Re: [FWDLK] And the wheel goes round round round... Radial tire convo continues...

[David Homstad <dhomstad@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As I remember, Olds Toronados used radials very early, but I don't know if
they were first.

I had a 76 Olds Cutlass with an original factory radial in the trunk. I had
to use it once in 1990. I put it back in the trunk and it later spilt a huge
split down the tread and spit out the steel belt in 93. I took it back to a
BFG dealer and got a warranty replacement. The factory warranty in the glove
box had no time or ownership limits, only tread wear, which was minimal.

Dave Homstad
56 Dodge D500

-----Original Message-----
From: cpollock@xxxxxxxx [mailto:cpollock@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 8:53 AM
To: David Homstad; L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Re: [FWDLK] And the wheel goes round round round... Radial tire
convo continues...

Hi Dave,
Yeah, I have seen the screws on the rims, and I knew it was for wheel slip.
That is also the reason some racers paint a white stripe across the rim and
tire sidewall to see if it has slipped.  I was only curious about th tubes
in a regular bias ply application.  Maybe no advantage.  I just know when a
bias ply blows out it BLOWS out dramatically.  You are right about the
balance issue.  Not to mention further weight being added to the wheel, and
therefore unsprung weight that requires power to move.  But I don't think
performance is foremost in the minds of FWLKers (not that these cars do not
perform).  Maybe just as a safety feature.  I know some police cars use
tubes in the tires as some sort of high speed protection, but I am not sure
if that is the reason for the use or not.  Obviously, police cars are on
radial tires today.
Misc fact- Radials did not become standard equipment on new cars until 1978!
Not sure who introduced them, but they were available starting in the late
60's.  I remember the 'radial tuned' P******C's.

Oh well,
Happy Motoring!

Charles.