I think you've had all the useful input you're gonna get, just to summarize: a) The current Firestone is a division of Bridgestone and has nothing but the name to do with the company that designed that tire b) Current production of this tire is made by whoever makes tires for Coker, it's not a product of the present-day Firestone anyway c) You're not hearing about a lot of trouble on here d) The questions you should be asking of someone who runs this tire, particularly if they claim to be having trouble, is (a) "what pressure do you run" (b) "how fast do you drive" and (c) "how heavy is your car" Low pressure sets up a tire for failure and high speeds and/or heavy loads kills it. A tire run 24psi (remember, measure your tire pressures cold unless you're on a racetrack and really know what you're doing) at 80mph in a 4000lb car may have problems while the same tire run at 32psi in the same car may be trouble-free. This is a user problem, not a tire problem, and back in the day Detroit specced tire pressures for soft ride, not long life or high-speed safety. You'll note all those little door stickers had something like "add 4psi for sustained high speed" but the reality is that in most cases for safety a passenger-car tire (not talking about an 8-ply Load Range E rock) should be run at their full rated 32-36psi (as listed on the sidewall). Some modern tires (not under discussion here) are made for far more though you don't necessarily want to run them at their rated 51psi.
You "cruisin" boys that like the low and slow can keep your bias ply crap. If you want to run at 70 mph, get some radials
So I'm curious, how did your experience go at Coker tire? I'm getting ready to order some Firestones and just wanted to know what you heard. Thanks.
i pretty much covered it on page 2 i had them mount and balance 4 new tires for the fuck u 54 patrick was able to zero out all 4 tires ,then i had them check 4 new 670's tires i had mounted and ballanced were i usaly do near my shop for a 50 merc that were building and only 1 tire out of 4 was balanced corectly there was a hudge differance in how my car road they HAVE to be ballanced correctly with a quality ballancin machine one that will tell you to rotate the tire to the correct spot on the wheel so it will ballance out im not a tire tec so im not saying it 100% the next thing you can do to get even a better ride is to true the tire by shaving the tred you can call me if you like i can explan some things alli better 408 561 5744
Heading to the lsru last year was doing a 108 mph with 670 16s and 900s 16s with out a problem radials suck. Radials are for pussy's that dont know how to drive end of story Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
I run bias ply firestones at 70 all the time. I'm more concerned about the other drivers on the road taking my life than my car or my tires. like Gambino said the tire mounting process to be exact is a little more work than a radial, no tire is completely round so you can shave the tread and because they are not round to balance them perfect you have to spin them on a balance machine mark the tire, remove the tire from the rim and rotate it so that everything balances out than you add weights to get it perfect. I use to have to mount 18 wheeler tires this way. Radials suck on old cars I feel the road in my car and feel connected to the road when I drive it.
I like the low & slow. I also like to drive fast. I currently have Diamondback radials, but I've run two different sets of bias ply on my 55 five window. It was my daily driver for 4 years & I drove it back and forth to work going 85 to 90 mph all the time. So that shit about " if you want to run 70 mph, buy radials" is bullshit. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
So I ordered some Firestone 670-15 3 1/4 whites, just waiting to be delivered. I'll let you know how they do. The big test with be our trip to Ink-N-Iron in Long Beach. Thanks.
My experience with the Firestones is that they're a perfectly good tire, as long as you don't expect the same performance (braking, acceleration traction and curb grip) as in a new radial tire. On the other hand, we're driving cars that rarely match modern cars' performance when it comes to handling. If you think ahead a little more in the traffic, so you don't end up in nasty situations you'll be fine. Keep a little longer distance to the car in front of you etc. etc. (on the other hand, that's a good idea with any car, on any tire). After all, driving in today's traffic on yesterday's technology isn't a optimum solution, and maybe demands a little more of the driver in the "brain compartment" (which I think I have ) Since you're in AZ wet conditions might not be a big issue to you, but that's when I've experienced that the bias plies are at their worst. The traction in rain is nowhere near that of radials (and in snow and 0° F... forget about it ).
Sure glad JEM said it like it is, I've grown frustrated and disgusted with all these rants about REPLICA tires sold by Coker. All those old outdated designs,whether Firestone, B.F. Goodrich, or Goodyear are built by Coker('s contracter) and finished in molds that create the original design. The various branded molds are licensed by the major mfrs. I submit that a Firestone, Goodrich, or Goodyear in the same size is the exact same construction-merely finished in the appropriate mold.
