Opinions on Tires
 

What is your opinion on tires for a Model A in terms of safety? Ones to avoid, etc.

Thank you,

Mike
Cleveland, Ohio

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I like Lesters or Firestones

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

Not too many complaints on Model A tires except that Goodyear tires fit in a fender well & Firestone tires, being wider, do not fit as well when full of air.

I have some 30+ year old Goodyear tires still in service with little wear because my Model A was stored by (2) different collectors for 30 years -- the only Firestone spare does not fit in the fender well when full of air.

Bearing in mind that Model A tires are depending on tubes, many Model A owners complain about new tubes.

Almost all are made overseas ...... the old U.S. made ones begin to leak at valve stems after about 20+ years in use.

Bratton recently has tubes made from virgin rubber rather than recycled rubber

Lesser quality tubes are dangerous.

I put Bratton's new virgin rubber tubes in (5) tires quite some time ago ............... still no problem.

Knock on steel ................ have a 1930 Town Sedan with a wood body ...... I really knock on wood when I knock on steel.

Hope this helps ............. many good opinions on tires & tubes will be offered.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I have Firestones and my only complaint is they don't last very long. I have finally scrutinized the front two so they will be changed at the same time but I'm still off on the back. I just put a new tire on the back and the other is about half worn. I would go to Goodyear because of opinions here however I can't get to the place where I need to change all four at the same time. Sense the fronts look like they will ware together I may op to go with Goodyears on the front at that time. Than again at $200.00+ a tire maybe its good I'm not changing them all at once

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I bought tires and tubes (Firestone 19") on line from...I believe Progressive tire co. And they were the same price as all the rest but they had free shipping...with that much weight and bulk...it was a no brainier.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

Whew! I thought this was going to be about whitewalls!

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I forgot....I do like White Walls:D


Just bought some Bleach White in WV

dusty

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I bought the cheapest tires I could, from Coker, and they seem to be holding up well. Universal brand. Ended up mounted and balanced for around $90 each, 2.5 years ago. That was dealer cost as I had done some work for a dealer and they ordered in these tires at cost as a thank you.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I went all out and got Goodyear blackwalls. I only have 2,000 miles on them but they ride nice and I have not yet been able to detect any wear pattern on them. You can't go wrong with the original diamond tread look and I do think they are the best quality tire out there for the A, and also USA made. Just MHO.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

People don't realize that neither Firestone nor Goodyear have anything to do with making Model A tires. A company makes the classic car tires and has permission to make the tires appear like those offered by the two companies back then. The Firestone and Goodyear tires come from the same factory now and should be pretty much the same quality. I'm not a tire expert, that's just what I was told by one of the antique car tire vendors.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

In terms of safety, I have heard of none to avoid.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

There are H rated tires in A sizes.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

My BF Goodrich 550's had close to 13,000 miles on them when I took them off, and they still had probably another 7,000 miles before they wore out. They lasted WAY WAY WAY longer than any of the firestone WW's I had. Those wore completely out around 7,000 miles no matter which end of the car they were on, and many other locals here have experienced the same problem. Goodyears do seem to last longer than firestones. But by far the best experience I had was with the BF Goodrich 550 Silvertowns. They were a little oversized, but looked really good on my car.

I have since switched to 16's after having so many tube problems with the new tubes splitting down the seams & Wallace Wade not giving a refund on them even with a few tubes popping with 0 miles on them. If your old tubes work, KEEP THEM. I found some old ones last year before our trip to Canada, thankfully. Was changing them a few days before we left. They lasted up to the point when I switched to the 16' radials.

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I prefer the tires that are round. In my experience, the ones you get with a flat spot on the bottom just don't drive right...

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

My 21" Universals wore out and I was going to New Hampshire for a week last summer and needed tires in a hurry for my '29 Town Sedan. I had two 19" rims and two brand new Lester's in the loft that went on the front. 15 inch Jeep rims will fit the rear hubs perfectly and safely (not so the front), so I went to Walmart and had two 235/70-15 Wranglers mounted and balanced for about $160 on my old Jeep rims and then put them on the rear temporarily until I could afford 4 new 21" tires. Surprisingly, the combination didn't look too bad. Well, the ride and handling improved so much with the two rear Wranglers, that I ordered new cast iron drums for the front, quarter inch wheel spacers and longer hub bolts so I can put Wranglers on the front! I'm young (53) and strong so if it steers harder all the better! Plus the speedometer error now makes me feel like I am traveling much faster than I really am! Everything else on the car is stock (except my oil filter and sealed beam headlights), so I don't feel too bad. Probably not for most of the folks on the barn, but just two radials on the rear improved the ride and handling so much, I will never go back to those skinny tires on the Town Sedan. If I ever get a light weight roadster, I'll put the skinny tires on that!

Re: Opinions on Tires
 

I will only put GoodYear on my "A's"..Had Firestone back in the 80's and they are to large as said MANY times before on past post[hits brake rods when turning shape]. I bought a 1935 Chevy with GoodYear tires on it...Car was Put away in 1988 and i still have them on the car today and drives well. AS SAID BEFORE A THOUSAND TIMES ...GOODYEAR FITS BETTER AND FIRESTONE DOES NOT...ALL tires are safe but GoodYear drives well , fits well and is a more correct tire..Maybe someone should make a list on the most questions asked so people can click on the question and show the answers. This question seems to come up once a month... We finally beat to death the question [ what is FRAME BLACK"" ].L.O.L.