tubes for radial tires

[springerpete]

I need new tires and am looking at American Classic radials but have read posts that warn of bad tube performance. If you have had good luck please tell what tubes you use. Thanks, Bill

 

[Ordsgt]

When I put my radials on the car I used the tubes that had been on the car. They all appeared to be in excellent condition. 3000 miles later no issues. I did buy a new tube for a damaged rim and tire from accident, not tire related. . It came from Snyders and it states on it for radial or Bias. The tubes that were on the car are probably about 5-8 years old

 

[old31]

I have the same radials and the tubes have been great for 5,000 miles.

Oh, except one that I pinched installing. But we wont talk about that.

 

[TerryO]

I bought radials and tubes from Coker 2 years ago and so far so good...I have put a few thousand miles and been on several tours with no issue. I have been told there is a sticker inside the tires that will rub a hole in the tube so check that before mounting them (no I didn't know about this until after I mounted mine) .


TOB

 

[ampico-kid]

I replaced the tubes with "radial" type tubes when I purchased the American Classic Radial tires a few years ago. Not sure what the difference is between a regular bias ply tube and a so called radial tube, but decided to err on the side of caution and put in the radial type.

 

[nkaminar]

The best choice is to use tubes made for radial tires. They are thicker and better able to withstand the flexing and heat associated with radial tires. However, the tubes used for bias ply tires can be used if the tire pressure in the radial tires is high enough to limit the temperature of the tires. The tires should be warm to the touch but not hot after a drive. I realize that warm is relative but you should be able to put your hand on the tire and not feel discomfort. Maybe 30 degrees F above ambient. I run 50 psi in the rear tires on my 1930 Fordor and 45 in the front. I know that 35 is printed on the tire so I cannot advise anyone to do this but it works for me. Undamaged modern tires can take 200 psi before they explode. (Don't try this at home.)

My wife recently got a flat on our modern car and drove on the flat for a short distance. The tire sidewalls were damaged because of this and we had to by a new tire. A tire damaged in this way is not safe and will explode at a lower pressure. The videos you see of exploding tires at repair shops have been damaged.

I want to add a joke. When in high school (1950's) I worked in a truck stop. We got a cage to put truck tires in to fill them with air. The cage was used to contain the tire in case it exploded. The tire guy complained. He said that he would not get in the cage with the tire.

 

[Y-Blockhead]

I just installed 5 American Classic Radial Tires on my Town Sedan. I was going to re-use the tubes from my old tires as they had Balance Beads already in them. But a couple of them were stamped on the side "Not for Radial Tires"

So I bought 5 new tubes from Snyder's that are for Radial Tires They are stamped for Radial Use and the stem has "Radial" molded into them.

I just notice on another thread titled "American Classics" that someone said they had problems with these tubes.

I had a bad experience with the tubes that had radial molded on the valve stem. Not the tires fault.

Anyone else have problems with these tubes?

Not to change the subject but the American Classics are ~1" taller than the Lucas tires I replaced and I am having a heck of a time getting the spare tire cover on. I have it sitting out in the sun now, hoping I can stretch it far enough to fit.

 

[Steve in Denver]

I bought 6.00x16 double whitewall radials from Diamond Back including tubes. No problems. Hint, for '36-'39 I used one of those wide 5 adapter plates so the local tire store could mount and balance them. Speedway has them for $60.