1948 chevrolet stylemaster,Its has the stock wheels,on there now is some really bad dry rotted bias ply tires.(these were on the car when I got it,not road worthy yet).Can I put radials on these wheels,Im aware the bias ply help with the lack of power stearing,That doesnt bother me.Radials are so much cheaper and Ive read on here that bias ply tires like to heat up and can start to come apart.Any info is much appriciated,thanx
The old rims weren't designed for the side forces of radials but, I've never actually heard of one failing. You may (or may not) need inner tubes. There are radials designed for use with inner tubes if you do need them.
I've put radials on rims designed for bias and vice-versa with no issues, never used innertubes. I put radial WWW on my '52 Buick stock steelies and I currently have bias on my Astro Supremes on my roadster.
"Can I put radials on these wheels,Im aware the bias ply help with the lack of power stearing,That doesnt bother me." Maybe its just my girl genes but did you mean that Radials help with non power steering cars? I can vouch for a fact that a car with Radials steers so much better then one on Bias. There is not a problem putting radials on older stock rims. Unless the rim is bad then you have problems.
No problem. Your rims are steel. Look at some of the crappy aluminum rims with the paper thin lip. Old steel wheels are pretty strong
I think what he means, is when you are at a standstill, or moving very slow it is much easier to turn the steering wheel with bias plys, because they aren't as grippy (is that a word?). I can attest to this.
The manager at the Discount Tire store that mounted the tires on the stock rims on my '51 Pontiac freaked out because evidently the old rims don't have the little "step" in the center the bead pops over to help keep them on seated (?). That, and they weren't designed for tubless tires. No problems tho after 3 summers of use and trailer towing. Mount 'em up!
Correct, most of the older wheels do not have the safety bump that helps hold the bead on in case of pressure loss. Unless the rims have rivets that might leak, there is no real reason you have to use tubes.
What u have is a lip on the rim of the wheel at 5 degrees vs 15 degrees, radial tires on bias wheels will loose psi Talk to the guys at Coker tires! Remember those wheels are only 5 maybe 5.5 inches wide...
Some say it will work a few say it wont,Coker makes this clame that it shouldnt be done,hmmmmmmmmm well that would allow them to sell more tires-thats marketing for ya.Some people run bias ply`s on rims meant for radials well would the dif in the rim lip come into effect then aswell,probably a worse idea -do to a more veritcal rim lip ,could it ware into the side wall?Some one stated when radials first came out they went on "bias ply" wheels.So it seems the notions come from companies,Coker or Your local tire retailers.In the past Ive ran tires meant for 10-11 inch wheels on 8-9 inch wheels (for years No problems) I did how ever have to go to 3 differant tires places to find one that would mount them.So thats a "no no" but it works with out any problems .Back to the question at hand .Peolpe that have run radials on the older wheels have had no problems,but Companies do have issues with it.Hmmmm
Coker says no. Diamondback says yes. I personally have tens of thousands of miles with radials on old stock rims without incident (including towing, and hauling heavy loads with my truck)....
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