTULZ · 06-22-2022, 06:44 AM

READ THIS -

https://sites.sema.org/ext-assets/co...el-Fitment.pdf

dmsfrr · 06-22-2022, 11:19 AM

Quote:

... the radial tires can cause more flexing, sometimes resulting in full wheel covers coming off.

As noted in the SEMA article above, radial tires do change/concentrate the loaded area of the wheels which could be a problem. Image # 1
Cracks around the lip of the wheel mentioned in the article don't seem to be a problem on stock 50's Ford wheels, given the lack of its discussion among 50's Ford owners and the very common use of radial tires.

Wheel covers coming off happens fairly often, but isn't limited to 50's wheels.
It might be due to a combination of things. A bit of wheel flex, aged wheel covers, etc.
The usual solution is to bend the wheel cover tabs farther outward for a tighter grip.

I've got a '57 that has newer oem style steel wheels with the safety beads (the original '57 and older wheels don't have that safety feature) and one of the front wheel covers still came off a couple times.
Because the wheels that came with the car don't fit as well as they could I got an original set of wheels, and another set of wheel covers in better condition. They aren't on the road yet.

(The wheel photos # 2 & 3 are just examples, not the actual wheels off of my '57.)

KULTULZ · 06-22-2022, 04:03 PM

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If a wheel deflects to the point of spitting wheel covers, that should be the first indication of the need for a thicker gauge wheel stamping.

Daves55Sedan · 06-22-2022, 09:27 PM

I'm not so sure switching to radials has that much to do with chucking OEM full-wheel covers. My '55 Fairlane has always had full-wheel covers and a few times, I lost one one the road back when I was running bias-ply G78-15's (that was in the 1970's).
I picked up the wheel covers and bent some of the tabs on the backside out so that they would fit tighter on the wheel.
You need to be real careful how far you bend the tabs. If you bend too much, the tab will gouge out wheel metal when you change tires, then you will be right back where you started. You just need to get the wheel-cover snug.
I changed to radials years ago and have never lost a full-wheel cover.
What you really need to look for is a bump in your wheel rim. This is easily detected by laying the wheel on a perfectly flat surface. Any area of the rim that doesn't touch the flat surface has probably been curb bumped or damaged in a collision. This condition can aid in losing wheel-covers and also cause micro-leaks in tire air pressure.

06-21-2022, 07:57 PM	#1
Ford coupe Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Napanee ontario Canada Posts: 395	55 wheels is a 55 crown vic wheel compatable with tubeless radial tires??

06-21-2022, 08:26 PM	#2
Dobie Gillis Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Middle TN Posts: 1,060	Re: 55 wheels Yes, but you may experience issues with full disc hubcap retention with radial tires. Radial sidewalls can cause the rims to flex enough to cause hubcaps to come off. It also affects trim rings. __________________ Often wrong but never in doubt.

06-21-2022, 11:30 PM	#3
55blacktie Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2020 Posts: 441	Re: 55 wheels Compatible? Yes. Best choice? No. However, someone I know drove his 57 Tbird from Sacramento to Washington and back/w radial tires mounted on the original steel wheels. No problem. However, the radial tires can cause more flexing, sometimes resulting in full wheel covers coming off.

06-22-2022, 06:44 AM	#4
KULTULZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: IN A 'GALAXIE' FAR FAR AWAY Posts: 6,466	Re: 55 wheels READ THIS - https://sites.sema.org/ext-assets/co...el-Fitment.pdf __________________ *** - WHY IS IT ... - ... that everything you buy in the grocery store is either wrapped in or contained in plastic but the government doesn't want you to carry it out in a plastic bag? WONDERING IN W(BY GOD)V ... DIAGNOSED CDO** - (OCD In Correct Alphabetical Order)

06-22-2022, 04:03 PM	#6
KULTULZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: IN A 'GALAXIE' FAR FAR AWAY Posts: 6,466	Re: 55 wheels Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) If a wheel deflects to the point of spitting wheel covers, that should be the first indication of the need for a thicker gauge wheel stamping.

06-22-2022, 09:27 PM	#7
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: 55 wheels I'm not so sure switching to radials has that much to do with chucking OEM full-wheel covers. My '55 Fairlane has always had full-wheel covers and a few times, I lost one one the road back when I was running bias-ply G78-15's (that was in the 1970's). I picked up the wheel covers and bent some of the tabs on the backside out so that they would fit tighter on the wheel. You need to be real careful how far you bend the tabs. If you bend too much, the tab will gouge out wheel metal when you change tires, then you will be right back where you started. You just need to get the wheel-cover snug. I changed to radials years ago and have never lost a full-wheel cover. What you really need to look for is a bump in your wheel rim. This is easily detected by laying the wheel on a perfectly flat surface. Any area of the rim that doesn't touch the flat surface has probably been curb bumped or damaged in a collision. This condition can aid in losing wheel-covers and also cause micro-leaks in tire air pressure.