Radials or bias ply tires for your classic?
Some purists think they want bias ply tyres on their classic car because they look like the original style tyres. Just hold on. Unless you don’t intend to drive the car (except maybe to an occassional show near home), you should be driving on radials. Why? Because they’re much safer. Let’s face it, you’ve got a lot rolling on those tyres. I’m not just talking about your investment, but the safety of you and your family. Radial tyres respond much better in an emergency, and that’s critical with all the cars on the road today. In fact, radials just may save your life. In a quick maneuver, the tyre tread stays in full contact with the road because of the tyre’s construction, giving you maximum control. The radial’s sidewalls can flex, which is what keeps the rubber in contact with the road surface. Bias plies can’t do that, so they inherently handle poorly, and in an emergency, you can easily lose control of the car. Here’s a list of advantages over bias ply tyres.You can decide for yourself if they belong on your car.• Faster response and better control• Easier steering effort• Smoother ride• Less road shock is felt• Less wandering, straighter tracking • Much better puncture resistance• Less rolling resistance, better MPG• Better emergency braking • Better traction on wet roads• Longer tread life As you can see, radial tires are a smart decision. Anything else doesn’t make sense. The use of tubes. Never run tubes. That’s like stepping back 40 years in technology. If you still insist on bias ply tyres, just make sure they’re tubeless. The chance of a tube failing is much greater than a tubeless tyre failure. Why? Tubes create heat and friction, and don’t dissipate heatwell...and a tyre’s worst enemy is heat. Also, over time, tubes “grow” and become too large, and they actually develop creases — and then they split. If a tube is punctured or fails, air loss is immediate, giving you little or no time at all to react. They’re dangerous.Often, a tubeless tyre can be driven for a while with a puncture. My advice is to take all tubes to the swimming pool where they belong. Now, there’s one case where you may have absolutely no choice, and that’s with wirewheels, because the inner spokes protrude into the rim. In most cases, there’s a rubber liner covering the spoke ends. Some manufacturers offer tubeless wire wheels, and my advice is to try to get those. If you have to run tubes, just be sure the spoke ends are covered. Remember that if (and when) your tube is punctured by a spoke end, the loss of air is going to be immediate and without warning. Hang on. What about mixing bias ply tires with radials? My first question is, “Why would you want to?” But yes, you can drive the car down the road, but remember...in the event that you must execute a serious emergency maneuver,you can easily lose control of the car and the results could be disastrous. The two different tyres have vastly different handling characterisics, and a loss of adhesion in either the front or rear could mean loss of control. The difference in the performance characteristics of the two types of tyres is enormous. So this is an unsafe practice.
One of the best posts I have ever read on my close to ten years here on the board. As a daily driver only vehicle my '49 with radials on stock rims with NO TUBES has performed flawlessly nearing 50 K miles. No flats. My first 40 K miles were on a gently used set of Michelin LTX 235 85R 16's. I liked them so much I bought a brand new pair off the 'net, sent to my house and installed by my locally owned used tire place.
There is a lot of misinformation out there from "tire guys" who have 0 miles and 0 experience running a radial on a stock rim. As I near 50 K on my old truck with several 2k trips @ 70-75 mph I wish you all happy motoring and good luck with your decisions.
