Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Good Morning Fellow Packardites,

I'm looking to find a cross reference table from bias to radial tires, and recommended vendors for my '48 Touring Sedan.
Yes, I realize they are tube type. Any and all suggestions appreciated!

Here's one from Coker in their hardcopy catalog, probably on their website as well. If your rims are in good condition you should have no problem with tubeless tires of either type. Be aware there may be clearance issues with rear tires of larger profile than the OEM tire; at it's most severe you may have to deflate tires to install and then inflate once they are mounted.

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And here is one more chart from DiamondBack. It has essentially the same info as the Coker chart but gives one more important number and that is the height or diameter of the tires. Radials generally being fatter tend to have a bit less height which can affect speedo reading significantly if the size change is very much.

There are some tire conversion places online which also give other radial dimensions for those interested but one good site also has a speedometer correction calculator. The link to that section is below the dimension information. After entering the data it will give an idea of how much a size change will affect the speedometer reading.tiresize.com/height-calculator/

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last year I got a set of American Classic wide white walls for my '55 Clipper. These tires are radials, but have a higher profile like bias plies. Plus they have sort of fluted edges near the tread. I have had old car guys look at them and think they were bias plies.

One note, though -- they are not cheap! Mine cost me about $260 each. Ouch!!!

americanclassictires.com/

Mine cost me about $260 each. Ouch!!!

I'd be real happy with a price that low. Though they still look like nearly new tires I'm thinking seriously about replacing the 27-year old Lesters on my '34. Looks like whitewalls plus tubes and gutter strips will be about $350 each.

I've had Coker for years and LOVE them.

According to that chart my 56 speedometer should be close.
I'm on the Pa. Turnpike a good bit and they have measured miles. Guess I have to dig out my stopwatch to verify the speedo.