The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop tire concerns

Have 650-16 bias Copper on my 49. Thought i might change for radials as they are about 10 years old. Went to the shop and was told the tires are still good why change. We checked all the rims and tires and one rim was not to good laterally. I changed it and now although the rim is good the tire (or any of them)may have a high spot and I get this slight bouncing/oscillating ride. Very slight and I'm certain no one notices it but me. However it does get tiring after a drive.
Was wondering if this bounce/oscillation is from the high spot and if I may as well go ahead and change to radial tires before long.

i put radials on mine for safety and because they're not as expensive as the bias ply tires. also, they ride smoother, give better gas mileage and don't need an inner tube to add weight and throw off the balance of the tire.
i know they're not original equipment, but neither was the seatbelts i put in. slight changes for safety's sake.
tony

Where did you find radials cheaper than bias ply? The cheapest radials I've found for my 38 600x16 are almost $200 each & the bias ply is $89 plus mount & balance. I want to shop where you do.

Radials for mine Uniroyal complete, balance, valves, installed and taxes are quoted at $642.00. That price is $200.00 less than some other shops in town offering the exact same product/service. However my bias ply tires do run nice except for my concern mentioned above.
Bill

big o tires. got kumho's for 88 a tire.
the whitewall ply tires i saw in the catalog were about 140 a piece.
tony

We have a Kumho dealer in town but he said they don't carry the 600x16 radial equivelant size (165R-16). What size did you buy? :confused:

Try LT215/85R-16'sThey're actually closer to a 7.00X16,but they work great on older trucks.
Speed

Is what you're feeling a high spot or a flat spot? The bias plys develop a flat spot when parked, but it goes away after driving a few miles. That's part of driving these old trucks.

Radials will give a smoother ride, but are harder to steer due to the higher rolling friction. I replaced my front tires with bias ply, my dealer stocks an import from Mexico that's about $20 a tire less than a low dollar radial.

Hi Fred T - No I know what the flat spotting does and I do get that for the first mile or so and once warmed up it goes away. This is almost like that but much less obvious and I feel it when I am going slowly.
Bill

Ya know I just replaced my tires last week. I brought the truck down and I bet that the set on there was the 2nd set ever bought for the truck. The guy couldnt believe how old they were.

On the stock rims I got a set of Toyos, radials, and they set me back about 540$. One of the rims was bent pretty bad and the other 3 only slightly...

They put the bad one on the pass side so I wouldnt feel it as much, and I dont except when doing fast turns.

I dont know the actual size but Im already impressed at how they grip. Ive got a little toyota tacoma and bought expensive racing tires for it and it hugs the road so well around corners Ill never buy cheap tires again! And in the rain WOW! You can feel them adjust and not hydroplane!

Mines a 53 chev. -Jeff

Yes, good tires make all the difference in the rain and the snow (especially the snow!)

I buy Coopers or Goodyears (depending upon how much money I have). I've got Cooper Discoverer HT's on my truck and I had the AT version on my Jimmy and they are/were really great.

It sounds like it may be a belt twisting up. I've had tires do that many times but it's normally toward the end of their lifespan when the tread is almost to the wearbars. If it is a twisted belt it'll get worse the longer you drive it. I had one once that got so bad it twisted itself right off of the rim as I went around a corner in town.

Tiny I was wondering about a bad belt. When on the balancing machine it doesn't go wild with vibration but you can see it is a bit off. I tried to rotate the tire on the rim 180 degrees but it made no difference. The tires are old but in great condition with good sidewalls and plenty of tread. There is no cracking between the grooves either. I think I will drive it for a longer ride to see if it is not just a flat spot which has not quite warmed up. The day I noticed it was cold and I drove it for about 6 miles.

tiny, sorry i took so long to get back to you. like speed says, use the 215/85/16r's. i bought kumho blackwalls in that size and they make the truck sit tall, without alot of gap between the top of the tires and the fender openings, better speed (lower rpm's) and gas mileage and smooth ride and handing.
tony

I hate radials, I've had more trouble with them than I've ever had with bias tires. For the same price, I would get bias. I've had more radials with tread separation than I care to remember. I think the worst ones I ever had were the TA Radials I had on my 79 Blazer years ago, absolute garbage tires.My 2 cents says stay with bias unless you get a really good deal on the radial.Remember the words "TREAD SEPARATION".

When you get tires done,try to find a shop that'll spin each bare wheel on their balancer and check it for runout or wobble. always put the best one on left front,and the worst one on spare or right rear. Also check the mounted tire for runout. Some guys will go ahead and balance a new tire even if it has a quarter inch of bounce,just to avoid having to R&R another tire. I swapped out a few brand new tires,because they were so far from being round I knew they'd be trouble later.If you see one you think is bad,ask the tech if he'll find you one with a little less runout. If the shop isn't swamped.most good tire techs won't mind.
I know many shops won't let you into the work area to watch,but I always encouraged my customers to watch and ask questions. Keeps them happy and keeps the tire tech honest. There's still shops out there who will let you watch the tech work on your rig,and will explain what he(or she) is doing. That's also a good time to sneak a look under your truck to see what overall shape things are in. They might get a little jacked up if you actually go under,so ask first if it's okay. That's usually a no-no to their insurance agent. Might seem like you're kinda being pushy or taking advantage,but it's YOUR truck,and you should have the right to see what your tire tech is doing to it. And a tire tech,and shop,that's proud of their work will be okay with that.
Speed
Speed

Good points Speed. I am dealing with a company here and they don't mind my being in the shop. I do use common sense of course.
Was wondering about that bit of hop I have and thought I should try a couple of sand bags in the box to see if it helps. I normally carry nothing back there and thought a bit of weight might put some load on the springs and perhaps smooth the ride out.