1928 Essex Tire Fitment Guide

1928 Essex vehicles on this page use two sizes: 29X4.95 and 5.00-20, and both are associated with the 1928 Essex Super 6. The important difference is that these sizes are not simply alternate labels for the same wheel. A 29X4.95 tire uses an antique diameter-by-section convention, while 5.00-20 is a numeric bias-ply size that fits a 20-inch rim.

That means a 1928 Essex buyer should confirm the actual wheel and existing tire markings before choosing a replacement. Knowing only the year and make is not enough when one car can appear with two different size conventions. If your goal is a faithful restoration, the size already associated with the car's wheels is usually the right place to start, then you can narrow the choice by construction style and sidewall appearance within that size.

On a 1928 Essex, 29X4.95 is an antique diameter-by-section size. The first number, 29, refers to the tire's overall mounted diameter in inches, while 4.95 refers to the nominal section width. It is a bias-ply format from the period before later alphanumeric and modern metric sizing became common on American cars.

That older sizing style matters because it is tied to a particular wheel setup and visual profile, not just tread width. A 1928 Essex owner considering 29X4.95 should think in terms of preserving the car's late-1920s look and matching the tire to the correct wheel rather than trying to compare it loosely to modern sizing language. If the car already carries this size marking, staying with the same convention is usually the safest path for accurate fitment research.

On a 1928 Essex, 5.00-20 is a numeric bias-ply size. The 5.00 refers to nominal tire section width in inches, and the 20 identifies the wheel diameter in inches. Unlike an antique diameter-by-section size, the number after the dash is the rim size, which makes wheel measurement especially important before ordering.

For a 1928 Essex Super 6, 5.00-20 is the clearer fitment path when the car is already known to have 20-inch wheels. It is still a period-style bias-ply tire, so the driving feel and appearance remain appropriate to the era, but the way the size is written is more familiar to many collectors. If your car has mixed old parts or uncertain restoration history, verify the wheel itself rather than assuming one late-1920s size convention automatically crosses over to another.

A 1928 Essex owner should choose between 29X4.95 and 5.00-20 by confirming which wheels are actually on the car, because these sizes do not share the same rim-diameter convention. Both are bias-ply and both are associated with the Essex Super 6, so this is not a bias-versus-radial decision. It is a matter of matching the tire to the wheel and to the period specification your particular car is set up to use.

Once the wheel is confirmed, the choice becomes much simpler. A car already arranged for an antique-size fitment should stay with 29X4.95, while a Super 6 on 20-inch wheels belongs in 5.00-20. For restoration work, consistency matters more than trying to substitute a similar-looking size, since late-1920s cars can be sensitive to wheel diameter, stance, and visual proportion when judged or displayed.

1928 Essex tires are typically chosen with sidewall appearance in mind because visible tire styling strongly affects the finished look of a late-1920s car. Depending on the exact tire offered in 29X4.95 or 5.00-20, sidewall presentation can vary by product rather than being identical across every option. For an Essex of this era, owners generally look for a sidewall treatment that complements a prewar American restoration instead of a modern-looking profile.

That makes sidewall choice more than a cosmetic afterthought. On a 1928 Essex, the wrong visual style can stand out immediately even if the size itself is correct, especially on a car built before wide postwar whitewalls became a common styling cue. If authenticity matters, compare sidewall appearance alongside the size and wheel match, and use club judging guides or marque specialists to confirm what looks right for the specific restoration goal.

Brand selection for 1928 Essex vehicles depends on which of the two sizes your Super 6 uses. The important first step is narrowing the search to either 29X4.95 or 5.00-20, since brand availability follows the size rather than the make alone. Prewar collector tires are often built by specialty manufacturers that focus on reproduction and heritage-style fitments rather than modern mass-market replacement lines.

