Bias or Radial Tires on stock front ends

[35 coupe]

Can you run radials on a stock 35 coupe, or will that lead to pre mature front end wear. I have to buy 4 tires and was told only to run bias because of the flexability. Thanks. for any input.

[Frank Miller]

There is a lot of false information out there. Many say their cars steer and handle better with radials. I cannot see how that will wear out your front end faster. The biggest stresses on the tires are due to the forces exerted by the weight of the car. The tire may react a little different to these forces but I cannot see how that will wear out king pins and tie rods.

[Ol' Ron]

I installed radials on my 47 PU and the handling improved 100%

[nichols617]

Can you use the same rims?

[Jason in TX]

A lot of stock Model A guys mount radials on 1935 wires and run them on their Model As. They seem to like them.

I think it changes the look of the car.




..

[Brian]

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Best thing you can do for your 35 is to fit radials. I've run radials on my 35 for the past 30 years- no way would I ever go back to cross ply. You can run them on the stock rims. Brian

[Vergil]

I have an av8 with radials and another av8 with bias, radials ride better, great steering and cheaper, bias has the better look, just my opinion.

Vergil

[Ken Crans]

You guys got me wondering! I got the phone in my hand ready to order a nice set of bias for the 40,then i've been thinking radial all along. But the bias just has that look. I know, the ride. but Hell this Flathead may do 50 mph tops. I would only just be driving short distances. Not worried so much about the price difference. I was told by people that you can run radials on original Henrys and have heard that you should only run bias. I just got the tubes from Tractor Supply. Now what the Hell should i do? Ken

[GaryTx]

Go Bias they just look right..........

[Frank Miller]

Get bias. If you get radials you may want to drive longer distances. The rim stuff is bunk. They are made to take the weight of the vehicle and then some with full traction. I have seen rims bounced off of curbs that bent but did not crack.

[Tom's36coupe]

Got a set of Coker radials last October, the car does ride great and the look is pretty close to the bias, but for old school looks it is hard to beat the bias.

[Dick Webber]

I have tubeless radials on original wheels on my 49 Merc, 49 F-1 and 39 Deluxe tudor. It sure cures darting over pavement tracks and the handling is much better. I'm not sure the ride is as smooth however. Well satisfied at least 15 years experience. Would not want to go back to bias tires.

Dick

[kwmpa]

I hate radials i mean HATE....i had themon several carss and switched them back to bias plys....think of it this way your car was designed to run bias plys not radials...the radials do throw off suspension geometry slightly...and well cause premature wear....i know everyone well say this isnt true....but i had a completely rebuilt front end everything was brand new, had it aligned twice and had bushings wear out in 5000....replaced the bushings and switched back to plys and have put 10,000 miles on it with no issues at all....sold the car but i still do some service work on it from tim to time everything is still like new

[Marvin/TN]

I ran Radials on my 51 F-1 truck for 15 or so years not on the original 16" but early Ford (48 Merc 15"). I ran them tubless and it drove and handled much better than the bias ply I took off. I got all my tires from the dealer body shop I worked in. If a customers tire got scraped or minor cuts and the Ins Co replaced it I brought it home and used it on my daily driver F-1. But if you use a tube in a radial, buy tubes made to run in radial tires, not regular tubes. Radial tires will pull a regular tube apart. I vote for using Radial tires, not that my vote counts. LOL

[Marv]

I used the radials with 35 lbs of air on a 47 Ford coupe. The tires did not wear any faster than on a regular car, and there was no trouble with the original Ford king pins etc, and it handled much better than bias ply tires. I was running 48 Mercury 15 inch wheels. I am for using radial tires for ride , handling, wear, and safety. Marv

[coupe5w36]

I'm running radials & love the ride & directional stability. If I had a show car or was just thinking about appearances I'd most likely run bias, but I drive my car daily over both long & short distances, often cruising on the freeways at 60 to 70 mph (66 mph is our legal limit). I guess it depends on what you plan to do with your coupe ie how much driving you do.

[31chevy]

You will not need tubes in the radials when using 35 spoke wheels.

[fourtydlx]

Just for what its worth,I'm running diamonds [radials] on all 4's

[kraken]

I changed to radials about 10 years ago and I love them. The ride and handling improved 100%. But, the bias tire does have a nicer profile.

[JM 35 Sedan]

I'm running Coker radials on my '35 fordor and Diamondback radials on my '35 tudor hot rod. I would not even think about switching back to bias ply tires. JMO