Out for a nice cruise last night and about ten miles from my house I blow a tire ( see picture)....these are 2 week old firestones...this is my first experience with bias-plys so I was wondering what went wrong? And do I need a new tire or just a tube? Thanks in advance for all the info guys! LUCKILY I WASNT ON THE FREEWAY DOIN 60MPH
The tube blew or the tire? Is that tread separation I see? How wide is that wheel and what size tire is that? I'd do new tires regardless... Whatever you do, don't put radials on her... chalk it up as the cost of driving an old car and move on with a smile on your face!
Being they were so new with few miles I'm betting pinched tube led to the failure. Youngrodder just had similar issues with his newly mounted tires they had pinched the tubes on 2 of the 4 I think it was.
We blew one like that on the front of my Son's rpu one night while we were out cruising. I ran back to the shop and got a spare wheel and tire and got him home. When we removed the tire we found that the tire shop had pinched the tube when they installed it and it was caught under the rim, eventually wearing a hole in it. We ordered two new tubes (one for a spare) from Coker and reinstalled the same tire since he didn't drive on it once it went flat. It has been a few months now and all seems good. The problem is that tire shops today have no experience with tube type tires and don't know how to properly install them. When we went to the tire shop the 20 some year old kid doing the install said he had never seen a tube in his life. I think if you order a new tube you will also be good, as long as you didn't drive on that tire. Don
16X4's with a 500-525-16 tire I'm assuming the tube just blew..is this a common thing for bias plys? Of course I'll never do radials...still smiling regardless of what this costs me!
Yep, just part of the fun of owning one of these old toys. If you drive one any amount at all (as they are made to be used) these little things just become part of the love/hate relationship and you have to take these setbacks with a grain of salt. Not trying to hijack this thread, but, is it absolutely necessary to run tubes with bias tires? __________________ Some bias plies are made to be run tubeless, I am running them tubeless on my 27. It generally says so on the sidewall of the tire. Wheel design also is a factor some times. Don
SHould I worry about the tire being damaged? I had to drive about 25 feet to get off the road plus it has been sitting like that all night.
Back in my dirt track days we would put baby powder in the tire. It would let the tube straighten up and keep the wrinkles out. Made you smell better too
Make sure you remove any stickers from the tube, I had a buddy that had two blow on him and found out on the third one that if he removed the sticker there wasn't a problem, he said it did some kind of wear on the tube. Sounds goofy, but can't hurt!!!
There are many complaints about not being able to buy quality tubes, on the websites and from local antiquers. They claim it's very thin rubber, and of poor quality material, and some split on seams etc.
I had some auto part store tubes split in less than a year! Make sure you buy quality ones like Firestones.
We use tubes regularly. What I have seen are pin holes showing up after awhile and causing a slow leak. I have been told that it is from carbon in the rubber that deteriates over time and causes a pin hole. We patch them up and continue on. A 5-5.50 tire on a 4 inch rim should be fine. I am in the group for it been a pinched tube. Patch the tube and use the old tire. Fix it yourself and get it done right. Neal
When I install a tube in a tire I put the tube im by hand the put the outer bead on by hand. I inflate the tire just enough to seat the bead. then I let all of the air out of the tube and reinflate to the reccomended pressure. The deflating & reinflating removes the wrinkles and prevents pinching. I still fix all my own flats I even fix the old two and three piece rims. And some bias tries are tubeless. However you should only mount a tire tubeless on a rim that has a safety bead. Ive seen just as many radials fail as bias ply. I was doing 60 mph in a loaded semi when a almost new yokahama 24.5 tire came apart. It tore up the tail lights and mud flap.
No, we had to drive my Son's off the road too and all it had was some minor scuffing that cleaned off. You should be fine, those bias plies are tough old buggers. This thread does bring up a very important point though, when a tube type tire goes flat it is flat. If you run over something like a nail with a tubeless tire the air either seeps out slowly or the nail keeps plugging the hole. With a tube type tire when the tube gets punctured air comes out pretty quick and there is no reinflating it to get you down the road, generally. My Son's flat gave him zero warning and all we could do was get off the road and park it. So, it is important to either carry a spare tire or have AAA so you can get the car home again. Even if you carried a spare tube or one of those hot patch kits, the chances of finding a tire shop close by to repair it would be slim. Don
All the more reason to mount them yourself. Its a job that breaks my back (bending over and lifting), but even a dummy like me can do it and assure myself Ive done it right. Baby powder the tubes and sprinkle it inside the tires and on the inside of the rims too. That helps the the tubes move around and not pinch. I also inflate it, bounce it, let the air out, bounce it again and then air it up for good. jeff
I also use a bunch of baby powder. I also partially inflate and deflate a couple times and with just a little air in it i work the bead area with my hand. I also make sure my tools are clean and polished.
I remember the days when we changed / fixed flats on our stingray bicycles. Same thing! Just like the guys said ,especially Old Wolf, Texas Webb, Okatoma cruiser, J'st Wandering, Don & chadallic. Inspect the inside of the rim for rough spots and burrs. It's got to be smooth, no chaffing. Use baby powder when installing the tube. Inflate, deflate then inflate again.
Funny story, a few years back I was taking my '40-'48 wheels and big and little bias Firestones in for my Model A coupe to be mounted. The first tire shop said they had never done anything like that. I went to a different tire shop, as I brought one wheel and tire in to the office to show them, an old timer came in from the shop area. He was pretty dirty from working on stuff. He took one look at my wheel and said "40?" I told the guy behind the counter "I want that guy yo mount my stuff". Thousands of trouble free miles. : )
You might want to install a flap/liner too. When they install the new tube & liner make sure they use plenty of talc - helps the air up process to eliminate the tube to get a pinch. Younger tire installers have no idea of this.
not a problem, I just did the stock 4.5-21 tires on my A last weekend, just go slow and be carefull. jeff
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