Hey all, go this 55 Fargo pickup(Dodge), and recently put on 4 Dunlop Gold Seal L78 15 tires. These babies are WW, 4 ply B load range, and have no miles on them, but are probably 20-30 years old. Got them from a Buddy, they sat indoors for many years on a 56 Caddy. here are my issues, - ride is bad in drifting and steering - tires not balanced yet - steering box and all front end components new and/or tight, except outer tie rod ends loose and will replace soon - my diff is a Mopar 8 1/4 3.23, but is a wider track than front wheels a bit ?s the tires look great inside and out, soft and no cracks or weathering issues whatsoever. But they had the weight of the Caddy on them for years sitting in 1 spot for long periods of time. I am hoping to use these suckers, but now on gravel roads, no faster then 30-40 mph, and on the cement, over 50 mph feels scary. With my old pieces of $hit radials, could cruise way fater and way better control, they really do allow for more play and issues and still handle them. So any ideas, and thanx for any help in advance.....FSF
welcome to the world of bias ply tires.. run em for a couple weeks see if they smooth out... i have 4 brand new coker firestons on my model a... it drives terrible.. but its the look i wanted so i deal with it.. i have bolted a set of radials on it just to see the difference and it was night and day. bias ply is for the hard core rodder that doesnt care as long as it looks right.. if its a comfortable driver you want, get radials... nice looking truck BTW
also, i just remembered... CHECK YOUR AIR PRESSURE! dont run em at 32 or 35 like radials.. i set mine at 23 in the front and 25 in the rear.. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! so much better, i know coker has specs on what they recommend,, i played with mine till they felt the best. and ittake smine about 7 miles to warm up and be nice and smooth.
Having the exact same issue with a 54 willys station wagon at the moment. Found these at Coker. http://www.cokertire.com/p195-75r15-american-classic-2-1-4-whitewall.html Not cheap but the look is right and you get a radial out of the deal.
thanx all for the rplies, guess the tires "are what they are", I don't recall these tires being a problem on Pops cars, or my first beaters. My Dad had a 68 Olds Vista Cruiser, 400 Rocket, drove that car all the way from Mid Canada to California 80 mph, that car could cruise fast and handle like a dream. If I can't get this truck to handle somewhat okay, will go back to LT radials, it really isa light truck though, not much more than 3000 lbs.....thanx again
Not disagreeing not 100% sure of the age, has a DOT date, but pre 2000 year. I would have to admit, older tires, could be prone to failure, but not necessarily a poor ride, unless obviously damaged, but who knows.......Cheers Can I get a loan for the tires, being a Commonwealth citizen and all.....LOL
Running 28 psi, will try different amounts and see what happens. I will balance first and see what emerges....
30 year old tires...............man you are treading on thin ice,you will no doubt get mixed replies,but is it worth taking a chance of a blowout?
not much in life is perfect - either you accept the bias tires problems & all, or just mount them on a set of rims to display in your shop.
Tires lose half their strength after 5 years. This is when tire companies recommend you replace them. How much strength is left after 20 - 30 years they don't say. I wouldn't chance driving on tires that old. They might be OK for display or sitting in a museum.
You boys really need to study the construction differences between radial and bias tires. Radials rely on the rubber for a large share of their sidewall strength, bias by design do NOT. The bias flat spotting is due to the cord material being used -Nylon! Old rayon or cotton cord tires did not do this. Polyester cord also were not as prone to flat spotting,but most bias now days are nylon. I do agree that radials for the most part once they start showing weather checks either on the sidewall or between the tread it's time for replacement. And depending on use/service is in the 5-6 year range. That said however one of my Corvairs has 10 year old radials on it with NO signs of aging, mainly because they saw NO service from when the were installed until I bought the car a year ago. They still had tits on the tread!! So I going to run them while keeping a close eye on them. My bottom line is age does not have the bearing on usabilty of a bias tire like it seems to on radials!! Bias, for sure, do not have the nice road manners of a radial,and will show up any wear issues in your suspension.
Amen Brother, these tires are polyester, and still have tits on em too. They look like never were driven, probably have less than 500 miles on em. The insides look like they just come from the plant. I have old bias tires on a 1 ton frame outside, holding air, but some cracking. I pulled that truck home 2 years ago, not an issue with tires at all. i would not use those tires...
