MACHINING 16.5" DOWN TO 16"?

[70SBUDGET]

Dear Santa....
After searching so many wheel options I realized I REALLY like two wheels. The wagon wheels that are currently on my truck and good ole turbines. Such a classic look. So much of a classic look that the turbines only came in 16.5" from what I can find.

What are the chances that we can have these badboys machined down to 16"?

 

[85K304SPD]

Pictures of what you have? I don't think you can machine a wheel, "down a size".

 

[DoubleDingo]

You'd have to contact a shop that fixes rims to see what they say. They'll probably tell you "No", but it's worth the ask.

 

[SquareRoot]

Use a good quality heat gun (10K watts or higher). You can carefully heat the tire bead up to the point it will stretch slightly. Quickly mount the tire on the wheel before it cools too much. Best done on a tire machine but it can be done with two people and an oversize tire spoon. Let it cool on its own. Don't put water on it or the rubber will become brittle and crack. If done right, this is a one time thing and the tires can be removed and replaced in the future if you get a flat. Some people have reported resizing tires as much as 2 inches. There is a YouTube video of a guy putting 19 inch tires on a 21 inch wheel.

 

[70SBUDGET]

Use a good quality heat gun (10K watts or higher). You can carefully heat the tire bead up to the point it will stretch slightly. Quickly mount the tire on the wheel before it cools too much. Best done on a tire machine but it can be done with two people and an oversize tire spoon. Let it cool on its own. Don't put water on it or the rubber will become brittle and crack. If done right, this is a one time thing and the tires can be removed and replaced in the future if you get a flat. Some people have reported resizing tires as much as 2 inches. There is a YouTube video of a guy putting 19 inch tires on a 21 inch wheel.

interesting!

 

[wanderinthru]

Was told by an old tire guy had a tire shop forever, the .5 in the tires isn't size it's a different bead. So a 16 inch tire will go right on a 16.5 wheel but, it will never seat.

 

[70SBUDGET]

Was told by an old tire guy had a tire shop forever, the .5 in the tires isn't size it's a different bead. So a 16 inch tire will go right on a 16.5 wheel but, it will never seat.

So can we change the beads?

 

[70SBUDGET]

What I’d like to mount it on

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[DoubleDingo]

Put some of these bad boys on them 16.5 rims!

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/sta-traxion-12-16-5.html

 

[wanderinthru]

So can we change the beads?

I'm sure. Very little can't be done with enough hard work and thinking. I've no desire to delve off into it though.

 

[QBuff02]

I have 16.5" slots and was told it can't be done because the 16.5" wheel doesn't have the safety "lip" that keeps the bead seated on the rim (also why they so easily throw the tire off the bead when they get aired down too much or are run in a low pressure situation) and there isn't enough meat on the bone to machine them down. They said it had been done before but it compromises the wheel integrity. Since there's only a handful of manufacturers making tires for 16.5" rims and I don't really like the look of most all terrain tires available for them that when the time comes i'm going to bite the bullet and replace them with a modern 17" slot wheel made by US Wheel.

 

[nvrenuf]

This CANNOT be done for 16 / 16.5 applications, there is not enough material on the wheel.

There are stories on the net about machining semi truck wheels, my understanding is that there is a LOT more material on the wheel to work with.

To machine a 1/2" off the wheel you'd have to turn 1/4" off of the circumference, if you look at the overall thickness you'll see there wouldn't be much material left. In addition, the angle of the lip of a 16.5 wheel is about 45 degrees whereas a 16 is 90 degrees, again you'd have to trim almost all of the material off to change the angle.

As for the heat gun theory, rubber can be heated and stretched, the steel cable bundle inside the tire bead cannot. Hackery, dangerous and a good way to ruin a tire.

 

[70SBUDGET]

well, not exactly an answer but HANDS DOWN the most informitive reference in regards to tire beads!

Topological structure and experimental investigation of a novel whole tire bead

The tire bead area is a vulnerable part of the tire. By analyzing its development trend, a novel topological structure of the whole tire bead was put …

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[DoubleDingo]

You really need to contact a wheel repair shop. They'll give a definitive answer. If the wheels were steel, perhaps material could be added on the exterior to make up for the 1/4" loss in the interior. You're being alloy, I wouldn't recommend it, but a wheel shop would know for sure.

 

[SquareRoot]

This CANNOT be done for 16 / 16.5 applications, there is not enough material on the wheel.

There are stories on the net about machining semi truck wheels, my understanding is that there is a LOT more material on the wheel to work with.

To machine a 1/2" off the wheel you'd have to turn 1/4" off of the circumference, if you look at the overall thickness you'll see there wouldn't be much material left. In addition, the angle of the lip of a 16.5 wheel is about 45 degrees whereas a 16 is 90 degrees, again you'd have to trim almost all of the material off to change the angle.

As for the heat gun theory, rubber can be heated and stretched, the steel cable bundle inside the tire bead cannot. Hackery, dangerous and a good way to ruin a tire.

I heat and stretch steel with my torch all the time.