Tire & Rim Question

I have a set of 5 OE Willys wheels - 4.5X16. I would like to run a 215/85/R16 TUBELESS MT tire on these rims. Will this work, or are the rims improperly configured for a tubeless radial?

Thanks for any help!

Mike

 

I am running tubeless tires but 2 would not hold so I have one axle with tubes and one axle without. Not really a big difference.

 

Do you mean that the tires would not hold air? Or that the tires would not stay seated on the rims?

 

Thay had slow leaks. Mostly a rusty patch on the bead.

 

I'm running "Michelin X" 6.50 by 16" Radial XCL on 4-1/2" KH rims with zero problems.
No tubes...

 

I'm running tubeless 215/85/R16 on OE steelies. They hold air fine but mine is a garage queen so it sees very little road use. I don't know how they would hold up to every day road use.

 

Here I go back to my teenage tire shop days. About all of the tires we had were tubeless but some of the customers still had tube type rims. (yeah, it was that long ago) We didn't want to put tubes in a tubeless tire, a bit of tire overheating problems sometimes.
Some of the wheels would work with tubeless, others wouldn't.
The other thing is that tubeless rims have safety beads that help keep the tire on if you have a flat.

 

Some of the other M38A1 owners here can add to this too, perhaps, but the A1 military rims have a raised portion on the bead that is said to keep the tire from coming off the bead when it's flattened. I think the theory is that the military was willing to pay a bit more so that a tire, when flattened by ordnance in combat, could stay on the rim and the jeep still be driven.

I think the extra bead works- I have dis-mounted and mounted several tires by hand and it is definitely hard to do!

The military rims are also 5" wide.

I have an extra set of those rims and will be putting on some 215-85-16s for street and off-road driving and keeping those questionable NDCCs for occasional old-time-sake's use.

 

Thank you all for your help. When my wheels come back from the powder coater I will try fitting a set of tubeless radials. If needed, I can add tubes later.

Thanks again,

Mike

 

If in doubt, put in the tubes. Actually, if you can find them, put in self-sealing tubes.

 

I believe they make special tubes for radial tires. The OE rims are also riveted which can be a source of leaks if the rivets aren't sealed well enough.

 

Yes they do. There are also "boots" which are rubber liners that cover the wheel to keep the tubes from chafing. Common on combat wheels and on implement wheels.