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OK Back to this,

To the tune of Red Green poetry:

It is Spring.
I am fine. My tires are fine,
but some of the air is showing through.
Guess I needed more than 10 psi to drive fast.
Cracks are now show on OUTSIDE walls,
making me more nervous,
and scaring would-be passengers.
(Felt more secure when I couldn't see cracks.)

New tires $1000 a set.
For a 61-year-old car that needs some other stuff.
Not likely.

Some ideas come to mind following search.


Low end:
Lucas "Sierra" radial blems. (Brown spots on 1.5" white walls): $86
225 75 15

Middle end:
Lucas "General": bias ply. 3" ww $186 (top of my budget)
760 15 (right spec for car)

High end
American Classic, Coker, Diamond Back: Priceless.

Earl's Tires: Used. Guaranteed to hold air for a while: Make offer.
Set of 4 guaranteed mostly same size and "will fit".

Interesting:
L 78-15 Cooper Bias Plys say: "Replaces 9.15-15"
Never heard of that size.

I am going back in the house and read seed catalogs.

Write if you have a brainstorm (about tires not gardening).

Thanks.

IMO, it depends on how much you are going to drive or show the car as to how expensive to go. After all the angst and decision making over DB radials, I have decided to get inexpensive radial blackwalls locally -- mostly because I just want rolling around and short drive tires. In that instance I would go with the blems if you are confident the issue is cosmetic only and not structural. You could probably get some tire dressing and make them more presentable. I wouldn't touch a set of used tires even if they were free including the mounting unless the car was never going to move on its own. Paraphrasing a comment that was posted in another thread, old rubber just isn't worth the risk.

If your car is like mine and tends to sit more than move, then I have a definite bias against bias tires. In my experience they generally become square long before they ever accumulate more than 100 miles. Am hoping radials will be less of an issue -- or, I've heard they at least will become rounder again with a bit of driving more so than bias. Time will tell if that is fact or fallacy but if not, a $4-500 set of square radials will feel a lot better in the wallet than a $1200 set of fancy whitewalls of any type.

One question on yours (and mine) that maybe the more knowledgeable and mathematically inclined can answer by pencil or by experience. According to the chart at Diamondback, 760-15s have an average diameter of 28.6 and the 225/75s have a diameter of 28.1. A difference of about 1/2". My car would take 215/75s to fit the original 700 bias size but I 'm wondering if that same almost half inch difference will be an issue with the speedometer and if so, how much.

Quote:

On the subject of "square" bias ply tires, with the ones I have on there now (from the '70s with like-new tread, but cracking sidewalls) I have had no problem with "squareness" that I can discern after they sat for 4 months during the last two winters. Given the obviously low mileage on the tires, I suspect they sat a lot more before I bought the car-- no problem with square tires that I could tell on the drive home after I picket it up. I think with GOOD bias ply tires (which may not even be made any more) the squaring business is not so much of an issue. 40+ year-old tires are of course, a big safety issue.

(Disclaimer: Others may be more sensitive to square-bias-ply-tire side effects, and experience conditions such as nausea and vomiting.)

As for size, I think slightly larger diameter is the way to go for my setup. 4.10:1 gearing, even with overdrive, can use the extra diameter to decrease RPM a bit at road speeds. I don't worry much about the speedometer--I don't think it's very accurate anyway.

My current L 78 size tires fill the wheel wells nicely, and the 3 1/2" whitewalls go all the way to the rims, and IMO compliment the body-color exposed rims and dog dish hubcaps-- no "beauty rings" needed!

The "blem" radials are tempting as far as cost, but who knows anything about Lucas "Sierra" tires? Maybe somebody. The other downside is the narrower whitewalls. (I was just kidding about used tires-- no way!)

I don't give a fig about judging, except maybe for "best driven to show" or "longest drive to show", if those are even categories. Mostly, I want the look and performance of the car to please me (a horrible, selfish attitude, I know) while keeping it essentially stock.

The idea of just getting a set of "drive-around" blackwall radials has occurred to me, too. They'd be fairly inexpensive and reliable. I doubt if I'll do it, though, because I know I'd eventually consider it a waste. It'll be cheaper and more satisfying to just go for one set of mid priced tires that have the right look and decent performance. I'll probably put on an average of about 400-500 miles/year tops. At that rate, I won't wear out any kind of decent rubber before I'm in no need of tires for anything, ever again.

Flat spotting of bias tires, at least when kept properly inflated, pretty much went the way of DoDo bird when Nylon cord replaced Rayon which was notorious for flat-spotting.

'Kinda tahrs you got on your cars, Owen_Dyneto?

(If you don't want to risk being accused of shilling for a tire company, PM me if you like. It seems everybody name-drops tires here though, and I think the more shared on the topic, the better. But that's just my preference-- probably not everybody's.)

"Tahrs"? If I hadn't spent some years down in North Carolina I'd have no idea what you meant.

I've got Lester 7:00 x 17 x 6 ply rated bias ply on the 1934, that was the stock size for the Eight and Super Eight. They are now about 25 years old (about 19,000 miles) and I'm beginning to think about replacing them, though there is plenty of tread left and even with a magnifying glass I can't find an age crack inside or out (dismounted one last year to inspect the interior). Not a lot of choices in 7:00 x 17 x 6 ply, the Lesters have proven to be excellent, really superb tour tires. My only dislike is the whitewall width is greater than 1934 standards. One reason I've deferred on replacing them is that it's foolish to replace the tires without also replacing the gutter strips and tubes; 34 was the last year for metal threaded valve stems with nickel covers and I've heard horror stories about the reliability of those now available.

