The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Bias tires on front, OK with radials on the rear??????

Seems I heard this was ok, can anybody get me up to speed on this old question.
I'm replacing the rear splits on my 53 flatbed with 16" rims that came with these TALL radials.

Radials and bias ply do not mix in any configuration (save absolute emergencies perhaps). That's my understanding.

yes, it's "legally acceptable", not the other way round, and never mix types on the same axle - applies to bias and bias-belted tires as well

Bill

had a 61 ford with bias on rear and radials on front, road walked all over the road. it was bad

On the rear is ok unless you have 4 wheel steering!

Not only do you not want to mix bias and radials but different brands of tires can make a difference. I had one brand on the front and a different brand on the rear (same size & all radials) and my '84 Silverado wandered like I was drunk. I replaced two so all were the same construction and the problem went away.

I had bias 8-19.5 tires all around on my 52 1 ton, when I was ready for a pair of new grippers I put a pair of radial 8R19.5 tires on the rear, and left the bias ply tires on the front.
Absolutely no problems, Put many hundred miles on it both loaded and unloaded, around town and on the highway, drove just fine.

I had also rebuilt (with about 8,000 miles by then) the entire drive-train, including new springs, pins, bushings, kingpins and bushings, steering box, tie rod and drag link. Not sure if this saved me form having problems or not, but the truck drove great with bias or the mix of bias and radials.

It never even occurred to me that there would be a problem having one type on the front, and the other on the rear, I could see a problem from side to side, but not front to back..

Grigg

i had bias on the front and radials on the rear on my 54/3100 for ten years no problem. but put the radials on the front and bias on back lots of trouble. ron

Since bias tires tend to follow grooves in the road, it makes since to only run them on the front. You don't want the rear axle trying to steer the truck around. Joe

If you have them on the front you BETTER have them on the rear. Tires on the rear may want to steer, however they can't.

I learned something new in this thread thanx to Bill and Grigg.

I had bias tires on the front of my 59 and radials on the back. I found that the radials would 'push' the front end around turns, so you may want to take turns slowly until you correct the setup. One thing to avoid is passenger car radials on your truck. They tend to 'wallow' and float back and forth across the lane.

Chris

DOT regulations specify that if tire construction types are to be mixed on the same vehicle, bias must go on front, radials in the rear. Mixing different construction types on same axle is illegal, and mixing in general is not reccomended.

This was years ago, but I learned back then to never mix bias ply and radials on a smaller truck (Pick-ups and 1-Tons), but it is OK on a larger truck (2-Ton or larger). I had a '67 GMC 7500 (Class 7 Truck) and got the OK when I asked about running bias ply on the front and radials on the back. Altho I personally prefer one or the other on both axels.

Bill

well....actually I have the opposite set-up now: radials in front and bias in back. Probably only driven 200 miles in short trips. But I have experienced no ill effects; wobble, wander, shutter or vibration. Course I did overhaul the front axle/steering, replaced all shocks and balanced all the wheels. Really it drives incredibly smooth and feels safe and secure at 50-55.

better hope the law doesn't notice Frank, I think that configuration is illegal everywhere - it's not about how it feels, it's about safety in problem situations

Bill

MY GOD man!! DON'T DO IT!! They'll explode!!!!!

Naa, thas only frod ExPloders that do that!

I had a 79 Pinto one time and a tire dealer offered me a brand new set of pirelli radials that some guy with a new BMW wanted changed out to some other brand. The price was so good I jumped at the offer. Those tires would allow the Pinto to make a u-turn at 50 MPH. …Never seen anything like it. Now if you need to make a quick turn in the old truck God forbid, your tires will be heading back the other direction and you'll be on your side. Words for the Wise...

The useful info has been posted. Now we're getting off topic. Thread closed.