5.00-23 or 33x5 Tires

[hidden_hunter]

Hi guys,

 

I'm looking at getting some new tires for my 1922 Cadillac which currently has 5.00-23 tires on it (see pictures of the current van ness)

 

I've emailed a couple of suppliers and they've said that the only tire available is an excelsior in 5.00-23. However, one came back and said I could switch over to 33x5 tires which would give me a lot more options - is this information correct?

 

Any idea of what sort of pattern would have originally been on the car?

 

I'm also looking to get another rim as I'm missing one on the rear.

[nickelroadster]

I think that  the 5"x23" tires are balloon tires that were not available in 1922.   33x5 would have  been the original high pressure tires that came with the car.  Balloon tires came out in 1924 and were available options.   They were available  for replacement on earlier cars

[hidden_hunter]

So if they're both potentially options, which one should I be trying to get ?

[nickelroadster]

The high pressure tires were original for 1922.  The balloon tires were not available until 1924.  Personally I would go with the original type but either one will work for you.  Balloon tires were the modern thing in 1924.  It could be like buying a car with bias ply tires and then switching to radials for your first set of replacement tires.

[hidden_hunter]

1 hour ago, nickelroadster said:

The high pressure tires were original for 1922.  The balloon tires were not available until 1924.  Personally I would go with the original type but either one will work for you.  Balloon tires were the modern thing in 1924.  It could be like buying a car with bias ply tires and then switching to radials for your first set of replacement tires.

 

is one safer or better than the other?

[C Carl]

Yes. The high pressure tires will be better , particularly in that roads today are so much better. Even modern radial tires are evolving towards higher pressure. Try to find a tread pattern like the spares on my Cad , and the outer spare on the 1914 Stearns-Knight. These will give better directional stability , and reduced steering effort. Take a look at the mounting bracket for the spares. These were made to accommodate single or dual spares. There are a couple of fairly obvious reasons for mounting duals , one not very obvious reason not to. Cadillac went to low pressure balloons in 1926. I run 40 psi in my 36 psi balloons for the front end to make steering easier on the '27 sedan. How is your engine coming along ? I hope your recent trip to the U.S.A. went well , and you got to do all you set out to do. -   Carl