Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I would love to hear the thoughts from Packard owners about running radials instead of bias ply tires on our Packards.

Can't run a comparison between bias and radials because I've only ever had radials. Been running Diamondback 7.00 x 15 radials on my '41 120 Coupe since getting it on the road at the beginning of 2009. Well over 15,000 miles to date and still plenty of tread left. Hard steering for parking, etc but once you're moving easy to steer. Only drawback, from my perspective, is that they ride hard because they are made from Yokohama Toyo light truck cases. They are tubeless and mounted on the stock '41 rims without any problems. Oh, two other "little" drawbacks are because they are wide whitewalls, 1) The whitewalls scuff easily and I hate cleaning them! And 2) The whitewalls have bubbles around their inner edges. No dramas there, just unsightly and I know of a couple of other Diamondback users here who have the same problem.

I've not run as many miles as Mal, but no problems on my 41. I would not try to fit them in sidemount wells and covers though. The 16" rims do limit the choices more. Mal, is your car on 15" or 16" wheels?

If you can purchase them, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will clean your whitewalls quickly with little effort. My daughter recommended it and she was right (after I doubted her).

I've driven two identical chassis, one with radials and one without: 1940 1808 and a 1942 2008. Both had their front ends rebuilt. I could not tell much difference between the two. I prefer the bias ply.

I changed over to radials on my 38 coupe and did find a difference in handling to the better. I too have the Diamondback 700R 15 Whitewalls. I use a product from Casterol called Super Clean and it does a GREAT job on the white walls.

I run American Classic whitewall high-profile radials on my Clipper. At first glance, they look just like bias ply tires. Handling, braking, and cornering are very good.

On to the topic of cleaning whitewalls. I am intrigued by the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I have tried Simple Green with so-so results and Bleche White, which works well. I once saw a guy take Ajax to his whitewalls, which I thought was nuts.

One of the more interesting things I have seen was a guy detailing his 1966 Lincoln Continental with ... Windex! I didn't believe it at first; I thought maybe he was using a detailing solution in the Windex spray bottle, but no, it really was Windex. He told me that Windex works very well as a detailer because it is mostly water with a little bit of ammonia, which cleans but does not take off wax or damage paint.

That was certainly a cheaper solution to detailing than some of the expensive detailers I have used!

Good Morning all...We run radials on our 1949 Deluxe 'Miss Princess. She goes along nicely and no longer tries to follow the seams in the road. The ride is as it should be for an elderly Packard. She has always been hard to turn/steer when stopped or going less than five miles an hour. Over five, she steers like a lady and goes down the road like her modern sisters. Ernie

Quote:

In '41 believe 110's, 120's and Clippers were on 15" wheels. While 160's & 180's used 16". So for me 15".

Thanks to all for the advice on white wall cleaners, have to see if I can find them here in Oz.

bias ply and tubes on my 37. rides like a dream. handles fine. can't tell much of any difference to a radial I drive everyday on.

drive over the same railroad tracks to get out of my neighborhood...Packard with bias ply tires floats right over like a dreamy cloud. love it!