Tires too fat for sidemount wells

[ak]

Hi, does anyone know whether a 7.00 X 16 Denman tire is of the same dimension as a 7.00 X 16 tire made in 1939?

[bkazmer]

actual vs nominal 7 inch tread width is not the widest point - need the measurement at the bulge. I understand the problem!

[Packard32]

AK, be sure and measure the same brand of tire you plan to use. A friend bought one brand for his 1932 901 and they were too big, luckily, he had it in writing they could be returned if they did not fit, and he bought another brand which did fit. Sizes definitely vary from brand to brand....Good luck with your purchase....B

[West Peterson]

Some tires sizes are made with merely a change in the sidewall printing. In other words, one tire is made for two (or more???) different sizes.

[Restorer32]

Exactly West. Even back in the day in dad's recap shop 6:70-15s and 7:10-15s were recapped in the same mold, as were 7:60-15, 8:00-15 and 8:20-15s.

[JalopyBob]

Denman is out of business, so be aware that there will be no support if you have a problem with them. The old Denmans were fine tires, but they were making tires in Mexico and China before they went under.

[Silverghost]

Restorer32:
Does any company re-cap & sell auto tires today ?
I know large truck, bus, and heavy earth moving equipment tires are still re-capped.
Dad used to buy re-capped snow tires !
Pep Boys , and others sold them~

[packards42]

I remember the local Firestone Store where i grew up had recaping machines right in the service bay. It was always a great place to go with my Dad,

I still love the smell of new tire shops and walking around looking at all the tires. I guess I still a 50's kid inside. .

[Restorer32]

I haven't seen a recapped auto tire in years. Dad did quite well selling recaps, especially snow tires. At the first sign of snow customers would line up around the block to have their snow tires mounted. Dad would pay a nickle for a recappable casing, cost about $7 to recap, sold for $15-20. Tires were relatively more expensive in the 1960s then they are today. His shop was firebombed during the race riots in York, PA New Years day 1971 and burned to the ground. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him financially but lost in the fire was a 1928 Cadillac grill and radiator. Another downside was that from then on I had to actually BUY tires for my cars.

[ak]

Thanks a lot for all the posts. I don't know what the collective genius of it all is, but I thank you all none the less. The tires still seem to fat.
John

[john hanson]

do what i did put a 650x 16 in the wheel worked very good
John Hanson

[packards42]

John has the best solution. It like truck with 315/75 on it, and the largest spare I can fit under is 265/75. All these metric tires now days

[RodsoftheValley]

Denmans run a bit wider than the other brands. I have Denmans on a few cars and they are a bit tight to get in and out of the sidemount wells.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Another approach I have seen people do is not fully inflate the tire. (obviously a trade off there but a pretty simple approach I have seen done. Maybe not exactly genius but I thought I would mention as no one had yet..)

[Silverghost]

You might not have to worry about Denman tires as they went out of buisines earlier this year~
They were liquidated at a court ordered sale this summer~
Once the existing dealer supply of Denman Antique & Classic tires are sold~~~~
They MAY never be manufactured again ? !