Are 15" Tires Going Obsolete?

[biere]

There are still a lot of the vehicles made in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 0? out there using 15 inch rims. From fullsize stuff like a caprice to half ton trucks or fullsize suv like bronco or blazer or burban a lot of vehicles are still on the road.

CJ, yj, and TJ used 15 inch rims as well.

Over the next decade I can easily see some stuff not being made for it when something is totally redesigned, but I think there will be a lot of choices for a long time.

Part of it depends on how picky you are on brand or tread design.

Did the 16.5 inch tires ever die?

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Did the 16.5 inch tires ever die?

Pretty much.

As for 15", it's easy enough to get a 17" rim to fit near anything.

 

[WUzombies]

The short answer is "yes."

The long answer is "yeeeeeesssssss."

In all seriousness if you're buying a 15" tire check the DOT stamp for the production date. There is a fair chance the "new" tire is 2-3 years old. The tire age matters, you don't want an old tire delaminating on you! Delaminations usually don't end well for anything but a light passenger car, even then it takes good driving responses. In a truck, Van, SUV or similar even good driving responses are often not enough to prevent a rolling event after a delam.