Radial tires

[cw253748]

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

[Synchro909]

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.

[Dollar Bill]

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.

[pooch]

Originally Posted by cw253748

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

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.

[cw253748]

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

[BillEbob]

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

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by BillEbob

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

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.

[JohnLaVoy]

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.

[NCRebel]

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.

[emf]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

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.

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

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by emf

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

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.