For a 1928 Essex buyer, that means brand comparison comes after fitment confirmation, not before it. Once the correct size is established, compare the available manufacturers within that size by sidewall appearance, construction details, and how closely the tire supports your restoration or driving goals. Staying within established collector-tire brands also helps keep the car visually consistent with its era instead of forcing a modern substitute onto a period wheel setup.

A 1928 Essex commonly falls into the era when tube-type fitments are part of normal tire setup, especially with original-style prewar wheels and bias-ply construction. Tube requirements can vary by the exact tire and wheel combination, so the tire's own sidewall marking and the wheel design should both be checked before final assembly. On a car as old as an Essex Super 6, wheel condition also matters just as much as the tire itself.

That practical check helps prevent air-retention issues and avoids assuming that every reproduction tire is assembled the same way. If your 1928 Essex still uses original-style rims, inspect the wheel for surface condition, valve-hole integrity, and any features that affect tube use before mounting the new tires. A fresh tube and flap, when appropriate to the tire and wheel, can be an important part of a proper period-style installation.

A 1928 Essex cannot be assumed to use the same original wheels with both listed tire sizes, because 29X4.95 and 5.00-20 do not represent the same rim-diameter fitment. The 5.00-20 size clearly fits a 20-inch wheel, while 29X4.95 follows an older antique-size convention tied to its own wheel setup. Even though both sizes appear on the Essex Super 6, they should not be treated as interchangeable on one wheel without verification.

That is why wheel inspection should come before tire selection on any 1928 Essex with an uncertain restoration history. Measure the rim, inspect the current tire markings, and confirm that all four wheels match before committing to one size. Cars from this period can accumulate mixed parts over decades, and choosing the tire first instead of the correct wheel fitment can lead to an expensive and visually incorrect result.

A 1928 Essex should be stored in a cool, dry, dark space away from direct sunlight, electric motors, battery chargers, furnaces, and other ozone-producing equipment that can accelerate sidewall cracking. Because both listed Essex sizes are bias-ply, long static storage can encourage flat-spotting more readily than many modern radial applications. Clean, dry floors and stable inflation pressure also help reduce casing stress during long layups.

For a collector car that sits often, periodic movement is useful so the same portion of the tire is not carrying the car's weight month after month. Some owners also use stands to reduce sustained load during winter or long-term storage, provided the suspension is supported appropriately. If your 1928 Essex is kept for show use, simple storage discipline often does more to preserve the tires than low annual mileage alone.

Tires on a 1928 Essex should be judged more by age and condition than by miles traveled. A sensible collector-car rule is to begin close inspection around five to seven years of age and to treat roughly ten years as a point for serious replacement consideration, even if the tread still looks usable. The DOT date code, when present on the tire, is the starting point for determining actual age.

That approach matters because many vintage cars see light use, and old tires can appear healthy long after the rubber has hardened or begun to deteriorate internally. A lightly driven 1928 Essex that attends shows and occasional tours can still age out its tires before wearing them out. Replacement timing should always reflect storage history, visible cracking, air retention, and how confidently the car needs to perform on the road.

Tires on a 1928 Essex should be inspected before every drive and again before any extended outing. Check for sidewall cracking, tread separation, cuts, bulges, uneven wear, and loss of pressure, all of which matter on a low-use prewar car. If the car is using tube-type assemblies, valve stems and any slow leak behavior deserve extra attention as part of the inspection routine.

Frequent inspection is especially valuable on a car from 1928 because long parked periods can hide deterioration until the vehicle is driven at speed. A quick visual walk-around is not enough before a tour or parade drive; put a gauge on each tire and inspect the spare as well. That habit helps catch age-related issues early and keeps tire condition from becoming the weak link in an otherwise well-prepared car.

A 1928 Essex Super 6 belongs to the period when bias-ply tires were the original construction type, and the sizes associated here are 29X4.95 and 5.00-20. That means a restoration-minded owner should be looking first at period-style bias-ply fitments rather than later radial substitutes. Original-equipment branding could vary by market and supply, so the most important authenticity points are the correct size convention, construction type, and era-appropriate appearance.

