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

I thought I would close this round of this topic out in hopes that it helps someone else down the road.

After talking to Coker while in Hershey, they claim that they have an extra step in the manufacturing process that wasn’t done “back in the day”. I’m not sure I buy it, but I guess it’s plausible. They claim that they now inflates the tires immediately when they come out of the mold and are still hot. That could explain the Firestone 7x16 tires being wider than the stated specification. If that is the case, it doesn’t excuse Coker claiming a treadwidth of 5.6 in while the actual treadwidth measured 5.9 in.

Anyway, I ended up trying the BF Goodrich 7x16 tires and they fit perfectly. The fit the rubber inside the fender well and the hard covers fit great. With these tires, the hard covers are not difficult to get on, but do fit securely. I’m very happy with the BF Goodrich tires.

So, my conclusion is that anyone who has sidemounts for a car that uses 7.00x16 tires is to stay away from the Firestones from Coker and go with the BF Goodrich.

There was a question asking if the tires were radial or bias ply, but the question seems to have been deleted. To clarify, the tires I am referring to were all bias ply. The real issue is that Coker advertises the 7x16 Firestone bia ply tires as having a treadwidth of 5.6 inches. But, in fact the tread width is 5.9+ inches.