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I had my first radial Michelin tires on my 1960 Desoto back in the late 60's and they were so hard they lasted about 80000miles. When they hit highway expansion strips at 80mph my teeth would rattle. Radial tires do seem to harden with age especially snow tires and I usually have to buy new ones every 5 years regardless of mileage as they become so hard they are dangerous in any wet, let alone, icy roads. I am still debating whether to buy radial or bias 7.00-15's for my '47 S.C.. I really like the blackwall look better than wide whites which give the car an understated look and accentuate the body lines and the cloisonne hubcaps,are more period correct and of course are much less expensive. The car presently has "el cheapo" brand 235/75/15's blackwall radials which are too wide for my taste and give the car a resto-rod look. They are a big improvement over the 30 year old belted tires G78-15's that came with the car. I drove for many years on bias ply tires in the pre moving radar era (both chasing and being chased) at speeds in the 85-120mph range and never noticed any handling problems if the front end was tight so I am swaying(no pun intended)towards bias plies for authenticity and price.

I have a set of Firestone radials on my 78 LTD. They're 9-10 years old and still look and ride fine. That car was only driven maybe 100 miles a year for 9 years. What I do is overinflate them to 35-38 before storage. This help prevent flat spots. Prior to that, it had Goodyear Polysteels on it. Possibly from early 80's or original. I changed them due to age but they still looked fine.
I'm still using bias tires on my Packard. The ones on the car are showing their age and will be changed soon, getting splits between treads.

Here's the problem:
Reproduction parts are exactly that! They are reproduction parts. This includes tyres. THAT MEANS that they mite not meet oem specs. Which means that bia belted tyres of the 40's thru 70's may have met higher quality control and production specificateions that what is available now.

FOR DECADES i have bought and ran the CHEAPEST tyres i could ever find and looked hard for them. Usualy buy them one width size bigger than oem spec. At one time i was running as much as 40K miles/year across 3 or 4 vehicles including modern grocery getters and special interest cars/ m/c's. Premium grade/priced tyres are strictly a gimmick.

If the 235's are too wide then drop down to 225's or maybe even 215's.

There is a common falacy about 'wider tyres'. The most important tyre spec (FOR ANY APPLICATION, racing, grocery getter or even off road (except hi floatation requirements)) is to keep as large a diameter as possible. Even if it means sacrificeing on width.

THe larger diameter is especialy critical for pre-55 vehicles due to the low rpm engines that were common of the pre-55 period.

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There is a DOT requirement for all tires must now to be date coded. The date code is a four-digit one with the first two digits being the week of the year and the last two being the year in which the tire was manufactured. Tires that are 5 years old or older can not be sold. I think this is due to the new compounds of which modern tires are made. Also, owners with tires over 5 years old should consider whether their tires are safe to use even if the thread and sidewalls look ok. Maybe this should be called the Tire Manufactures Economic Recovery Act.

For the What It Is Worth Dept.: Several years ago I bought a set of bias ply wide whitewall tires from Coker for my 1939 Cadillac 60 Special. Very soon after mounting them they started cracking where the whitewall and black sidewall met.

(o{I}o)

PackardV8, If you are referring to my posting I agree that staying as close to original tire diameter is a good idea. I bought the 235/75/15's because tire diameter is about as close to the original 7.00-15's 29" as I could find. I also have reservations about the "boutique" repro tires possibly being inferior to OEM tires since they are probably made for show cars. I usually buy budget tires for my cars also and have had excellent service from them.

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I bought a cheap set of radial tires a few years ago, replacing the Michelins that were on my Saturn. I hated them. The car handled better with worn out Michelins than with the cheap tires.

It sounds like I better keep my 40-year-old bias ply tires as long as I can on my 1940 Packard. I have a feeling if I replace them, I will not be happy at all with either their performance or longevity.

I bought the cheapest tires I could buy from Walmart to make my Clipper a roller. So far they have worked great at holding the chassis above the garage floor. I let you know the road manners of those tires when the car is actually drivable!

Now we're getting into what I really need to know about. What makes one bias ply tire better than another? Is there a rating system that applies like they have for other tires? I'm just surprised to see so many different price ranges for tires that appear to be the same.

Buying new tires for ANYTHING is a crap shoot any way u look at it. The problem is that modern radials (like them or not (i don't)) is all that is available EXCEPT in vintage repop tyres.

West had undesireable experience with a set of cheap modern tires. I've had one or two such tires fail for me too. NONETHELESS i know of severl cases where PREMIUM grade tires have failed or caued poor driving comfort too.

It is strictly a crap-shoot.

But here is another issue with tires:

Most car owners will usualy replace tires when they are worn 75%. Also, there are road hazards such as gutter spikes and large items that can damage a premium tire just as fast as a cheap tire forcing replacement.

Let me put it another way:

Tires are a lot like toothpicks. A cheap one will do the job just a well and just as long as a gold plated platinum core toothpick.

The question is strictly one of bragging rights.

Clarification:

I stated earlier that i bought the cheap tires usualy one width size wider than oem spec. That is because the cheaper tires are usualy narrower than premium grade tyres both marked the same size. Rolling radius can be a bit smaller too in the cheaper tires. So that has to be taken into consideration.

The bottom line for me is that if i tear up a tire due to road hazards then i'd rather ruin a $25 tire than a $300 tire. I've ruined both type on a few occasions over the years. Know others that have too.

Again, it's a crap shoot. Or, what kind of cocktail party bragging rites one has to have.