Bias ply tires get flat spots, you will have to put some miles on them to run the flat spots out, get 'em hot and cruise 'em for a while. The flat spots may never come out of them. They need to be balanced and you ned tie rod ends before you blame the timres. They will never fell or ride like a radial and there is no reason to compair them to a radial, it is the same as compairing a '55 Ford to a new lexus.
I'd do a little research, rather than rally around the first person to rule in your favor. Those tires are old. Try swapping tires and see what happens. Hard to get help, when you're not willing to check out the options presented. Or you're trying to save some money.
theyll need to get some heat in them to get some of the roundness back. Lowering the pressure will help as well. The guys that are scared of old tires are talking about radials, none of that applies to biasplys. The big if here is the flatspots, like P&B said above, they may never come out if they were sitting that long with weight on them. so basically, balance them, replace your tie rod ends and hit the road a bit
I'm with porknbeaner run them for awhile truck looks good with them on.. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
No Sir, not looking for anyone to endorse the use of tires. i already know what this vehicle rides like with radial tires. Having said this, not dismissing what your saying, if I need to go back to another set of tires i will, but they will be regular cheap radials, cannot afford new bias WW tires now....thanx BTW, which options are you referring too, balance tires,(which I will do), waiting for new tie rod ends to come in, lower pressure on tires, and try, so what am i missing here, if the friggin tires are no dang good, will get others, what other option is there?
Thanx Guys, will give them a chance before pulling them, and yes they do look right on this truck....
I meant, find someone with a set of bias ply and swap out. See how it drives. That way, you'll know if it's the tires or not. That's all I was getting to. It easy to see you want bias ply, otherwise you'd have radials already. So, that being the case, find out if age is a factor before letting them go. You mention a balance and waiting on a tie rod, so it sounds like you're asking for help and have yet to finish getting things road ready. Try getting things road ready, then see what problems you have.
That's a good idea, finding someone will to let me try the bias tires might be a challenge. The tie rod ends did not show up much with the radials, but of course the BP tires made it quite evident. Again with a truck with straight axle might always ride like a truck, which I like, just want to make sure i don't wipe this sucker out on the highway somewhere. Around town, no issues driving with these tires, even as things are, speeds under 40 mph, its the highway speeds things get hairy, and my gravel road too. 1 thing, no one has made a comment to, not sure how relevant it is, my later model diff is a bit wider, this has my rear tires tracking wider than the front some, not sure if that may cause any tracking issues with rutted pavement or not....thanx for the post
Tried 25 psi, seemed to improve handling, but tires warmed up a lot more. Being it is a light truck, wonder if 25 psi is too low, for a tire pressure. Was able to drive not too bad on loose gravel at speeds to 40 mph, will not go on the highway until new tie rod ends and tires are balanced for real test...
Bias ply tires and radials are night and day. I run 6 year old bias. It is nothing short of an adventure on some roads. Drift, rut pull, gyrations over heavily rutted roads and generally mushy. My front end is tighter than a frogs butt. I keep a firm hand on the wheel. This is what bias ply are. If they were a great type of tire no one would have bothered to develop a radial. We know these types of tires are far superior over bias ply. I keep my bias ply because I wanted the true 50's car type of ride and experience.
Running at 25 psi was probably what the car/truck manufacturer recommended. I run mine at 32 psi per the sidewall instructions. This is what the tire maker recommends for best tire performance. However, it may not be the best performance for the car. Hard as brick but turning the wheel(no power steering) is easier with higher pressure. 25 psi should not be to low imo. Do you have a repair manual for the truck. PSI recommendation should be in the manual.
I have to look up the spec, stock tires were 750-15, which are also G or H78s, mine are bigger L 78s, or 810s. Sidewall states 32 psi max, load range 1970 lbs.. This 108 inch 55 Dodge truck, is relatively light, so maybe less tire pressure may not hut, after 5 miles or so on gravel, they were good and warm, but it is a very warm day windy and friggin dusty too...
that could be, but toe in spec is 1/8, for my truck, that would have been with bias tires, and it is at 1/8 inch toe in now.....
Here is the deal, 32 psi in one tire can handle 1970 lbs. That is getting close to supporting the entire truck on one tire. Not necessary as you are not supporting 1970 lbs on a single tire. I would drop the pressure to 28 and see how it goes. Either way, bias ply tire driving is like wrestling a gorilla.
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