Tire Life.

[RHD]

How many kilometres can one expect to get from a set of new Firestone, or any other reputable make of 19" and 21" tires?
I feel the answer is going to be very little, compared with new modern radial tires.
We all pay enough for both modern and Model 'A' tyres. Why the vast difference in tire life?
The best I have ever had from a set of 19" was 15,000 miles, where a modern radial will give around 100,000 kilometres.
Are we being quietly led up the garden path by crafty tire manufacturers?
Or is it simply the fact that our Model 'A' tyres are not of radial design?
Could not a 19" or 21" tyre be formed as a radial?
I know by changing a Model 'A' to 16" radials it improves the steering and general handling by about 200%.
I used to sell Model 'A' tyres in my parts shop, and the main complaint apart from price, was the miserable mileage from tires.
Any thoughts folks?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Holy Cow, 100,000 miles out of a set of radial tires???

The quality of rubber is not the greatest, and most modern drivers in Model-As "over-drive" the tire in corners anyway. If someone gets 12k-15k miles, to maybe 20k out of a set of tires, (even back in the day) that was considered a lot of driving. Times have changed with advances in automobiles. Be content with 12k-15k miles of service life.

.]

[Mitch//pa]

maybe he means kilometers and that would be 62,000 miles

[ronn]

Many of the radials I'm using on my new cars go 60,000 miles, so that is quite common today. All depends on driving styles.
I think RHD is posing a good question....

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by ronn

Many of the radials I'm using on my new cars go 60,000 miles, so that is quite common today. All depends on driving styles.
I think RHD is posing a good question....

I agree, I don't understand paying $200.00 for a tire that last only 10,000 miles or so. Yes I get it is a specialty item but lets get real. I would gladly pay $300.00 a tire if you could get 35000 miles

Needing one new tire in WV( yea and its a white wall to boot)
dusty

[RHD]

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Yes. I do mean kilometers. I will alter my inquiry to suit.
Thanks.

[MikeK]

You can get radial tires as 5.00xR19 and 5.50xR19 that fit model A rims. LINK They are made "100" profile (height = 100% of width) so they match the old bias ply look. Several other width radial 19" and a 21" are available too, but a bit too big.

[Michael in Sedona]

I have 10,000 miles on a set of 21" Firestones, and they have lots of tread left. They should make it to around 15,000.

Regarding modern tires on modern cars, I got 89,000 miles from a set of tires on my Infiniti FX35. They were Bridgestone Potenza P265/60 R18. Huge. Needless to say, when it was replacement time, I put the same tires on the car.

[dave in australia]

Tyre life is subjective, as it depends on how aggressive you drive your car, steering geometry etc. On my old valiant ute, one set of rears went 60,000 Km, the next set went about 35,000 Km. They were the same brand, model and size, but the difference was what I threw in the tray of the ute weight wise.

[Flintlockshooter]

Interesting question on these. I have been curious what to expect on my Firestone tires.
Those of us who also ride motorcycles have the same pain, 10,000 miles is a good average for tires that run in that same $150 +/- range. 2 granted not 4, but still that kind of specialty type like our A.
Yes I have had up to 80,000 on car/truck tires, and glad that they last that long on the Dually - ack! 6 to buy

[JBill]

I'd guess more Model A tires have gone bad from sitting than from driving!

[luckyal]

My 2011 Buick went thru a set of Bridgestones in 41000 miles and they were close to 900 to replace. So the new tires are not all that great either.
Al

[Mike V. Florida]

WOW, I got less then 5000 on my firestones 4 years ago.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

WOW, I got less then 5000 on my firestones 4 years ago.

What happened?

That's the lowest I've ever heard for mileage.

[Jon]

I just retired my car last fall. Had 21,470 miles on a set of Firestones. There was a little tread left, but not much. Bought the Goodyears this time. Here's how I look at it. I've got $500 deductable on my insurance. If you think how easy it is today to do $500 damage to one of these new cars we're sharing the road with I'd rather enjoy the ride with new tires and the confidence they give me than to plow into someone and pay that way.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

What happened?

That's the lowest I've ever heard for mileage.

They wore out, the tread disappeared and the tires were rotated.

[whirnot]

Appropriate timing of this thread, Wheels coming back from Powder coater this after noon, new set of 21 inch Goodyears waiting for them THAT was an expensive little endevour!

[roccaas]

93,000 miles on Factory Michelins on an '11 Fusion. They were square by the time the fleet company agreed to replace them with round tires.

I've got approx 20,000 on Goodyear white wall 4.75's with undetermined prior use.

Rotate every 5,000 miles, run at 32 psi (a little rough I know). I do replace the tubes every two years whether or not they need it - my Grandfather taught me this. I don't understand it, but he was a PhD Mechanical Engineer who ran tubes in all cars, including a '69 Deuce and a Quarter, so who am I to argue.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

roccass what's a 'deuce and a quarter?' Part of a 6X6 US Army truck?

buick electra 225

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Steve Plucker warned us all in Nov. 2011, that prices of tires were gonna spike upwards come Jan. 2012.

Now we're all paying the piper. Nothing much we can do, now. Guess it's like gasoline---ya gotta buy new sooner or later

US tire manufacturers cried to the Govermnat that the imports were killing them. To "save" jobs here in the US, the government needed to raise tarriffs on imports, and it did but US manufacturers also raised their prices thus the difference in price between inports and US tires are the same but all prices are higher.

http://www.dunntireblog.com/import-t...t-tire-pricing