Are Remington bias WWW's still available? Got a set for my
'42 DeSoto 13 years ago and they are great. She doesn't get
much over 45 mph though.
--Roger van Hoy, '55 DeSoto, '58 DeSoto, '42 DeSoto, '41
Dodge, '66 Plymouth, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Homstad" <dhomstad@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 12:37 AM
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] And the wheel goes round round round...
Radial tire convo continues...
| Here's the deal: all tires are not created equal, whether
they are bias or
| radials!
|
| On my daily driver (a retired CV police car), I replaced
the tires that came
| on it (cheap replacement tires), when they wore out, with
a set of quality
| Michelins of the exact same size and same inflation
pressure. The difference
| in handling was so great that I almost lost control due to
oversteer on the
| first few sharp corners I went around. The new tires had
very stiff
| sidewalls compared to the old mushy sidewalls of the tires
I replaced. The
| old tires were so soft that they would twist on the rim in
a corner,
| requiring more turn of the steering wheel compared to the
new Michelins. Now
| the car handles much better and rides smoother. The
initial "oversteer" was
| me, not the car, because I had to re-learn its handling
characteristics all
| over again. The bottom line is that much of the difference
of personal bias
| (pun intended) on this radial vs. bias tire issue is due
to the quality of
| tires chosen. Most of the WWW radials out there that we
use on our old cars
| are built for their looks and ability to hold air, not for
their handling
| qualities or tire life. If you want good handling, buy
GOOD tires.
|
| I bought a set of wire wheels for my 56 Dodge a few years
back. They came
| with a mounted set of Firestone 721 radials that had very
little wear, so I
| put them on my car. I felt handling was slightly improved
in a straight line
| and on corners, but it also felt a little mushy too. The
main problem was
| that these Firestones were square. They were so
out-of-round that they
| almost shook my dental fillings out at highway speeds. I
tried to get the
| dealer to warranty replace them (just after the big
problem with Firestones
| on Ford SUVs), but they stubbornly refused. This is my
second experience
| with Firestones, both bad. I went back to my previous
bias-belted tires and
| I am satisfied. These are G78 -15 WWW Remingtons. They are
belted and
| slightly lower and wider than the 1956 original (tall and
skinny 83 profile
| 7.75 - 15) tires, and I think this gives better handling
than the originals.
| They will follow a pavement grove slightly, but they don't
"jump around or
| sideways" as some folks have reported. Again, repo tires,
either radial or
| bias, built for show looks and not quality may result in
poor handling
| characteristics when compared to a modern bias tire, or
even compared to the
| original tires back when the car was new.
|
| If you replace a poor tire, either radial or bias, with a
better quality
| tire, either radial or bias, and notice an improvement,
you have learned
| nothing other than the new tire is better, either radial
or bias. But the
| quality factor is usually overlooked and most people see
the radial vs. bias
| as the deciding factor. The only true test is to compare
quality tires of
| both designs, with similar size and profile and proper
inflation pressures,
| and then decide which is better. But who is willing to
spend big money on 2
| sets of quality tires for a test?
|
| Quality is everything when it comes to tires. I am not
aware of any "repo"
| style tires, radial or bias, that I would put on a daily
driver that would
| give good handling and tire life. Repos are made for show
and parades and
| that is all. Most personal reports I have heard are
mediocre handling, poor
| tire life, and even blow-outs after extended highway
driving.
|
| Dave Homstad
| 56 Dodge D500
|
| -----Original Message-----
| From: Forward Look Mopar Discussion List
| [mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Josh
| Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 9:39 AM
| To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
| Subject: [FWDLK] And the wheel goes round round round...
Radial tire convo
| continues...
|
| I thought I would throw my .02 cents in... with both the
56 Buick Special
| that I once owned and with my 59 Dodge Coronet, I had
radial tires. The
| Buick handeled the worst, even after a complete front end
rebuild and a
| professional alignment, it was a pain to drive, It had
power steering but it
| almost felt like the tires were always under inflated. The
Dodge has also a
| complete front end rebuild, soon to have another due to
Ka***r's poor
| quality parts and a bushing that goes clunk (well it has
been 10 years and
| 30k miles) it too has never felt quite right, like the
tires were low on
| air. It didn't handle as piggish as the Buick, but as
these tires are almost
| ready to go, I think I will put on some bias ply WW tires.
| Also, if you recall, in the mid 70's the Pontiac Trans AM
bosted of it's
| "Radial Tuned Suspension" and even had a plaque on the
dash stating such.
|
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network