Radial tires
 

Looking for some insight on the 19 inch radial tires for the model A. I read how good they make the car ride but a fellow in our model A club warned me about how the rims can crack when installing radial tires on bias ply rims. I wonder if the inner tubes may help stop the cracking and only applies to tubeless rims?
Thanks for your advice,
Chris

Re: Radial tires
 

I might be missing something but I can't see why that would happen.
BTW, it not legal here to mount a tyre on a wheel without the safety ridges on the rim without a tube.

Re: Radial tires
 

If your rims are in good structural condition you should have no problem.

In stock form, I do not think the weight of a Model A and cruise speed are enough to cause concern.

The inner tube only serves to inflate the tire. The weight of the car is carried by the tires - Specifically the bead contact point.

Re: Radial tires
 

Sounds like a load of hogwash to me.

Funny how things get repeated on and on without any research or thinking .

"A fellow said " yeh sure.

As stated ,IF a radial without a tube could be kept inflated on a non safety rim, a pothole could deflate the tyre instantly with no tube fitted when the bead blew off the outside seal.

Re: Radial tires
 

Thanks Dollar Bill. I found that same SEMA web site. Interesting read.

Re: Radial tires
 

Concurrent to this topic, are radials not considered "overkill" on a vehicle that cannot travel at the speeds where the differences between the two types of tire designs can even be detected?

Bill

Re: Radial tires
 

Even at quite low speeds, the conventional cross ply tyres can do weird things like follow a groove in the road or wander all over the place. Cross winds have a dramatic affect too. A radial tyre won't do any of that.
That said, not all tyres are the same. Generally speaking, the cheaper brands of conventional tyre are worse than the dearer ones.

Re: Radial tires
 

We have the radial tires on the roadster pick up and friend has them on a 29 sedan and there have been no problems at any speed.

Re: Radial tires
 

I just read a paper on the question. Here is the link to the paper on cast iron rims and radial tires.
https://www.sema.org/files/attachmen...el-Fitment.pdf

I have Firestone (gum dipped) 19 inch and don't see a reason to change. I think radials would be unnecessary for me.

Re: Radial tires
 

I completely agree. I have Coker's radials on my 31 roadster and could not be happier. The bias ply tires were a nightmare trying to keep on roads that had grooves and pot holes. I know the radials are a little expensive, but I think the improvement in the drive is worth it...

Frank

Re: Radial tires
 

I agree completely. I have the Coker 550x19 radial tires on my pickup, and the difference in handling are as different as night and day. I will never go back to bias ply tires on a Model A.