Re: [Chrysler300] 300F Tire questions - again!

["John" <john@xxxxxxxxx>]

About four months ago I finally purchased my first set of wide white radials and installed them on our '57 300 C with the factory 15" Motor rim & wheel wires.  The brand I chose was Diamondback as I've heard from several car friends how please they were.

The Diamondbacks have been flawless in performance and I truly enjoy driving the car once again.  As I recall cost was close to $800 for the four installed.  A lot of money, but the look and ride are well worth the funds spent.

John Lazenby

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: lettercars@xxxxxxx 
  To: awrdoc@xxxxxxxxx ; cpaviper@xxxxxxxxxxx 
  Cc: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 9:02 AM
  Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] 300F Tire questions - again!


    Tony, Noel and All:
  Gil Cunningham here. I sure wish I could report all was well with my 
  Universal AC tires, but, unfortunately such is not the case. As Tony 
  mentioned, while up in PA at the meet I stopped by the Universal Tire place in 
  Hershey because their tires I had mounted and balanced here in Tallahassee did 
  not ride as smooth as I felt they should. There were far more "vibration" 
  areas than with the 30 something year old B.F. Goodrich Silvertowns that I 
  had used to attend four meets. (Given to me by member Terry McTaggart!) Of 
  course, those were bias ply tires---if that should matter. I must state 
  that the Universal people were extremely willing and anxious to help. No 
  complaints in that department at this time. They ended up changing out 3 of 
  the 4 new tires (1000+ miles on them), mostly because the sidewalls did not 
  look right. (raised areas, both radially and circumferentially. .I 
  personally watched all zero out on the balancer. They even took the precaution 
  to put the two which showed a little run-out on the rear. I worked along 
  with them.
  On the way back to our hotel, I did feel there was definite improvement, 
  especially at highway speeds. On the way back to Florida, however, it 
  became increasingly evident that the vibration, if anything, was worse in the 
  mid-speed ranges, and was most noticeable and annoying when the road was 
  smoothest! Definitely unacceptable, and far worse than that SET of radial 
  tires I bought for the 300H at Discount Tire many years ago for $95.00 (Plus 
  tax, of course!) That is not a typo---$95.00!! They have served very well 
  while driving to many meets and hardly look worn.
  Anyway, that is my story. I called Universal after we arrived home and 
  explained the situation, but did not ask for anything specific, and nothing 
  was offered. I have not driven the car since, so don't know if some 
  miraculous "healing" has taken place while it has been resting. Ha. I guess I 
  will give it another test drive and then write Universal a letter. What to 
  ask for? Coker replacements? Afraid of them yet. My B.F.G.s are long gone 
  (worn out anyway). Maybe another balance? Go back to bias? Don't know.
  So no, I can't recommend Universal ACs I am sorry to say. They do look 
  great. Makes me wish the car was a trailer queen--- then I wouldn't care. 
  300ly, Gil



  In a message dated 8/11/2009 8:04:08 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
  awrdoc@xxxxxxxxx writes:

  There are well over 100 sets of Coker 235/75R14 on our cars today. 
  Generally, they require alot of lead to balance. They have not been any of the 
  other problems that have been associated with other size Coler tires. 

  The ride and steering on mr "F" conv have been great at all 
  speeds. My only problem recently was after having the tires rotated front to 
  back. Radial pull occurred and had to swap the right to the left to have the 
  car track straight again. 

  The American Classic tire is not the same. Actually it's tread is oh 
  so 70's Michelin and exremelt handsome. 

  I personally had to get the 100 pre sell orders in order to get Coker to 
  make this size. With that said, I would prefer the looks of the AC tire as 
  my next choice. 

  Hope Gil Cunningham chimes on on this discussion since he recently put a 
  set of AC on his "F" conv and drove from FL to PA and back. He 
  reported some vibration at high speeds and had a couple of tires swapped out 
  at an AC dealer in Hershey PA. 

  Hope Gil will report whether or not the AC are performing well and if he 
  would recommend them. 

  Tony

  cpaviper@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote: 
  > 
  > After reading the Club emails over the past few years discussing tires - 
  I'm still trying to zero in on what to buy for our F Coupe. 
  > Re Coker, I'm still hearing issues - just about every Coker-related 
  message talks to problems with balancing, and that they've hopefullly resolved 
  their structural integrity issues. Re American Classics, their website 
  gives no info - just refers to Coker, Universal, Lucas as distributors. 
  Comparing the Coker and American Classic P235/75R14s, the load capacities, tread 
  widths, section widths and overall diameters are identical - only Co ker 
  catalog's UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) ratings differ between the 2 
  "brands " (American Classic's 540BB rating is apparently better than Coker's 
  400BB rating) and the Coker tire price is a few bucks more. Sounds like we're 
  still unclear whether American Classic and Co ker are one and the same 
  tire - the tread patterns in the catalog photos appear identical. 
  > I called Diamond Back this morning and spoke with one of their sales 
  reps, Jim. He advised that there's no current maker of a quality P235/75R14 
  tire today - could be a dig against Coker? He did say that they're working on 
  a 75 series 14" radial that will approximate the tire size we're all 
  looking for. They just received their first test version of it, are were not at 
  all pleased - he estimates that any such tire won't be ready to market 
  until next summer [2010] or later. 
  > He did offer up the following suggestion, and I'm wondering if any of 
  you have tried this. Diamond Back sells a European Metric tire that's also 
  used on vans and light trucks, and that he says works very well in automotive 
  applications. He says handling and road noise are very good. The tire's 
  height is 27.3", vs Coker's 27.87"; tread width of 6.3" is the same as 
  Coker's; cross-section of 8.5" is 3/4" narrower than Coker's 9.25"; it's a 6-ply 
  tire rated at 2464# vs Coker's 1930#, is manufactured by Federal, and it 
  replaces 225/75R14 - is described on Page 6 of their 2009 catalog. The tire 
  does come in a 2 1/2" wide whitewalls. 
  > Is anyone out there running these tires? Or had any experience with 
  them? 
  > And there's also the continuing debate re installing new rims. Diamond 
  Back's website quotes the 12/6/07 Old Cars Weekly article that we saw on our 
  Club website a few months back, and says the claim is bogus, that there's 
  no alloy difference, and no markings on rims to indicate use with bias or 
  radial tires. DB's argument in fact states that radials absorb more impact 
  and are therefore less stressful on rims than are bias ply tires. Any new 
  thoughts on this, as we're still running the original 1960 rims on the F? 
  > Th anks for your input, and apologies for again bringing up an old topic 
  ! 
  > Noel Hastalis 
  > Burr Ridge, IL 
  > And there's also the continuing debate re installing new rims. Diamond 
  Back's website quotes the 12/6/07 Old Cars Weekly article that we saw on our 
  Club website a few months back, and says the claim is bogus, that there's 
  no alloy difference, and no markings on rims to indicate use with bias or 
  radial tires. DB's argument in fact states that radials absorb more impact 
  and are therefore less stressful on rims than are bias ply tires. Any new 
  thoughts on this, as we're still running the original 1960 rims on the F? 
  > Th anks for your input, and apologies for again bringing up an old topic 
  ! 
  > Noel Hastalis 
  > Burr Ridge, IL 
  > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 
  > 

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