how fast does your car go ,,,,,at an easy rpm...

[brian.b]

My car is a 48 kaiser special 3 speed on the column....when i first bought the car it had much taller tires,im not sure on the size but now i have 205-70r 15s on it now would i be better of swapping to a 225 75,,,,,

[vt2000driver]

check for fit there might be rub marks on the inner front wheel wells.. go to a used tire place to check size first. 

[boatingbill]

My tires on the '51 are P205/70/R15 and measure about 26" in diameter. Do you think these are too small (aka 6:70-15) for the
Kaiser ? That would explain the high speedometer reading and high revs.

[checker]

My tires are 215/75R15 so the overall diameter is bigger than yours... it may explain in part higher revs... it's not helping anyway, for sure !

[brian.b]

Thats what i was thinking....i think it had a better gearing with the taller tires

[51Deluxe]

"rear axel numbers listed vis. speed were all determined using standard tire size as per the message. The standard tire size for 710-15 is 27.98 " diameter overall. i was cautioned that a NEW tire was used as a demonstration. I used Palo Alto Speedometer in Ca. They have a web site so as to start figuring how OFF your speedometer is. There are 1 or 2 magnets rotating in a drum that moves the speed needle and that LOOSES magnetism over the years and is very unreliable to indicate your true speed. it also can give you a very gittery speed needle. On their web they have a form to down load and send to them with the instructions as how to fill out the form. the California C>H>P used them to keep their speedos in tune."


Wow... guess I'm in good shape as far as accuracy. When I first got my car I had my wife drive beside me in a new car with a GPS, and according to both, my speedometer was dead on correct. Then, of course , the cable broke. That and the clock are the only non working accessories.

[Dan 48 kaiser special]

We have a 1948 Kaiser Special with overdrive, with a 4:10 rear end.  We towed a teardrop trailer from Ann Arbor, MI thru the UP on US 2.  Our tires were one size bigger than originally equipped.  We ended up in the Olympic Pennisula in the state of Washington.  Then a more southern route thru Colorado, back home.  7400 miles total.  According to our GPS the speedometer was 5 miles an hour under the actual speed we were traveling.  We ran across the scales at 5210 lbs.  Our average mileage for the entire trip was 16.3 miles per gallon.  We had no problems with the car.  We went across three mountain ranges and our highest altitude was 10,800 feet.  We climbed in 2nd gear at 23 mph. in a 7 percent grade for over 20 miles.  We were climbing one mountain range and we were passed by a school bus!!  The addition of overdrive on this car, made a heck of a difference.  My understanding is, that 48' Specials didn't come from the factory with overdrive.  When it's just the two of us and no trailer we get about 21 mpg.  However our speedometer is about 8% off.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

When Barbara & I moved to KY, I drove the 1952 deluxe with overdrive down there from Wisconsin.  The overdrive had just been tended to and I just cruised along the Interstate at around 60 mph based on measured mile stretches (actual reading on the speedo was closer to 75).  The speedometer in a lot of old cars, regardless of make were set to the high side as a safety precaution (according to my father who was with Pontiac back then) so you need to cross-check against measured miles (or a friendly police officer with radar) to kind of re-chart the speed.  On the flatlands of Indiana the thing cruised close to 70 with no real strain.

[JoeKeys2010]

I have an app n my phone that tracks speed. My 49 will cruise nicely at 60. Strains at 70 but will hold it. Mines not been built so I'd be scared to push it. I don't go over 60. The speedometer registers higher speed b