aa-fords.com

I was just wondering, What size tire did AA's come equipped with? what ply rating were they? and what brand?

Matt

Matt,
most people you 600x20x5 tires. There is Deman, B. F. Goodrich, Lucas, and more. My tires are I think
8 ply.

For tire prices check Summit's on-line catalog. They also have Firestone tires in several sizes, as well as tubes & liners

My AA had two original 32x6 tires on it when I got it.

Do you remember what brand and ply rating they were, I'm just curious. Mine had a firestone 7.00x20 10 ply. in the rear.

Mat - your original question:

[quote="Matt"]What size tire did AA's come equipped with? what ply rating were they? and what brand?[/quote]

Initially AA trucks used high-pressure type tires with 30x5 on the front and 32x6 on the rear. Balloon 6:00x20 tires became standard on the front in July 1929. No documentation regarding plys on these tires

Manufactures - no documentation known - archive photos show:
Goodyear – ’27 picture (rear = 32x6; front = 30x5)
Firestone – ’27 picture (rear = can’t read – tread design same as front; front = 32x6)
Goodrich – 6/12/28 picture (rear = 32x6; front = 30x5)
United States Royal – 3/22/28 picture (rear = 32x6; front = 30x5)
United States Royal – 4/10/28 picture (rear = 32x6; front = can’t read – tread design same as rear)
United States Royal – 4/10/28 picture (rear = can’t read – tread design same as front; front = 30x5)
US Royal – 2/18/29 picture (rear and front = can’t read – tread design same)
US Royal – 2/18/29 picture (rear = 32x6; front = can’t read – tread design same as rear)
US Royal – 1/28/29 picture (rear = 32x6; front = can’t read – tread design same as rear)
US Royal – 2/18/29 picture (rear = 32x6; front = can’t read – tread design same as rear)

Its probably whoever had the better price at what time. Same holds true today. If you want to increase your top speed a tad go for the 650x20 firestones.

Thanks, that is really interesting to me.


Matt

Some general tire information:
Firestone is now owned by Bridgestone, a Japanese tire company. My own opinion is they do not make very good tires.
32x6, 30x5, 600-20: the reason for these seemingly very different sizes is that the way tire sizes were measured has changed several times over the years. The first big change was in the late '20's when the industry went from measuring the outside diameter x outside width, to outside width x inside diameter. Thus, all the tires mentioned fit wheels with a 20" diameter bead shoulder on the rim of the wheel. The 30s and 32s seem to have been designed for higher pressure, and they are very "tough" tires, some that still have some tread left are still in use!

I just wish somebody would reproduce the original type tires with the original sizes on them.

Like Neil said, initially the trucks used high pressure tires. (30X5 and 32X6). These tires needed 80-90 lbs of air pressure. As tire manufacturing progressed, balloon tires were introduced. These tires only required 50-60 lbs of air pressure and improved the ride quality. The balloon tires (6.00X20) became standard on the front of "AA"s in July 1929. If you notice, front shocks eventually were discontinued on the "AA"s. Then when dual rear wheels became available in January 1930, 6.00X20 balloon tires were used there. Single rear wheeled trucks continued to use 32X6 high pressure tires on the rears.

Keith