tires and rims

[steve welder]

The lug nut holes on my rims many of them are oblong..... I thought of trying to TIG weld the holes and grind but I have an idea I could have problems if they are not centered anymore. What I discovered is the rims are 16 inch and the tire says 15 inch...... Now I've read over and over that it's impossible to do but there it is. Plus the spare tire is a 16 inch from KW and the I bought the exact same tire I already had on the Jeep and had a tire shop mount it
None of us picked this mismatch up..... So im thinking just to replace all 5 rims with 15 inch rims from KW as the tires are in perfect condition
This one has me scratching my head....Thoughts are apprenticed

[bmorgil]

Steve, I would not try to repair the rims.

The 15 inch tire on a 16 inch rim can be done but should not be done. The "Low Rider" group has been doing this for decades. It is called "Tire Stretching" and usually a too small of a width tire is put on too wide of a rim. sometimes a small diameter is put on a larger rim or, both. Stretching a 15 inch tire over a 16 inch rim causes the sidewall to stretch out and in effect, reduces its sidewall height. It gives the tire a low profile look. Its a real bad idea. So yes someone may have stretched a 15 inch tire on to a 16 inch rim. Usually it damages the tire by over tightening the cords and potentially tearing fibers.

[gmwillys]

we used to mount 13 or 14 inch tires inside of 15 inch tires on 15 inch rims for demo derbies, but later on I had a line on 15 inch fork lift tires. None were easy to mount, but held up well for the application. I agree with Bmorgil on replacing the 16" wheels to 15" wheels to make everything safe, and the most prudent way to go about it. I've welded up oblong lugs, and not had a problem, but I had an old hub to keep everything centered while welding up the slop. The hub had one stud knocked out of it, and replaced with a brass punch to simulate the missing stud. Then I could weld the hole tight to the punch without it sticking. The tricky part is getting the tapper just right when facing the weld. An old drill bit ground to the correct tapper made the job fairly easy. Again, I would just go and get the correct wheels that are not modified for safety sake. The original Kelsey Hayes wheels didn't have the safety lip on the wheel that helped to hold the tire on the rim and some tire shops frown on touching them if they know what they are looking at.