BobT-47P15 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 When I found the "lost" 49 Plymouth business coupe a few days ago, the current owner had replaced the old bias ply tires with new radials. He said the store sold him what they called "trailer tires".....are 205 x 15 size. Fit on the rims just fine and look good. Don't know what the difference is between trailer tires and car tires.....maybe they are a bit more narrow. Quote
dezeldoc Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 The sidewalls are different also, i would not use them on a car, had a friend that put a set on his datsun p/u, and after 2 weeks he pulled them off said it was undriveable. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted June 17, 2009 Author Report Posted June 17, 2009 Well....I may need to pass this info back to the owner. He lives on some rural roads about 25 miles from town. So, those tires may not be a good thing for him. The silly thing is.....regular tires will fit just fine..... Diameter and height is the same based on size used..... Quote
claybill Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 WWW tire info...about coker tires.... the AMERICAN CLASSICS sold by coker are in fact made in usa. by a tire co. in pennsylvania..excellent quality. (I used to live 6 blocks from the factory as a kid and knew many people there.) the COKER CLASSICS sold by coker are made in mexico by the denman tire co. of ohio. made in their mexico plant. the BFG mark is also made in pennsylvania but may be shared by other mfg as well, not really sure on that. claybill off to wisconsin tomorrow am, with my 41 coupe and teardrop!!!! sailing along. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 other than the traction value of the tread design of a trailer tire, the stiffer sidewall will in fact be closer to the sidewall flex of the OEM tire when the car was new and giving the driver a better handling car is regard to sidewall flex of these beasts. If the vehicle is driven in fair weather and with any sense of general wawareness of road conditions, these tires ought to fair well...the traction factor is still within limits of safety as they are also designed to be effective on trailers that have brakes installed. As a note, these tires are about the same ride quality as a truck LT series.. Quote
captden29 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 remember our cars have no seat belts, air bags, crumple zones, and many other safety features. IMHO, trailer tires are a no-go.saving money here is just plain foolish. i recently bought tires made in china against my better judgement, but so far so good. the dealer claims they have given great service without major problems. called kumho, a strange name. i admit price was a factor. dennis Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted June 17, 2009 Author Report Posted June 17, 2009 I think I had a car with some of those Kumho tires several years ago....no problems that I can recall. I see the name here and there on signs. I think the reason the fellow purchased the trailer tires was because he thought they were somehow a good fit for the older rims and for the car. I took it that he had asked the tire store what would work best on that car....and that was their suggestion. I didn't comment as I didn't know what the differences were from car tires. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 a trailer tire compared to OEM style Goodyears or such....the heat factor of the trailer tire is better due to higher load capacity per say...sidewall has less flex with these higher profile tires and probably look right at home on these old cars. As for safety..again, trailer, more rigorous duty..as for tread design..compared to the Firestone classic, Coker etc etc they will appear same and as that of the OEM tread..the trailer tire will ride and handle better due to the sidewall stiffer than the 2 ply stand polyglass of modern tires..and how many of these cars will be crusing at extended highway speeds on the interstate at 75+MPH and if they do...I am not pushing these tires but I cannot see where they would be a problem..compared with anyone riding on the classic non radial tires..these are still going to be an improvement.. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 went to the net to read a bit...here is an interesting take on trailer tires...lot of what I said here earlier... http://www.taskmasterproducts.com/acatalog/whybuytrailertires.pdf Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) yeah..its called a stiffer sidewall...more in line to a light truck tire..gets rid of the soft ride engineered in the P rated tire..that is all..they are driveway rated... these may just be the missing link between the P profile and the original bias ply hgight and sidwall structure..of course odds are you will be out WWW's Edited June 17, 2009 by Tim Adams Quote
p10plymouth Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 When I bought my 2 wheel tow dolly... It had regular tires on it (might of been radials) I reconditioned the trailer and went to my tire shop and told them what I was doing .. He recommend trailer tires telling me when I load a car on the 2 wheel dolly it will give me "higher" clearance becuase of the stiffer sidewalls. And would not heat up .under the weight... All I know is pulling a 2 wheel dolly are not meant for high speed driving otherwise I see no problem using them .As long as they are the same size recommend for the car.. In Pa. I do not think there is any law for inspection that say you can not use them unless the size is off.. I will ask a field inspector next time I see him. Quote
p10plymouth Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 When I bought my 2 wheel tow dolly... It had regular tires on it (might of been radials) I reconditioned the trailer and went to my tire shop and told them what I was doing .. He recommend trailer tires telling me when I load a car on the 2 wheel dolly it will give me "higher" clearance becuase of the stiffer sidewalls. And would not heat up .under the weight... All I know is pulling a 2 wheel dolly are not meant for high speed driving otherwise I see no problem using them .As long as they are the same size recommend for the car.. In Pa. I do not think there is any law for inspection that say you can not use them unless the size is off.. I will ask a field inspector next time I see him. Just spoke to the tire shop ... AS long as they do not say NHU whichis " not highway use ".. It will not ride as nice nor handle as nice but if same size Pa inpection could not reject them for what they are (condition another issue) He did ? why someone would want to .... Quote
dezeldoc Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 Trailers do not turn so think about that when you turn the steering, the sidewalls are not going to give as they should during a turn, their is a reason thay are rated as trailer tires, they don't want sidewall flex on a trailer. not saying you could not use them, just saying I would not use them. ps, the tire stores around here will not put them on a car, something about liability. Quote
old woolie Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Cannot put them on a car or truck here, cannot use anything but trailer tires on trailers here. Quote
Niel Hoback Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 I put 215/75-15 radial car tires on a trailer and hauled it from Idaho to Indiana. Pulled like dream, straight and smooth. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Posted June 19, 2009 I ran some used 15 inch car radials on a 4 by 8 foot open trailer quite a few years ago. They worked fine. This trailer was wierd in that it had no springs under it. Was a home made item using the front axle of some old car. The radials were good because of the spring in the sidewalls.....gave it a little cushion. Quote
oldmopar Posted June 21, 2009 Report Posted June 21, 2009 Not sure about ride quality but the tires on my trailer are 12 ply rated f max capacity 2790 each tire these are 8-14.5 tires so I would think stronger then car tires. However I do have 215 x 75 x 15 radials on my 52 suburban and like the ride Quote
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