wheel width

[porsche1914]

It is my understanding that Henry J's have a 4 1/2" wheel width, do Kaisers have a wider wheel width?

[alohagreen]

i know it's and old posting ...
i found it by searching for wheel width
they are IN FACT 4 inches x 15
with a 3-3/8ths back spacing...

[HJ-ETEX]

Yes big Kaiser rims (5" wide) do fit on an HJ but there are 2 problems. 1) It may require 2 jacks to get the wheels on the rear. 1 to lift the body up to get clearance  to slip in the wheel/tire between the fender and the brake drum and a 2nd jack to lift up the axle once the wheel/tire is inside the fender.
2) Don't use wide rims or fat tires on the front because when you turn hard to the left, the drivers side tire can catch on the clutch arm.

[Mike Richards]

So, what size tires would work on the front? Stock sizes the best, or is there an acceptable more modern rim/tire (like a radial) combo that would work?

[joefrazer]

5.90x15 was original equipment. I have 6.40x15 on my 54 HJ - some have said the bigger size would interfere with the clutch arm but I have not experienced the problem. The radial equivalent would be in the range of 175/75 to 195/75R15, however, they can be hard to find.

[alohagreen]

i have 205/75x15 on the stock 4" rim and they hit on a HARD left.
other than that ride is smooth.
going to try the same size tire on a 4 inch rim that does NOT set in so deep...

*mag wheel, some time, using the same tire*

 

[Corsairdeluxe]

Before committing to those 205/75x15s or any other  such big tire on  henry J, Try turning the steering wheel sitting still . Parallel park it. At speed they have advantages but they are a bear to turn sitting still unless you have arms like Nordum Suh.

http://nflrt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/suh.jpg

[Vagabond Russ]

I use P165-80-15 radials, the same as used on air cooled VW's.  205-15 are waaay too wide for the dinky 4" HJ wheels.

[h-e-n-r-y-j]

Not only can wider tires interfere with the clutch pedal, they can also cause the wheels to "flex" resulting in dangerous sounding popping due to the stress on the narrow wheels. This flexing also causes full sized wheel covers to fly off when turning corners. Been there. Before and after.

[HJ-ETEX]

Yeah, that is common story about radial tires causing the rims to flex and pop off the full wheel covers. But really all the full coverage wheel covers I have spin off in a few blocks, no speed turns involved.
165Rx15 is the VW Beetle radial equivalent tire, most common, and therefore cheapest and easiest to buy for a HJ.
175Rx15 is uncommon because it was used on later Volvos which were larger than HJs & VWs.
195Rx15 was actually the standard tire on full sized Chevy trucks of the early 1980s and Mopar miniVans! 
205Rx15 is about the biggest you can use on Studebakers with out having rubbing problems.
215Rx15 is the biggest you can use on 51-55 Kaisers without rubbing problems or problems installing the wheel & tire under the rear fender (the bumper jack + axle jack requirement).

[alohagreen]

i run the tire a bit over pressure (harder)   ya its a bit to big but i like it..

[alohagreen]

15 x 4 inside