On the Caribbean I originally installed 8:00 x 15 Generals (the OEM tire); handling and ride was delightful but there was more rapid tread wear than I though acceptable and asked the vendor (Kelsey Tire) to evaluate. He inspected one, concluded they were substandard, and offered me a set of Goodyear Custom Super Cushion radials as a warranty replacement so I accepted, very impressed with Kelsey's warranty treatment. They are a very handsome tire, period-correct sidewall details, though they ride noisier and rougher and steer a bit harder than the bias ply. Overall I'm very satisfied with them though I'd rather have bias ply in the kind of quality you could get when bias ply was still king. Pictures enclosed.

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There were threads on this prior or is this a continuation of the earlier thread? Remember to properly prep the rims and paint/coat inside and out with a careful inspection of them if there is heavy rust as this can be a safety concern. I have great results with the brand of wide white radials I mentioned prior and though they were supposed to be US made and had a different country or origin on the sticker they ride so well and hold air forever that I did not bother to complain about the mistake. Tires are not an area to skimp if you will be driving the car.

Quote:

I will look for your quote to determine if your tire exprience was on this thread. It may well be, because I started the thread quite some time ago and gave it the Winter off... alot of cars are in storage then, and it didn't seem like a pressing concern 'til now.

Owen_Dyneto,
Yew got the tahr thang just raht... there's a story behind it from old-time Suthern NASCAR competition, but too long to go into here. (I'm not trying to offend by my probably lame attempts to write with an "accent", and I hope I do not. I come by the vernacular somewhat through experience, including some stereotypes, but also the real thing,)

Regarding the tires you are using... THANKS! Some testimonial about a vendor and the success you've had with various tires is very helpful...

"...they [radials] ride noisier and rougher and steer a bit harder than the bias ply..."

That's been my contention from the start. A lot of people don't know how good the old bias ply tires were back when, except for wear characteristics due to heat. They are super tough (the 4-ply ones--not the stupid belted crap with the 2-ply sidewalls). On older cars, you are using the tires that the suspensions were designed around. And yes, I believe many radials are much noisier on non-radial "tuned" suspensions. (Remember the "radial tuned" suspensions that came out in the '70s? There was a reason for these beyond selling radial tires, I think. Detroit really had to fiddle with different shocks and spring rates, etc, to accomodate the radials, both for handling and cuttting down on noise transference.

Radials are great tires, but bias, beyond being "period correct", also, IMO, perform as well or better in tandem with old-car suspensions and steering. Again, except for longevity and wear. I think that as long as you watch the alignment and rotate them frequently, you can get as many miles as needed in our less active cars. For daily drivers and cars used for very long trips at high speeds, I can definitely see why many would opt for the radials.

But a big part of the driving experience of an old car, to me, is obtained by using equipment similar to what they had on the original cars when they were sold way back when. The "feel" of the car gives constant feedback when driving, and the sometimes painful results are nevertheless quite enjoyable to me. A great deal of this "feel" comes, of course, from ride, steering, braking and handling, and is due, to a great extent, to the tires, (Nothing new there, but I think it bears repeating in this context.)

Safety concerns can be alleviated (somewhat) by using good period tires, and watching your speed, especially on corners and rough roads. Plenty of "bump steer" and "tracking" on my car, but it's all part of the experience.

(Of course I'm an excellent driver. I drive slow in the driveway.)

cutomclipper55,

I checked and could not find your post on this thread. I'm not surprised there's another one. I tried to make this one as useful and educational (my own, included) as possible.

If you care to post the brand and size here, and where you got them, it would be most welcome.

"...they were supposed to be US made and had a different country or origin on the sticker they ride so well and hold air forever that I did not bother to complain about the mistake. Tires are not an area to skimp if you will be driving the car."

Agreed on the last line-- I just don't want to spend huge bucks for tires that have features and longevity I don't need or want.

I'm not as concerned about country of origin as long as they're good and look right. Heck, there are so many "foreign" tires sold on new cars and used as replacements on the roads today (not to mention the purportedly "made in USA" tires that are not made here at all). It's a crapshoot at best. I know there are those who have verified their sourcing and stick to their convictions about buying only American Made tires, and I respect that. I just don't always jump through hoops to purchase everything based on this--if that were even possible. When I'm given the choice between two similar items made here or abroad, I definitely do buy the "Made in USA" one-- and hope it actually was. And also hope it was built with parts sourced here, too.

I thought the radial V bias debate was already hashed out? I can vouch for the effectiveness of new radials on the 55 torsion chassis. The "harshness" and other issues you claim are nonexistent. I cannot comment on 1920s or 30s era cars but these issues if they exist are probably due to suspension deterioration ,lack of maintenance or needed repairs on 50s era or newer cars. If you are performing a 100 pt resto and it will be a trailer queen sure go for the bias look. In that case you will not be concerned about the expense or driving safety. If you will be driving the car you should be concerned with safety and performance and comfort. Why would you buy "blems" for several hundred when for a few hundred more you can have safe, quality tires for a few beans more? If you want a bias tire from the 50s i have one. What are you offering? Bias will wander,lead, grab bridge trestles road grates etc.
Seriously, the size of the radials were a question as the height of the tread area on the sidewall in not the same as the "pie crust" bias. Here is the sticker from the tire supplied and the look of them on the 55. Maybe someone with a 54 or 53 with radials can give their experience. Your car had power steering? Packard offered it starting 53
?