Exceeding Manufacturer's Speed Rating on 15.50r20 Tires

[Beerslayer]

I am looking into going to 15.5R20 or other large radial tires on the Deuce and so spent 6 hours this morning searching and reading threads using the site search and Google and found little specific to this issue.

I have read the manufacturer's dire warnings, as well as the equally dire and more colorful warnings posted by members here including the ones about exceeding 2200 rpm on a multifuel engine and don't disagree. There are certain situations however, such as crossing the desert between Austin and Eureka on Highway 50 where I am not too concerned about stopping distances and engine longevity and am more interested in crossing times, and feel that in this case it may be safe and prudent to exceed 56mph in a Deuce.

What I would like to hear about is member's experiences with running the large radials at speeds greater than the 50 mph rating for extended distances. Has anyone had problems with tires heating or blowing out, or premature failure? I am thinking light loads or empty, not heavily loaded.

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!

 

[dm22630]

WAY to big of a tire for a duece.

I dont think that you could turn the wheel or go over speedbumps.

They will not fit on standard rims either.

 

[M1075]

WAY to big of a tire for a duece.

I dont think that you could turn the wheel or go over speedbumps.

They will not fit on standard rims either.

Many guys run 15.5s on their deuce, myself included. I just haven't driven it for extended distances at high speeds.

 

[dm22630]

Wouldnt that be a 51" tall tire?

I thought 14-20's rubbed?

 

[M1075]

They are only 46.6" tall, same as 395-85r20.

 

[dm22630]

Ah ha! Thanks!

 

[Beerslayer]

Wouldnt that be a 51" tall tire?

I thought 14-20's rubbed?

15.5R20 is 46" diameter. I spend several hours this morning searching and then reading every thread I could find that mentions them. They will mount with difficulty on a stock rim but it isn't a good idea. Michelin recommends 10" rim. Lots of people here run 15.5R20s. Tires are easy to find, wheels, expensive.

I just want to know if they will heat up and magically explode if run over 50 MPH. I would like to be able to run about 65 once in a while for an hour or three at a time.

 

[M1075]

To my knowledge the most common miltary use for the is the m1076 trailer. I believe the max speed for the pls is 56mph so I would feel really comfortable up to or about that speed. I think michelin rates them for about that speed too. Above that speed, I would rather be on radials than old bias ndccs

 

[yeager1]

Tire ratings deal with max loads and extreme climates. Your truck will never hit the max rating (it's not capable) and the max temps would only be hit in the desert. So do it at your own risk if you want, but for a deuce in Oregon I would think you are probably fine.

 

[Alredneck]

The tires will fit as I am running 395s on APoc ( see my post, Apocs ready to plunder and pillage in this same forum ). I have run 72 tops on the flat for many, many mile and havent had in problems yet, 60-65 even more, to date I have over 4000 miles on them with my setup, only problem blown flange gasket ( bolts werent even tight ) and my speedo doesnt work ( wasnt accurate any way, it seems after being over driven for so long it just bounces around now. GPS is the best way to keep track. YOu will rub some on hard right turns, and a lil bit in the fenders if you take it off the beaten path. Remember just cause you got bigger tires doesnt mean you cant get stuck, it just worse stuck!

 

[Alredneck]

Oh yea one more thing as long as you are not panic stopping the brakes work ok, make sure you go through them and have all good parts. Other than that have fun and get ready to invest in power steering. On the road steering is about the same as the lil tires but offroad they can break fingers, hands, arms or what ever gets in their way. Remember thumbs out and if the wheel starts spinning let it go cause you wont be able to hold on.