For an accurate restoration, use the tire size that matches the actual wheels and the specification history of your particular car. Factory literature, surviving unrestored examples, and Essex or Hudson club resources are the best ways to confirm whether your Super 6 should wear the antique-size marking or the 20-inch numeric alternative. Matching the right size family is often more important than chasing a brand name that may have changed from car to car.

Correct tire fitment absolutely matters when showing a 1928 Essex, especially in restoration classes where judges pay attention to visible details. On a car from this era, tire size, bias-ply construction, overall profile, and sidewall appearance all contribute to whether the car looks period-correct. A mismatched size convention or a visibly modern substitute can stand out quickly against prewar body lines and wheel proportions.

That does not mean every event uses identical judging rules, but authenticity-minded owners should assume tires are part of the car's presentation. If your Essex is being prepared for concours or marque-specific judging, confirm whether the event expects a particular sidewall look or strictly original-style construction. Club standards and marque experts are especially helpful when two historically plausible sizes appear on the same model year, as they do here.

A 1928 Essex comes from a transition period in tire history, which is why you may see both an antique diameter-by-section size like 29X4.95 and a numeric bias-ply size like 5.00-20 associated with the same Super 6. Earlier conventions often emphasized overall diameter and section width, while later systems moved toward clearer wheel-diameter identification. Both belong to the era, but they are not simply different ways of writing one interchangeable size.

That historical shift is useful to understand before restoring or servicing the car. It explains why an Essex owner needs to inspect the actual wheels rather than relying on modern habits about tire labels. It also helps when reading old service literature, period advertisements, or surviving sidewall markings, since late-1920s vehicles often sit right at the point where tire notation was becoming more standardized.

1928 Essex tires can be used for road driving when they are the correct size, in sound condition, and matched to a mechanically healthy car, but they are still bias-ply tires on a late-1920s chassis. That means the driving character is rooted in the era, with more sensitivity to road crown, steering input, and long-term storage flat-spotting than modern drivers may expect. On a prewar car, brakes, steering, wheel bearings, and suspension condition are often just as important to safe touring as the tire itself.

Highway use should therefore be approached with realistic expectations rather than with modern-car assumptions. A well-prepared 1928 Essex can handle normal collector-car road use, but sustained speed should always respect the tire's construction, the car's age, and the limits of 1920s engineering. Before any longer trip, make sure the tires are fresh enough, evenly inflated, and free from cracking or casing damage, then treat the car as the prewar machine it is.

Inflation pressure for a 1928 Essex should be chosen by the exact tire size and the car's factory recommendations rather than by applying one generic number to every period tire. The two Essex sizes here, 29X4.95 and 5.00-20, should each be treated as their own fitment. The safest reference point is the original owner's literature or service information for the car, combined with the tire manufacturer's stated limits for the specific reproduction tire being used.

That approach helps avoid overinflating one size based on guidance meant for another. Pressure affects ride quality, tread contact, steering feel, and casing stress, all of which are noticeable on a lightweight prewar car with bias-ply tires. Once you identify the exact tire on your 1928 Essex, use a reliable gauge, check pressures cold, and recheck them regularly, especially if the car sits for long periods between drives.

Before taking a 1928 Essex on a longer drive, inspect each tire for cracking, cuts, bulges, uneven wear, embedded debris, and correct cold inflation pressure. Check valve stems, wheel security, and the spare as carefully as the four road tires, especially if the car uses tube-type assemblies. Because the Essex is a prewar vehicle, tire readiness should be part of a broader inspection that includes brakes, steering, cooling, and fuel-system health.

That broader pre-drive routine matters because a long outing puts stress on every aging component, not just the tires. Even if the tread looks good, an old bias-ply casing or neglected tube can become the weak point once the car is driven continuously. For a 1928 Essex, the best touring preparation is methodical: confirm tire condition first, then make sure the rest of the chassis and running gear are equally ready for the pace and distance you expect.