C-T Wheels Info

[hi-per al]

This be an experiment.

Mant thanx to Buck Trippel(spelling) for this.




Al

[Mike]

Pretty cool find.

Good job posting, there Al...

Mike

[hi-per al]

Here is the other side of the flyer. Daaammmnn...This is easier than I thought!

Mike...I will send you directions.



Al

[jes]

Hi, All-
While researching the CT wheels on my '63 Avanti, I came across this thread. We'll see if any people are still around from 12 years ago!

In brief, when replacing the tires on my car, I learned my dad had put inner tubes inside the radial tires. Turns out the tires won't hold air with the CT wheels and that's why the inner tube had been added.

The mechanically illiterate son is wondering: were the CT wheels designed to require an inner tube (there's no retaining hump) or is it more likely the inner tube was added because it's a two-piece wheel and and there's a leak?

Thanks for any counsel you can provide!

1963 Avanti Wheels.jpg (79.57 KiB) Viewed 83922 times

[Mike]

Hey Jes -

I'd guess that the tubes served a double purpose, both of your comments.

1 - Because of the two piece design, to verify an air tight wheel.

2. I'm somewhat surprised that the wheel doesn't have the "safety" bead machined into the rim. The safety bead is meant to hold the tire in place if the tire is either, and or highly side loaded (corners) and or low pressure exists...and...the tire is side loaded to hold the tire bead in place / to continue to hold air.

Up to about...55 maybe a little later, Stude wheels did...not...have the safety bead formed into the rim. But I know that somewhere between 55 and 59, Studebaker started using the safety bead.
Was this a government mandated thing, or...I don't know.

Hope that helps some.

Mike

P.s. - When Center Line started building two piece wheels (same front-back design), they use RTV (silicone) to seal the rim halves from leaking air. Some...still did, bit it worked most of the time.
Your C-T wheels were manufactured well before the publics introduction to RTV.

[BRIZ]

Jes - cool wheels - don't think i've ever noticed those before.
(i also have an Avanti!)

[jes]

Thanks for the replies.

So, Mike, your postscript has kind of helped me piece this together. Not really knowing any of the history, I didn't understand why CT Wheels built a two-piece wheel that required inner tubes. I mean, if I buy a new two-piece wheel now, I don't need to add inner tubes. I thought it might have something to do with the US market being slow to move from bias to radial tires (late '60s?), but your note about the tire sealant makes me understand this a bit better (I think). I also just found a person selling a set of CT wheels on eBay, albeit a different design than mine, and he said his also required inner tubes.

I think the above might have been obvious to y'all, but like I said, I'm the mechanically illiterate son! I previously suggested my dad added inner tubes to the tires on the Avanti because the wheels were porous, but, well, that didn't really make sense because I can't imagine why he'd rebuild the engine, add a new braking system and lots of NOS parts, and then use a band-aid on the wheels.

I've been shopping for new wheels, but now I'm wondering: should I be comfortable using inner tubes in radial tires and keep the CT wheels? I've read people will use baby powder on the inner tube when installing, and that just makes me panic and think it's not a sound idea. And are you losing some of the benefits of radial over bias tires when you add inner tubes? Then again, the car had inner tubes inside 205-15 radials for decades and logged thousands of miles.

Briz: if I may contaminate a Conestoga forum with an Avanti pic, here's what the CT wheels look like on an Avanti. Poor shot and bringing the car out of hibernation for the first time this millennium, but you get the idea.

Avanti with CT Wheels Redux 2.jpg (152.73 KiB) Viewed 83914 times

[Mike]

No problem...it's a Studebaker !!!

About porous metal in wheels.
Yes, if you use "actual..." magnesium" wheels, it's a good idea to use tubes. Magnesium IS a porous material, and will leak down. Some even overnight !
Your wheels, being aluminum, the casting SHOULD...be a tight enough casting, it should hold air just fine...BUT for the big hole down the center.

And yes, tubes in radial tires is not a new thing. BUT, they are special...and more expensive than a standard tube. They are thicker rubber. Somewhat like a bike tube that is setup for use in areas that are prone to cause puncture. The tube (bike tube) is normal a two piece. A normal thickness on the inner diameter, and thicker around the O.D. to make it more difficult for stickers and other sharp objects from poking through.

You can "try" using a "standard" tube, but use a baby powder (if it's still made !), "Shower to Shower" powder, so the tube will be able to move with the tire easily, and not get stuck, where it will get holes rubbed in it.

**Radial tubes, you pay more money and get a heavier tube.
**A standard tube, much lighter, cheaper, but may develop a leak after a period of time.

Mike

[BRIZ]

Briz: if I may contaminate a Conestoga forum with an Avanti pic, here's what the CT wheels look like on an Avanti. Poor shot and bringing the car out of hibernation for the first time this millennium, but you get the idea.

Avanti with CT Wheels Redux 2.jpg

Right on! My Avanti is black too!
Those wheels are very unique.
Thanks for the pic.