Anyone want to recommend some white walls?

[spitfire]

Hey everyone. I've owned the 1950 Chrysler Windsor for a couple months now and it's been a pretty cool deal. It's been a lot of work, but all worth it. The car has used black wall radials on it, 205s in the front and 215s in the rear. The guy wanted to put ok tires on it, so it was safe to sell and drive for a little while. Well, the driver side front tire won't hold decent pressure for more than a few days and now the passenger side rear is starting to do the same. The tires on the car are 11-13 years old. so it's time.

I had been considering these 760-15 stock size bias ply tires:

http://onlyoldiesgarage.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17075&cat=0&page=1

I've been reading about bias ply tires and I've found lots of mixed reviews. I've been told that they look great and are of period, but they don't handle as well, ride a bit more rough, have more rolling resistance, get flat spots when cold, and that they don't last as long. My dad says that he doesn't remember having much of an issue with the old bias ply tires, other than tracking over ruts in the road. I'm not rich by any means, so the price makes them more attractive as well. Also, this tire offers a 3" white wall, while most radials of this size offer 2 3/4".

The other tires that I really like the looks of are:

http://onlyoldiesgarage.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16737&cat=0&page=1

They look like they offer a nice ride and I really like the look of this tire over the other radials, but they look like they belong on a 56 Cadillac (and no, I'm not just saying that because of the emblem on the hub cap ). They also look like they are closer to a 3" white wall. After shipping and installation, they will run me close to $1,200, which is pretty expensive for just tires.

For my questions: Are the new bias ply tires better or any different than the old ones that everyone remembers (other than polyester construction)? Do any of you run new bias ply tires? For my daily driver, is it really worth it to shell out the extra bones and purchase the more expensive radials, or can I get by with bias plys and not ruin the decent ride the car provides? The recommended radial size is P225 75/R15. Do any of you recommend a different size and why?

Thanks for the help,

Dan

Edited March 28, 2011 by spitfire

[austinsailor]

Here's a choice I plan to use next time. Modern tires with the old time whitewall.

http://www.dbtires.com/

[Oldguy48]

You might want to check out Diamond Back Classic Radial tires. I just purchased a set of 3" wide white walls in 215/75R15 for my P15, and the cost was around $800. They get new tires frfom the manufacturer, and vulcanize the white walls onto the new tire. My tires were Coopers. Had them in about 3 days delivered to my door.

www.dbtires.com

[RobertKB]

I put a set of 650 -16 Firestone bias ply tires made Coker on my '38 Chrysler seven years ago. No cracking and no flat spots after sitting all winter. I am very happy with them. Happy enough in fact that I just bought the same tires in 670-15 for my '48 Dodge D25.

Got to decide what you are going to use your car for. I drive mine as much as I can but they really don't get that many miles. Radials might be nice if you drive a lot.

I find a couple of my older cars with bias tires tend to wander a bit but my '38 Chrysler is really good and doesn't wander much at all because it had a total front end rebuild. There is nothing in the front end that was not rebuilt including the steering box. I think that makes a huge difference.

Good luck with your project.

[aero3113]

I have 700 X 15 Radials on my 50 Plymouth and I love them. Diamond Back carries them they are made by Sumitomo.

[randroid]

Gents,

How many new cars are sold in the world every year with bias-ply tires? Think there's a reason?

-Randy

[RobertKB]

Gents,

How many new cars are sold in the world every year with bias-ply tires? Think there's a reason?

-Randy

Yes, radials are a superior tire. However, for my old cars I like bias because they go with the car and the era it came from. They are not unsafe, just different.

[BobT-47P15]

The radials do make these old cars handle better than with bias ply.

If your steering has much play, then it will wander due to ruts in the

pavement. If steering is tight, you may not notice that so much.

I ran some radials several years ago, and it did make mine handle

notably better as the steering is a little loose. I replaced them with

bias plys because I wanted the wide whites in a certain width which

could be had from Coker. The tires (Firestones) have been fine, but

the car does squiggle due to surface of the road. Hopefully, when I

need to replace these tires, I can get some radials again. Too bad

they are so pricey.

[Andydodge]

Bias or Crossplies as I call them are fine and do have the "old time" sidewall look..............my 41 Plymouth came with 6.00 x 16 Republic crossplies.......I'd forgotten just what a pain in the arse crossplies are.......they wander, track and generally make their own way down the road..........I decided to replace them with Coker Classic Radials when I got the Wheel Vintique chrome Smoothies, these are 15x6 and 15x7, tyres are 195/75 x15 and 235/75x 15.best thing I did, car steers,handles and brakes better......my choice and I can understand people using crossplies............but for my money just a better way.........andyd

[Al B. Bach]

I run Bias plys on my 67 F250 because they are about the only option for the tall skinny look I wanted. Like others have said, they do tend to wander and it gets much worse if you have a lot of play in your steering. On my truck they are 7 ply I believe so it may make a difference but, I think they are outlasting radials. I even have the original spare on the ground right now and it still looks like new with very little checking.

A couple other options you may want to consider are cut whites and painted. I have tried both and can tell you that they look fine for a driver. I cut some for a rat rod project I was working on years ago and nobody could tell. It's a very messy job though and you certainly need a resporator when doing it.

I also did some painted whites for my bike and really liked how they came out because after about a month they had yellowed and cracked to the point that they looked just like vintage whites. This may not be good for most but I wanted the old look so I liked it. My car is very original so I am thinking about painting them to get the same look. There are whitewall paints out there that say they don't yellow but it looks like the reviews on them ar mixed. Just do a quick google search if interested.

