600 16 ?? What is bias ply

[Bryan G]

Many have mentioned that, with radials, wheel covers tend to "walk". There are ways to prevent this, including a metal valve stem vs rubber. But, just the fact that they walk shows that those wheels are seeing different forces than they were designed for. 

[LeRoy]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:05 PM, rcl700 said:

I'm looking for information on what tires go on stock p15 16" rims. 

I'm looking at the current tires listing 6.00 16.

Are there modern tires that would fit these cars. Mine are not white wall but I like the look for these cars. 

Are there tunes used on these tires? 

 

I know these questions may sound bumb but these are real questions. 

What are type of tires are yall running? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been tire swapping recently.

 

My car had 6.00 - 16 wide white walls when I got it, they looked nice but were toast.

 

When I got the car reassembled I put a set of Kenda 205/70R-16s on the stock wheels without tubes. They improved the ride and handling but I didn't care for the appearance. There were no clearance issues and they seemed to work on the stock wheels without issue.  

 

After a little time and a few hundred miles with the car on the road I decided it was going to be a driver and got a set of Coker Classics in 6.00 - 16 3" white walls with tubes. The look is much improved in my opinion, the ride is back to the entertaining vintage feel. Two of the Coker Classics took a handful of weight to balance but ride nicely now. I just finished a 2000 mile trip on them and I was pleased with their performance, no wear issues as yet. 

 

The Kenda's were ~ $500 all in, the Coker's were ~$1800 Ugh! Who in their right mind would pay $425 for a single, old fashioned, out of balance, no traction tire when you can get an entire set of nicer ones for a few bucks more.

 

All that said I've got 5 like new Kenda 205/70R-16 sitting in the garage with no home....

Edited March 27, 2023 by LeRoy
forgot the money piece

[Dan Hiebert]

Interesting discussion.  I've read that the tire is what dictates whether or not to use a tube.  I've been doing quite a bit of tire shopping for various projects the last two years, I've noticed the tire manufacturer will specify whether it is a tubeless tire or not.  It may not have been an option back then, but our Terraplane's specifications don't say one way or the other, just the tire size the car was manufactured with.  Much later, our '70 Beetle's specs list both radial and bias-ply tire sizes, but no mention at all whether a tube is needed for either, and VW tended to be anal about that kind of thing.  I also imagine if the manufacturer knows the factory rims won't hold air well, they'll specify tubes.  I've recently swapped bias-plies for radials on two cars at a reputable tire shop.  Neither time did the techs question the beads' capability to seal radials.  I believe the issue with radials on original rims is the mounted width of the radial, too wide a tire and the tire's bead won't fully seat onto the rim.  Coker, for one, lists minimum rim width for their radial tire sizes for that reason, I think.

[LeRoy]

9 minutes ago, Dan Hiebert said:

Interesting discussion.  I've read that the tire is what dictates whether or not to use a tube.  I've been doing quite a bit of tire shopping for various projects the last two years, I've noticed the tire manufacturer will specify whether it is a tubeless tire or not.  It may not have been an option back then, but our Terraplane's specifications don't say one way or the other, just the tire size the car was manufactured with.  Much later, our '70 Beetle's specs list both radial and bias-ply tire sizes, but no mention at all whether a tube is needed for either, and VW tended to be anal about that kind of thing.  I also imagine if the manufacturer knows the factory rims won't hold air well, they'll specify tubes.  I've recently swapped bias-plies for radials on two cars at a reputable tire shop.  Neither time did the techs question the beads' capability to seal radials.  I believe the issue with radials on original rims is the mounted width of the radial, too wide a tire and the tire's bead won't fully seat onto the rim.  Coker, for one, lists minimum rim width for their radial tire sizes for that reason, I think.

I was concerned about the rivets ability to seal air in. It may be the paint, 70 years of corrosion or just a nice tight fit but I didn't lose any air without tubes. 

[Sniper]

11 hours ago, Bryan G said:

Many have mentioned that, with radials, wheel covers tend to "walk". There are ways to prevent this, including a metal valve stem vs rubber. But, just the fact that they walk shows that those wheels are seeing different forces than they were designed for. 

 

Except there is an anti-walk add on that was designed in the days of bias plies.

 

https://www.oldmoparts.com/parts/e_wheels/chrome-valve-stem-cover/

[rcl700]

7 hours ago, LeRoy said:

I've been tire swapping recently.

 

My car had 6.00 - 16 wide white walls when I got it, they looked nice but were toast.

 

When I got the car reassembled I put a set of Kenda 205/70R-16s on the stock wheels without tubes. They improved the ride and handling but I didn't care for the appearance. There were no clearance issues and they seemed to work on the stock wheels without issue.  

 

After a little time and a few hundred miles with the car on the road I decided it was going to be a driver and got a set of Coker Classics in 6.00 - 16 3" white walls with tubes. The look is much improved in my opinion, the ride is back to the entertaining vintage feel. Two of the Coker Classics took a handful of weight to balance but ride nicely now. I just finished a 2000 mile trip on them and I was pleased with their performance, no wear issues as yet. 

 

The Kenda's were ~ $500 all in, the Coker's were ~$1800 Ugh! Who in their right mind would pay $425 for a single, old fashioned, out of balance, no traction tire when you can get an entire set of nicer ones for a few bucks more.

 

All that said I've got 5 like new Kenda 205/70R-16 sitting in the garage with no home....

Did you paint your rims or have them power coated? I like the cream/tan contrast. 

[rcl700]

7 hours ago, LeRoy said:

I've been tire swapping recently.

 

My car had 6.00 - 16 wide white walls when I got it, they looked nice but were toast.

 

When I got the car reassembled I put a set of Kenda 205/70R-16s on the stock wheels without tubes. They improved the ride and handling but I didn't care for the appearance. There were no clearance issues and they seemed to work on the stock wheels without issue.  

 

After a little time and a few hundred miles with the car on the road I decided it was going to be a driver and got a set of Coker Classics in 6.00 - 16 3" white walls with tubes. The look is much improved in my opinion, the ride is back to the entertaining vintage feel. Two of the Coker Classics took a handful of weight to balance but ride nicely now. I just finished a 2000 mile trip on them and I was pleased with their performance, no wear issues as yet. 

 

The Kenda's were ~ $500 all in, the Coker's were ~$1800 Ugh! Who in their right mind would pay $425 for a single, old fashioned, out of balance, no traction tire when you can get an entire set of nicer ones for a few bucks more.

 

All that said I've got 5 like new Kenda 205/70R-16 sitting in the garage with no home....

I may need to look you up when I finally get my hands on my car. It's currently in CA. Working on pricing shipping to GA. Looks like way back when, my 48 was very close to your current color ?

She needs a bath!

[rcl700]

Just now, rcl700 said:

I may need to look you up when I finally get my hands on my car. It's currently in CA. Working on pricing shipping to GA. Looks like way back when, my 48 was very close to your current color ?

She needs a bath!

 

[LeRoy]

1 hour ago, rcl700 said:

Did you paint your rims or have them power coated? I like the cream/tan contrast. 

Powder coat