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New shoes for the convert.......


BobT-47P15

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When at the Fall Carlisle, PA swap meet the first week of October, I found a few small items that

relate to the P15.  Otherwise, my big purchase of the trip was a set of radial wide whitewalls from

Coker Tire Co.  They had to charge sales tax, but we put the tires in the back seat of the rental

car for the trip home, eliminating the shipping charge.  

 

So, yesterday I decided to get the tires mounted.......drove to my favorite tire shop......and they

took care of it fairly quickly.  The whitewall width is about the same as my old bias ply Firestone

6.70x15s so most people will never notice any difference in appearance.  But, of course, when you

look at the tread area you see an all weather type design instead of a straight tread.  The new

tires are 215-75R-15, which I feel is a good size for our cars.  

 

My old tires had been on the car 7or 8 years (maybe a bit more), but probably did not travel over

perhaps 3,000 miles, so the tread looks like new.  The new radials do make the car handle

better and ride better.  

 

I opted to buy the B F Goodrich Silvertown tires rather than the little cheaper Coker Classics.

Have heard too many complaints about bleed through on the whitewalls and problems 

balancing those Classics. 

 

DSC03962.jpg

 

 

New tire on the left, old one on the right...........

 

DSC03958.jpg

 

The "old" bias ply tires.............

 

DSC03970.jpg

 

And........lastly, what do they do with those stickers you find on new tires????  Why, they made a

"sticker ball".......DSC03960.jpg

 

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Are you're new tires the same height and diameter?

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Does the car steer harder with the radials now ?  Im debating whether to go with bias or radials on my convert.

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When I put the radials on the 1949 Plymouth, I saw no marked difference in low speed/stationary steering..but remarkable improvement in road manners and ride.  I think the higher radial tire pressure combined with the supposedly drawback of the radial profile neutralized the adverse most hear about..that was my experience anyway.  My rims I also upgraded to a slightly wider and newer..that could have had contributing factors.

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Bob, when the shop mounted the tires, did they remove the important sticker? The mylar bar code stuck to the inside of the tire. They were the cause of inumerable flat tires when Mark A tok his trip to Oregon. They chafe against the side of the tube and eventually cause tube failure.

I would double check with you tech at the shop. Otherwise car looks great. Happy motoring.

By the way if I ever catch the guy that decided fruit and vegetables needed stckers, he will rue the day!

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I haven't driven these tires enough to tell just how they will do in the slow or stopped turning situation.  Some radials I had in the past were a bit

tougher to work with.  As Don said......they certainly do improve handling and ride on the road.  

 

I looked and also had the tire shop guys look inside the new tires for any tags or stickers, and did not find any.

The Coker salesman said the same thing......be sure to look and remove any stickers if you find some. 

 

I have put tubes in any tires used on these 1955 Chrysler factory wire wheels........because I am concerned that there could be air leaks where

the spoke ends are joined to the wheel.  Have not had any problems with leaks using tubes.  These rims have round holes -- but my tire shop showed me other

tubeless valve stems in other shapes besides round.  I think big truck shops have oval and other types, if needed.  The radial tubes my shop uses will fit both

14" and 15" tires.....and only sell for about $5 apiece.        

 

If you look at the picture in the original post of the new and old tire side by side.....you can see they are pretty much the same overall size. 

Edited by BobT-47P15
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