The first shot of the bike is right after I painted them. The second shot is from a couple years later. There not as easy to see but you get the idea. There are a few people out there now using white roof coating and it looks very promising. I may give it a try.

[flattiefreak]

I actually prefer the bias plys on my Plymouth. Seems alot easier to turn the wheel while at a stop.

[52b3b Joe]

every car reacts to them different from what i've seen. the 54 chrysler new yorker 2 door hard top we had put you on the edge of the seat driving with bias tires, but radials turned it into a new sports car, but our 41 desoto is the opposite, radials seem to make the ride and handling worse so we have bias tires on it.

[claybill]

i have both...get the bias and savve 500 bucks!

bill

[Tom Skinner]

I run bias, but what is important is getting the right size.

By that I mean the width especially because the car will handle like new when the right size tire is on it.

Run them wider than they're supposed to and they could rub the inner fenders as well. The right width is extremely important for proper alignment wear and handling.

Tom

[Desotodav]

I'm running 6.50 x 16 Firestone 4 ply whitewalls on my Desoto truck. No complaints here. They did cost me about $350 each, but well worth it for the look!

Desotodav

[spitfire]

Wow, you guys sure do have some gorgeous rides. I'd love for my Chrysler to look like new again. Makes me want to get a paint job asap.

Well, I've been considering the prices and I just can't justify almost $1,200 for tires for this car. I just bought her and she needs other things too. It does need tires though, and I would like white walls, so I think I'm going with the original 760-15 sized bias tires. I have a choice between Coker and Universal brand. I'm leaning toward the Universals. They are a bit cheaper, but I think they might be a better tire. I've heard mixed things about Coker. I'd like to save the few hundred for other things in the future, like carpet and paint, which it needs. Being this is a car I take to college, I don't think I need to go all out on everything. I appreciate the advice on the bias tires. You guys are helping me more than you imagine.

[aero3113]

Check ebay, I got lucky and got my white walls for $650. They were brand new with the nubs and blue still on them. I also got lucky because they were local and did not have to pay for shipping .

[Al B. Bach]

I just noticed your from Windsor CA. and driving a Windsor. How's that for cool and ironic!

I wish I could afford some new whitewalls but money is tight so I am just going to go with the roof paint idea.

Good luck with your car and make sure you share some pictures with the new tires.

Later,

Carl

[glendale]

6.70 15 firestones.7.10 might be a bit big. are you going to lower it?

[Dodgeb4ya]

I have 8.20 Denman wide whites on my 1950 8 cyl. NewYorker hardtop. They look good and correct for the big Chrysler cars.

A couple pictures-one with really ugly narrow whites and the other showing the 4-3/4" wide Denmans.

Bob

[spitfire]

Hey everyone, sorry to bring back my dead post, but I figured it would be unecessary to create a second one on the same topic, when I just made it a couple weeks back.

I stumbled upon Lucas' tire website and found a tire manufactured by General Tire called the "dual 90". It's a tire that came out in the 50s. It has two treads and they aren't the typical straight grove tires. I know that most of the issues that reside with bias tires are in the design itself, but I know that any straight tread tire can track poorly on the wrong road. These don't have that straight tread, so is it possible that they might handle a little better? What about the dual tread design? I read that they have a deeper tread, resulting in longer life. One ad from the 50s said that they should last you 50K miles (I kind of call b.s. on that one). I also saw a couple write ups saying that they were self-sealing if they became punctured by a nail or similar. They look like a neat tire, and I can get the correct size for my car in a 4" ww for $159 per tire. Plus, they are in Long Beach, so the shipping would possibly be cheaper. There would be tax, though. What do you guys think of these?

http://www.lucasclassictires.com/GeneralTire.html

This is a 3" wall in the 760-15 size that I wanted:

I really like the idea of a 4" white wall. I started to look at 2 3/4" radials, but I don't think that 2 3/4" is enough for that period of car.

Also, if I go with larger tires (like Bob did with his amazing New Yorker), won't I have to recalibrate the speedometer?

Thanks again everyone,

Dan

Edited April 11, 2011 by spitfire

[Dodgeb4ya]

Here is a picture of a car I just finished up for a customer and I didn't even check what the tires were-size type ect!

[spitfire]

Wow, Bob, that's an absolutely beautiful car! That's my car with a good paint job (and some other things). The lighter blue is even my cars stock color. I hope to have it repainted by this summer or so. Thanks a ton for showing me that.

I ended up ordering those General Dual 90 tires. They were $159 each plus tax and only $10 each to ship them. They have arrived just two days later! I'm really impressed. I can't get them installed until this weekend, so I'll be chomping at the bit until then. They are so much taller than the radials presently on the car. I'll take some pictures once they are installed and make a post about it. Don't laugh, though! It may look a little funny with nice ww tires and a bad paint job.

[greg g]

Please do not expect the new ones to be self sealing. These are tires buing built with General moulds. They may or may not be made with the same materials and constrution and features. The General brand is still out their but they were taken over by Continental a few years back.

As far as tire wear mileage, my father used to always buy Generals after the Goodyear Firestone oem tires wore out. I do not remember him ever buying a 3rd set for any of the cars he put the Generals on.

[Al B. Bach]

Looking forward to how they work out! I am thinking the same tires for my 53 but it will probably have to wait until this winter. Keep us posted.

Carl