Modern Radials

Should be 225 /75/R/15 This is the reason I just lurk most of the time. can't seem to get it right.I also think I should put new tires on .These have ben on about 14 years. Might have 10,000 mi. on them
 
Dave in WY said:
I still have 25 year old Goodyear Radials on my 40 Tudor. Rear tires are P225-75R15 and due to the width of the rear end and wheel size, I have a very slight rubbing of the fender when at Interstate speeds and cornering hard.
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That just ain't GOOD at all! DD
 
I have a friend in San Antonio with a 47 tudor sedan. He runs 15 inch Mercury wheels shod with 215/75R15 tires. He is on his second set of tires with no complaints.

I have heard rumors about radials causing wheel failure for years and no one seemed to know exactly why. Finally member truckdog62563 found this SEMA paper and provided the link over in the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum: http://www.sema.org/files/attachments/WTC-2011-05-Bias-vs-Radial-Tire-Wheel-Fitment.pdf
 
Thanks to all for the info. Running radials on vintage wheels can be a real problem getting repaired on the road, even though many have gotten by for years. In fact, getting anything done anymore is a problem unless its in someones data book. The only solution for me personally, since I drive a lot in remote places, is to go with something the governments and attorneys are all happy with. That means updating the wheels as well as the tires. I am unable to find any suitable tires that will work on rims less than 5.5" and most require 6" rims. Comparing diameters between radials and bias won't work as well as comparing revolutions per mile. That left me with two options to get close to original sizes. Both require updating the wheels to 6 inch width. 6.00x16 have 758 revs per mile vs 225/70x15 with 759 revs per mile. 6.50x16 have 747RPM vs 215/70x16 with 746 revs per mile. The Bridgestone Ecopia 195/80 r16 were not an option as Bridgestone no longer makes them. I'm installing the 225/70 15's on new wheels next week and will report back if there are any problems.
 
JM 35 Sedan said:
The Diamondback tires I have purchased in the past were not "vintage" tires. They were modern tires with one sidewall smoothed by removing the manufacturers markings, therefore, they can be replaced if necessary by tires ordered directectly from the manufacturer or any good tire company that handles that particular name brand.
Also, a member of our cross country tour had a Coker tire fail in a western state. He called Coker and they had two new tires shipped and waiting for his arrival at our next hotel destination. Until then he ran on his spare, plus knew he had other spares available from those traveling with him.

Pictures of the Diamondback modern radial tires on stock '35 4" wide wire wheels. Smaller/fronts are mfg'd by Michelin, larger/rears are mfg'd by Yokohoma. 20k + miles on these so far with no problems.
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What sizes are you using?
 
I run Continental Radials on both my 32 and 39 Fords
The 32 has 6 X 16 rims in front and 7 X 17 rear.
The 39 has 6 X 16 front and 7 X 16 rear. In a slow hard turn, the rear tires will rub on the inner fender wells very slightly
 
klawockvet said:
I am unable to find any suitable tires that will work on rims less than 5.5" and most require 6" rims.
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Well, you could use these, which is what I did, but you are going to pay dearly for them....

These are the Excelsior Stahl radial 750x16 on 4.5" rims and 550x16 on 4" rims. I'm running them tubeless. And yes, they are rated for that size rim. I don't have a lot of miles on them, but so far, I like them a lot.
 

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Heard said:
Well, you could use these, which is what I did, but you are going to pay dearly for them....

These are the Excelsior Stahl radial 750x16 on 4.5" rims and 550x16 on 4" rims. I'm running them tubeless. And yes, they are rated for that size rim. I don't have a lot of miles on them, but so far, I like them a lot.
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Are these the wheels and tires you put on that cool little '36 3-window coupe? If so, we need pics! I've read nothing but overwhelming praise for these Excelsior Stahls on early cars. And like you say, they're rated for the narrower rims. Nice combo, Heard! Some '46-ish caps would finish those off just fine. DD

220965
 
FYI - I just looked up Excelsior Stahl on the internet and found they are the Coker brand for bias-ply/radial look-a-likes.
 
Well DD, since you mentioned '46 ish caps, here you go. The pics ain't great but here are a couple. I'm real happy with how these came out and I was real lucky to find some decent wheels.

While I had the hood off working on some other stuff.

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Heard.......Thank you for the new pics. The car with new tires and wheels turned-out unbelievably nice. You've nailed the "look" with your combination, and the finishing touch with the caps just puts it over the top. Interesting comparison showing what a little suspension work, new tires and new wheels can actually make. NICE little car! DD

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Heard, that little 3W coupe is awesome! Have a 35 5W and would love to get a similar rake. I'll probably debate a while about the Excelsiors. Where your wheels hard to come by? And is there a build thread for the drop? I'm guessing it has a dropped axle.
 
Thanks for the compliments guys! I think the stance worked out really nice. I had a lot of help and guidance from some folks here on the Barn and did a lot of head scratching trying to get it right.

51 - it wasn't too hard to find the wheels. They come up on Ebay every now and then. The problem is finding GOOD ones. In fact, I bought some 15" wheels first, then realized I couldn't find ANY 15" tires that seemed like they would work and look somewhat correct.

I didn't create a build thread here on the Barn, but I have a bunch of pics. The project started out as a brake job, which then led to changing the gearing to 3.54, which then led to the stance, which then....well, you get the idea. I really wanted to fill up that rear fender well. And yes, it is a dropped axle.

I bet I took that front spring apart at least 10 times trying to get what I wanted. Take it apart, shuffle some stuff around, put it back together, mount it in the car, take some measurements, rinse and repeat....

PM me if you want any specifics.
 
The local manager of Les Schwab said he puts about 12 sets of Coker tires on vehicles each year and never uses tubes in them. He said he has been doing that for years and no one has ever had a problem. He is well aware of the diamondbacks, but avoids them because they grind off the sidewall before they apply the whitewall. Just FYI.
 
johnh7 said:
The local manager of Les Schwab said he puts about 12 sets of Coker tires on vehicles each year and never uses tubes in them. He said he has been doing that for years and no one has ever had a problem. He is well aware of the diamondbacks, but avoids them because they grind off the sidewall before they apply the whitewall. Just FYI.
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I think the preceding comment only contains half of the real facts.
I would venture a guess that the majority of the Coker tires the Schwab dealer installs are 14-15" inch on later model wheels/cars.
It would be interesting to know how many of the tire mountings were on '40 or earlier wheels.
My brother has a '37 Ford sedan that needs tires. He wants to drive the car this summer to a few car shows, however, he don't have the money to purchase new tires.
I had a set of near new 600x16 tires sitting on the shelf in my garage, the tires are 3" WW's, they were mounted on '36-39 wheels. I had the tires demounted and gave then to my brother.
He called me yesterday afternoon, ticked off because the tires had gone flat over night.
He had called the tire store that mounted the tires, they said that his rims looked good enough to work with tubeless tires, so that is what they had done, they said that maybe he would have to purchase tubes for the tires.
I told my brother that he had better go look at the tires, they clearly said "TUBETYPE 600X16 4ply, on the side wall.
I had not told my brother that I kept the tubes which were in the tires because I felt he should buy new tubes. I did not add that I had a use for the tubes, is why I had not given them to him.
I think the guy that mounted the tires is about as smart as a box of rocks, probably about the same mentality as the "Schwab Salesman"...
 
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