Roger,
I put a set of Remington G78-15 bias belted WWWs on my Dodge 20 years ago.
They have given no problems, no leaks, no sidewall rot checking, and have
maintained balance and roundness all that time. The car rides straight and
smooth and stable, with a very small tendency to follow a groove as is
typical of all bias tires. I would look in your local telephone directory
for a tire dealer near you that mentions Remington in his ad.
When I tried to exchange those square Firestone 721 radials a couple of
years ago, the dealer told me they do not warranty tires past 3 years,
because "radials are not expected to stay true longer than that". He also
said "radials are not designed for cars that sit a lot".
Dave Homstad
56 Dodge D500
-----Original Message-----
From: Forward Look Mopar Discussion List
[mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Rog & Jan van Hoy
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 9:57 AM
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] And the wheel goes round round round... Radial tire
convo continues...
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.
|
|
|
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