Joseph P. Indusi Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 I want to replace the 6.50 by 16 tires on my 48 Buick Special with radial tires. Does anyone know if a 205/75R16 or 205/70R16 will fit and allow the front wheels to turn completely. There seems to be plenty of room in the front wheelhouses.Any experience with 215/75R16 to replace the 6.50 by 16?Joe, BCA 33493 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 JoeHere is a link to a tire size conversion chart where you can find the radial size equivalent to 6.50 X 16.Tire Tech - Tire Size Conversion Chart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 Thanks Bob:This is useful information although it does not specifically deal with 16" diameter tires in the interchange chart. I goes up to 15" diameter tires.Joe, BCA 33493 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 An 85 series tire is going to be closer to the profile / aspect ratio of the original bias-plys.70 or 75-series tires will probably look "short".Take a look at Coker's "antique radial" tires - they are specially designed to be very close to the OEM bias-ply tires in sidewall height and tread-width... they aren't cheap, but many guys who tour really like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I want to replace the 6.50 by 16 tires on my 48 Buick Special with radial tires. Does anyone know if a 205/75R16 or 205/70R16 will fit and allow the front wheels to turn completely. There seems to be plenty of room in the front wheelhouses.Any experience with 215/75R16 to replace the 6.50 by 16?Joe, BCA 33493A 215/75R16 would probably be the best choice in terms of load rating. However you will probably be making the ride a quite a bit more harsh with any 16" radial because they are of much lower profile than their 15" counterpart as well as in comparison to a bias ply tire. Will you get into a problem with fender rub? Probably not with either 205 or 215 75s, though it is possible you might run into minor frame rubbing problems on full lock turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrbartlett Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I went through this 18 months ago with 700x16 tires on my '35 Auburn. I contacted Coker and bought the equivalent size in wide whitewall radials. Don't remember what size it was, and the car is not here at home for me to check. The profile on the tire is obviously different from the old bias ply, but the ride and steering are superb. I am happy with the radials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Joe The nominal size of the 6.50 X 16 is 6.5 inch width, 80% height aspect ratio or 5.2 inches and diameter of 26.4 inches. The radial metric equivalent is 165/80R16. The metric converts to 6.49 inch width, 5.19 inch height and diameter of 26.39 inches. It's kinda hard to find 80 aspect ratio radials. If you have to go to 75 aspect ratio you need to go to 175/75R16 to keep the diameter which is 26.33 inches on the 175 but the width increases to 6.88 inches. So a radial is not going to look like the 6.50 X 16 bias on the car. The other choice is the repoduction 6.50 X 16 from Coker or Universial which can be pricy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Thanks to all for the replies and advice. This is a nice car but I don't plan to judge it at a national. I also do not want to pay for wide whitewall radials. In addition, I think the black sidewalls will look more period correct. So I am planning to obtain some standard radial tires in either 205/75R16 or maybe 215/75R16. I assume that I will not need tubes. My rims are in good shape. I will post back after I get them on the car and thanks again.Joe, BCA 33493 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Hi Jo, am looking at the same issue with my ‘38 Buick with identical 6.50 x 16 inch tyres. I can get a 225/60 R16 with an ok size whitewall but it measures only 676mm diameter. This is too small for a Buick with already a diff ratio that is too low. can you let me know what you ended up with and how they performed. Like you I do not wish to spend a Kings Ransom on wide whitewall tyres, even though they look the part. Rodney ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
must be hard Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 you can get them in japan all day long just have to buy shipping https://buyee.jp/item/search/yahoo/shopping?query=6.5r16%2010pr&sort=c29sZCwt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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