Wheel runout
 

I have about 15 wire wheels and only need 5 or 6 good ones.
Have been checking them for runout(wobble) and concentricity
by mounting them on a drum on my brake lathe.

I mount the drum and check the face with an indicator
then after mounting a wheel use a KD ball joint gage against
the two surfaces that the tire touches.
See photos.

How much can a wheel runout and/or be out of concentricity
and still be a usable wheel ???

Any deviations from zero probably have varying results with a change in rpm when mounted on an actual axle.

How accurate is a new wheel ???
Further, how concentric is a given tire OD to its ID ???

Re: Wheel runout
 

Sorry, not much help, but I would also like to know. I am changing out the wheels/drums on my 35, getting rid of the 39 wide fives and putting the original 16" wires on it.
On your tire question I have noticed quite a bit of run out in the repop bias ply tires. But it does not seem to affect balance in driving.

Re: Wheel runout
 

In my old Harley Davidson manuals, they trued a wire spoke wheel to no more than 1/32" run out. That would be near .030". That is generally close enough to get a good track with the tire. Keep in mind that the tire can have a good bit of run out even on a true rim. The way they are made just gets them close to perfect but no two tires are exactly the same and none are perfect in every way. Some companies used to shave the treads to make them concentric. They make them a lot better now than they did back then.

Re: Wheel runout
 

On an A or early Ford 1/8" would be very tolerable.

Re: Wheel runout
 

In the 36 service bulletins they went into depth on the use of the new alignment machine and state that "a lateral runout of 1/16" is permissable and is not of importace in the operation of the car"

Re: Wheel runout
 

I had a bad vibration on my roadster, it turns out it was the right rear wheel. I jacked the car up placed a long screwdriver on a paint can and spun the wheel. As the wheel spun I could see a 3/16 gap opening and closing at the screw driver tip/wheel rim edge.
As a comparison, I did the same thing to a new Chrysler Pacifica I had at the time. It had alloy wheels on it and you could barely put a piece of paper between the wheel and screwdriver all the way around the wheel as it spun. 1/16 is the most I will accept now.