Here's what Corky Coker told the president of the Peach State Cadillac Club some years back.
"If you're restoring a car to showroom condition for judging at concourse d'elegance shows, install Coker bias ply tires. If you actually drive your collector car regularly or do a lot of driving tours, buy Diamondbacks."
The Firestone bias ply tires sold by Coker are made on the original Firestone stamping machines from 70 years ago or whatever. The machines are worn out. Coker pays a royalty to use the Firestone name but the tires are not made by Firestone.
The tires can generally not be properly balanced to the degree you would expect from modern tires because they aren't perfectly round to start with. You can drive them on the freeway (I did for years) but you are not getting optimal performance or handling from the tires. They aren't even as good as they would have been in 1956 due to the wear and tear on the molding machines over the last 8 decades.
I'm surprised the Auburn Deluxe won't work on your rims. Are yours 4" or something? I would call DB and speak with someone about your specific rims. I know that tires spec'd for 5" rims can be installed safely on 4.5" rims. I have them on my Packard.
