Ford Model T Tires

The Ford Model T (also known as the Tin Lizzie, Tin Lizzy, T‑Model Ford, Model T, or T) is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American. Some of this was because of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting.

Tires were pneumatic clincher type, 30 in (76 cm) in diameter, 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide in the rear (30x3-1/2’s) 30×3-1/2 (23″ Rim) Wards Riverside Clincher Blackwall, 3 in (7.5 cm) wide in the front 30×3 Wards Riverside(24″ Rim) Clincher Blackwall. Clinchers needed much higher pressure than today's tires, typically 60 psi (410 kPa), to prevent them from leaving the rim at speed. Horseshoe nails on the roads, together with the high pressure, made flat tires a common problem. All white tires were also common on early "T's.

Balloon tires became available in 1925. They were 21 in × 4.5 in (440/450-21’s) all around 440/450-21 LUCAS Olympic Tread Blackwall. Balloon tires were closer in design to today's tires, with steel wires reinforcing the tire bead, making lower pressure possible – typically 35 psi (240 kPa) – giving a softer ride. The old nomenclature for tire size changed from measuring the outer diameter to measuring the rim diameter so 21 in (530 mm) (rim diameter) × 4.5 in (110 mm) (tire width) wheels has about the same outer diameter as 30 in (76 cm) clincher tires. Wheels were wooden artillery wheels, with steel welded-spoke wheels available in 1926 and 1927.