Hard Steering...?

[DeuceDad]

All, I am really considering putting 46" Michelin tires on my '71 deuce, I have seen pics of 46" tires on deuces where the hubs were not flipped and it looks fine to me and I will probably not flip mine. What I am trying to find out is this....

Q: Do the meater/larger 46" tires make steering the deuce physically more difficult than the normal stock tires?

Q: Is it possible to steer it without any power steering or air assist steering?

Q: Do the meater/larger 46" tires affect the deuces turning radius...is it difficult to make left or right turns, do you have to swing wide?


I asked these questions before, but really did not get a response. I just want to avoid making any mistakes. All comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[kc5mzd]

Going to 11r20 from 9r20 makes a big diffrence. It turns a little wider but is a lot harder to steer. You have to be moving the truck to turn the wheel.

The 11r20 is about 42"
The 9r20 is about 38"

I would guess 46" would be about the same increase over 42". I don't think I would try it without adding air assist steering.

 

[DeuceDad]

Thanks for the reply 'kc5'.

Do you have air assisting steering? I would really like to hear from more of my MV peers on this. How many have 46" tires without any air assist and what do they think?

 

[Zack]

Do a search on 395s will fit on stock deuce. Pics and lots of info posted by hundreddollarman

 

[deathrowdave]

The biggest thing to help steering on the road is to flip caster shims on front axle. You ill not believe the handling difference that this makes.Have a great and safe day,Dave

 

[Hooty481]

Do you have a link on flipping the caster shims or can you go into detail on that a little more?

 

[Jimma]

What does fliping the caster shims do? Also how is it done?

 

[hemichallenger]

I am not sure you would want more that zero caster. I have played with a few and you can end up with a very responcive steering wheel. I have ran many 395s and I did not notice much differnce in turning except the tires rub if you use stock wheels. Then you can put a longer bolt in the stop but you will then loose radius. I noticed no differnce in running 1100x20s except for road speed but that is me.

 

[A/C Cages]

Air-O-Matic air assist systems are made of gold these days and take a chunk out of your wallet. Im still looking for power steering for 4 of my deuces here.
Im thinking of stealing the system off a semi and manufacturing the whole thing over to the deuces. Also stealing them from a semi means no large amounts of air being used away from the brake system since these are Hyd.

 

[deathrowdave]

The best way to describe 0 degree caster on the road would be like riding your bike as a kid with the front fork turned backwards. Not too much Fun!!! To flip the caster shims : 1st off the shim is what is between the front springs and the axle. If you look close you can see that they look like a wedge . The thick part of the wedge is towards the front stock location. You must remove the U bolts and change the wedge to have the thin part of the wedge to the front. Easy to change great difference on the road handling. Have a great and safe day,Dave PM with any questions that you may need help with.

 

[Floridianson]

And did this change your drive line angle?

 

[deathrowdave]

Slim to none . I have hydro assist steering, and radial tires drives great after changing the shims. Well worth the effort. I spoke with an old time truck mechanic about the o caster . He explained to me that it is set up this way to ease the return to straight for off road driving. To keep from ejecting you out of the cab if the steering wheel returned too fast and you were holding it tight !!!

 

[DeuceDad]

Thanks ted korpi - do you have power steering or air assist for your steering?

 

[hemichallenger]

Thanks ted korpi - do you have power steering or air assist for your steering?

I have not used air assist on a deuce because I drove semis that had it and I did not have much use for it. The good with air assist is it is a easy install. I have power steering on a bobber and I have put it on 8 differnt ones. I do front end alighnments on semis and class A rvs and most are set at -1 to plus 3 camber but my book does not show a deuce. Here is a picture of a power steering setup with the box off a mid 90s freightliner and a 5 ton pump. I found no need to put this on a bobber with less than 1600 tires. I am going to put this setup on a stock deuce I am working on now with 395s that i am keeping.

 

[DeuceDad]

Thanks for the pic Korpi, I will keep searching, I feel I want to go the 395 direction with rims other than stock, I don't I can pick up a power assist anytime soon, but I hate to past up a good deal on some 395s. Anymore pics, keep um' coming, they surely help. Too bad you are all the way in FL, long way from MO. Thanks!!

 

[tm america]

deathrow dave did flipping the shims help with wonder at highway speeds?Mine seems to follow the ruts in the road and is really sensitive on the highway