OT: 8 inch cart tire sizes

I have an old Cushman electric cart/scooter that has 480/400-8 tires on it. I would like to go to a slightly wider tire but not sure how to interpret tire sizes. Replacing the rims is not an option as the bolt pattern isn't anything close to any standard. The rims do split apart for easy tire removal and installation. How do I figure out what the widest tire and size that I can force to fit on the rims.

TKS

I've put 570's on wheels that originally had 400's on them, worked and looked good.

If you have access to a lathe, make some spacers to go between the wheel halves, then you could go with the 215/60 tires.
570x8

Coker Tire https://www.cokertire.com/ seems to sell tires and rims for Cushman Scooters. Perhaps they would have an answer.

I just put some 15x6x6 on a 4.5x6 rim for a reference. 15 is outer diameter of tire. 6 and 4.5 are the seated bead outer dimension (width rating) and the last
6 is the diameter of the bead-wheel rim interface.

On width and balloon: (my experiences)

Narrow wheels and fat tires (narrow wheel vs tire width rating) with soft sidewalls and low air pressures make for a soft ride and sidewall walk.....like having
4 ply car radials on a tandem trailer in a turn. Mushy side to side sway..... usually what you would use when lightly loaded. increasing air pressure helps to
stiffen the wall and reduce the sway.

Fat/equal width wheels as compared to tire width, with a small balloon tire, like using a 12" dia wheel rim on an 18" outer diameter tire, stiff sidewall, running
max tire rated pressure, works great for things like FELs where side to side rigidity is important but makes for a hard ride.

I just changed a tire on my field cultivator. It has 570s on it with 4" rims. And I do like Steve's idea of making a spacer to widen out your rims for even bigger tires. If that's what you'd like.

Thanks gang, did a little more research.

https://www.cokertire.com/ is really proud of the tires they sell

Looking like the only size tire that comes close and is currently available is 16X6.50-8 which I can get on-line from Walmart for $17.54 shipped free to store.

The 570X8's are 18 inches in diameter which won't fit. The 480's on it measure about 15 inches and looks like a 16 will fit. Too bad nobody makes a 16X5.50-8 any longer, am pretty sure they would work great.

You could also make an adapter to go from the existing bolt pattern to any size bolt pattern on different rims of the size you want.

Check out a site called midwesttraction.com They have a lot of sizes and are reasonable in price. I buy my tractor tire chains from them.

Just for your information, I have got several tires from 'Simple Tire'. Seem to have the best prices on oddball stuff like that. Their phone number is 888-410-0604.

Or look at their website. DOUG

Ran to the local tractor supply Attwoods to check out 16X6.50-8 tires to see if I thought they might fit. Left with 3 tires and 3 new tubes. Tomorrow morning I will change out the tires and try to grab a couple before and after photos.

Well, not all my ideas turn out well. Not enough clearance in the fender wells for more than a 1 inch wider tire (1/2 inch each side) which nobody makes. Thankfully Atwoods has a abundant return policy, sure looked like they would fit but no joy.

"Too bad nobody makes a 16X5.50-8 any longer,"

In replacing the OEM deck tires on my Ferris ZT mower, I too was looking for a 5.50 tire as I went from a 13x5x6 to a 15" diameter and was afraid the 6.00
would be too wide for 4.5" rim and wouldn't fit into the yoke....I (too?) did a lot of surfing to no avail.

In doing a lot of tire work on numerous types of vehicles in the last few years, looking for softer rides, I find that just because the tire is stamped with a
certain size, MOST of the time it's smaller in width and OD.....i find that in numerous types of tires made in different countries, by different manufacturers, in
numerous sizes, especially in all terrain tires. Only thing that seems to be sacred is the last number....the wheel hole diameter.

The width and OD can vary greatly with the air pressure and on width also with the width of the wheel. The 15x6x6, 4 ply smooth ribbed, soft sidewall,
Carlisle, barely squeezed in the yoke and I run at 10 PSIG, but they did and there is enough room for reliable service. I guarantee you, the ride difference is
worth the time and effort as compared to the OEM hard sidewall, 4 ply, 13x5 smoothies.