Re: Tire Shopping for a '54 Clipper

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2015/4/27 18:10:32

customclipper

To address some of your comments and concerns:

Some harshness due to footprint and often more aggressive tread is almost inevitable with radial tires. These factors probably contribute to noise as well. I lived and drove during the time period when the switch from bias to radial tires was taking place, and trying to get radials to work for those older cars was a problem then, and probably still causes some troubles with our old cars. (Reports of dissatisfying radials are not uncommon.) Not many folks here seem to have experienced the "radial tuned" days, but I thought mentioning it might give some perspective on the issue for younger old-car owners.

If an "original driving experience" is not important to you, and only attempting to meet standards and characteristics of current cars will do, then by all means get whatever makes you comfortable. For me, considering bias ply tires has little to do with original looks or judging or trailer queens. 100 pt resto? You gotta be kidding. Some suspension components do deteriorate as you said, and working on those items is one thing i'm aiming for in my 5-pt restoration. Would original color paint get it up to 10-pt, I wonder...

Safety concerns have been addressed pretty thoroughly, I think. Driving habits and just getting used to how the tires feel and perform will make a big difference. Also, good 4-ply bias tire will take a lot of punishment. Believe me--personal experience--two trips of over 200 miles at highway speeds on my current bias ply tires... built in the '70s. Not recommended, but doable. The tires held up better than the driver, but are just too old to continue this kind of use. (Me too, probably.) I'm just driving around town until I get something new.

I don't believe radial v bias has been or ever will be "hashed out." There are other factors involved, as can be noted in earlier posts by myself and others. These factors are not based only on originality or points. In fact, practically none of them are. Personal preference is here to stay.

The cars from '55-56 that had torsion bars are definitely a different animal, and these cars could possibly benefit from radials more than regular sprung cars--and give a similar driver experience as bias ply tires would. The suspensions are especially good at adapting to conditions--probably including types of tires--without communicating them unduly to the driver.

Yes, I have PS and PB on the car, with 3-spd overdrive. Probably special-ordered that way. Interesting and fun.

Tire companies just love it when they can convince people that cost should be no object if $100 a tire will buy significantly more safety. It doesn't. What it does is fatten company wallets and thin out ours. There's nothing wrong with blems. They can't be sold if there are structural issues. (Lucas seems to be a pretty reputable firm.) I don't think brown spots on the whitewalls are structural. Those tires are just one option out of several others that I found in the $170 range. They were of interest only because of the exceptionally low price-- half what I was ready to pay. (Did you notice they're Radials?) The difference between a set of $170 tires and $270 tires (also considered "cheap" by some) is around $400 last I checked. I plan to use the extra dough to get started on some of the suspension and floor work I want to do. There are always tradeoffs in this hobby, unless you're just made of money.

Did you want to share the brand of tire that has satisfied you?

P.S. I must have wrote this while you were posting the above. Sorry if I haven't covered all the issue.

P.P.S. Seat belts are important for safety than specific brand or type of tire any day. First thing I had installed after I got the car.

P.P.P.S Please see my signature section regarding the "trailer queen" issue.