Ok, so I've put about 200 miles on these Firestone tires and all I can say is they're awesome. I know I have airbag suspension, but these tires are better than the radials I had before. They turn better and ride just as nice as the radials. If you are thinking about change to a bias ply Firestone from a radial, do it. They ride nice and they look a lot better. Also I don't drive slow, most of the miles have been at 70 mph.
Mount and balance correctly and they will be problem free! good man yes they do i just got done driving from San Jose to Las Vegas for viva , then from Vegas to Wellington Texas , then Wellington to Austin , then Austin to Wichita Kansas not sure the exact mileage about 3400 maybe , on the tires coker mounted and balanced correctly and I will say my car NEVER handled so go , I'm so stoked ... And a lot of the time we were hitting 90 some times 100 .....and to think all this time I was balancing my tires wrong ... Thanxs to coker and Patrick at the Fresno outlet my cars rolls fucking bad asss....bias plys for life
glad you like your new tires, remember to keep an eye on pressure. A visual inspection is not good enough with the stiffer sidewalls. They can be very low and look fine. The heat is what makes them go boom
i love threads like this ragging on bias plys. not safe dont ride good blah blah... you want a good ride with modern technology and better safty....DRIVE A NEW CAR ....sorry im done now... car looks great!
The secret to running bias plys is to run a tube in them. I've pulled out cars that.. well, in one case the car had 1962 plates on it from the last time it was driven. I had the car about a year. I never put any air in it and I towed it twice on the tires that came on it, about 125 total miles. It towed nice as can be, too, I didn't go slow with it. Generally even a tube that's gone flat will usually hold air for a while - because everything but the stem isn't exposed to sunlight, it's less likely to rot. I did have one blow out once, too, but that one I knew that tire was iffy when I put it on. When they're old, you want to compromise some on the tire pressure, enough so they're not heating up the sidewalls, but not max pressure either because that just increases the chance of finding a weak spot. And I wrecked one once because it was too low on air and eventually the sidewall fell apart. On the other hand, radials once aged will seperate, often with little or no warning. I've had two seperate while I was driving and a third blow up while sitting. And a fourth on my current driver, got a big bulge in it - I then looked at the date code and realized it was over 10 years old. Bias tires are not supposed to handle as well as radials - but my only real experience driving on them was a car that had mixed radial up front and bias in the back. It was damn scary to drive that way, the rear end wanted to follow every seam in the road. IMHO if you're going to drive the crap out of your car, radials are probably better, if it's an occasional driver and show car, go with bias tires and tubes, and in theory you shouldn't have to replace them constantly when the car sits for long periods.
Radial tires are Gay! Not there is anything wrong with that. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
The following "situation" was never approached, but the majority of drivers of Ford Explorers which capsized were women, women who were not familiar with the obvious higher center of gravity of SUVs. Also, the women were very likely switching from a Chrysler 300 or other "low" car to this very popular Explorer, which absolutely has different handling characteristics. Not attempting to rag on ladies, but this could have very possibility been one of the problems with the wrecks that occurred.
It's been a long time since my new 76 Elcamino, that had come equiped with Firestone 721"s, but after 5, Thats FIVE blow outs within the gurantee period, I have not forgoten!
Two things: I can't believe that this thread is still going. I also can't believe that people are still conflating Firestone tires, with brand-new new Coker Tire manufactured reproduction tires, made in molds purchased, along with proper licensing, from Firestone, of a Firestone long-discontinued design. You are not comparing apples-to-apples, or even apples-to-oranges. You are comparing apples-to-monkeys.
Kinda like someone who goes from a late-model 335i to a '40 Tudor I remember a bunch of years ago at a BMW ride-and-drive when the X5 had just been introduced, and they were trying to demonstrate how much more stable it was than Land Cruisers and a variety of other truck-SUVs they had on hand. To do this they had a big wet skidpad, and they'd pile people into the Land Cruiser and (their driver would) make it do stupid things (they had some big outrigger wheels on it), and then they'd do the same thing with the X5 and - voila - no tippy-tippy! So we (four 200lb guys) climbed in the X5 and the guy went out and tried to get it to slide enough to get the stability control to straighten it out, but it wouldn't go. Finally the girl staffing the skidpad dumped about two gallons of dish soap on the pad and hosed it down and the guy went charging into it at 50mph and gave a hard tug on the wheel and it slid, off the pad onto dry pavement and - whee! - we're two wheels up for a good, long time. The CG of a SUV - even a very stable one - is a lot different with a thousand pounds of meat on board than it is empty.
That is funny right there. I don't care who you are that's funny right there. Got to love Seinfeld. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
