2005 wire wheels need inner tubes | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models

2005 wire wheels need inner tubes

robingudgel

robingudgel

Bronze Member
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Thunderbird Year
2005
I have (repaired) two of my wire wheels. All four tires still leak. I would like to have inner tubes added. The tire store says they don’t make inner tubes for P235/50 17” wheels. I have not found any. I did find P235/60 17” tubes. Will they work? Or is there a better solution.

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Hi Robin,
In general, wire wheels should have inner tubes for reliable air retention. We used tubes in our race tires on wire wheels on our vintage racers. The main thing on installation is to make sure there are no folds or creases in the tube when inside the tire. Those create potential future leaks as they will wear at the crease. That said, it seems your 235/60-17 tubes are very close in size but a tiny bit 'taller' than what would be perfect. Check the revolutions/mile of your tire vs a 60 series tire. If they're close, there shouldn't be a problem. (go to Tire Rack and bring up your tire and check the Specs. They'll usually give you the rev/mile in the specs. Then check the same brand in the 60 series.)
I don't see that anything catastrophic should happen with that tube size, but maybe you'll want to try one wheel first and see how that works out. Make sure your spare is inflated before this test!!!
Best wishes,
Tom
 
I took a quick look at the diameters of the 50 series and 60 series tires along with revolutions/mile at Tire Rack for a Firestone tire as an example:

235/50-17
Diameter = 26.3"
Revs/Mile = 792

235/60-17
Diameter = 28.1"
Revs/Mile = 741

So, the taller tire profile tube might be a bit crowded inside the 50 series tire. That could lead to the type of folding or unhappy creasing of the tube upon installation. It would be better to find the proper tube, but your installer can coach you on that. A suggestion would be to spray the exterior of the tube and the interior of the tire with silicone spray. Then add a bit of air to the tube and move it around until you're pretty sure there are no folds or wrinkles in it. It's also important to get the fill valve accurately aligned with the wheel's hole without stress on the tube.

This is an interesting problem in today's "tubeless" world! Proceed with Caution!

Best wishes,
Tom
PS: Post a pic of your Bird with the Wire Wheels when you get a chance! Thanks!
 
T-BirdTom said:
I took a quick look at the diameters of the 50 series and 60 series tires along with revolutions/mile at Tire Rack for a Firestone tire as an example:

235/50-17
Diameter = 26.3"
Revs/Mile = 792

235/60-17
Diameter = 28.1"
Revs/Mile = 741

So, the taller tire profile tube might be a bit crowded inside the 50 series tire. That could lead to the type of folding or unhappy creasing of the tube upon installation. It would be better to find the proper tube, but your installer can coach you on that. A suggestion would be to spray the exterior of the tube and the interior of the tire with silicone spray. Then add a bit of air to the tube and move it around until you're pretty sure there are no folds or wrinkles in it. It's also important to get the fill valve accurately aligned with the wheel's hole without stress on the tube.

This is an interesting problem in today's "tubeless" world! Proceed with Caution!

Best wishes,
Tom
PS: Post a pic of your Bird with the Wire Wheels when you get a chance! Thanks!
Click to expand...
IMG_2488.jpeg
 
It isn’t looking good to find a tire shop willing to put tubes in these tires. Four sources say it just won’t be satisfactory. Be aware of this when picking tire sizes.
 
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