Coker 450/475-16 FIRESTONE BLACKWALL Tires

I understand that the 450/475-16 FIRESTONE BLACKWALL tires from Coker are out of round and have had other problems. While Coker has stood behind the problem I wonder if the 500/525-16 FIRESTONE BLACKWALL or the 600-16 FIRESTONE BLACKWALL tires have similar problems? While they make good with other tires that have the same problems I don't want to get into a continual tire swapping mode and I don't want to use radials.

Other experiences?

Thanks.

 

I have the Coker Firestone 6.00x16 on my 32 and work great mile after mile..

 

Kennedy just put a pair of 4.50/4.75 'Stones on his A coupe & says it rides great.

I bought a pair from Coker for my '32 last weekend at Charlotte.

JH

 

I just had a conversation with a couple of other HAMBers about percieved problems with Coker tires. I have a set on the T and love them. With the volume of tires that Coker sells, and the fact that it is human nature to never mention things when we are satisfied, only when we have a problem, I would bet that the actual percentage of defects is very low.

There can always be a bad run, but I have been very satisfied. About all you can ask of any manufacturer is to make it right when something goes wrong.

My opinion.

 

The 5.00 dirt tracks I had on the front of my car were bad out of round. I replaced them with the 4.50/4.75's they seem to be just fine haven't had no problems with them.

 

There was a problem with them...maybe they got it fixed. the Rolling Bones guys have gone through a bunch of them and have even run radials on long hauls after having problems with the 450's.

I had a car that had a real bad set of them. Coker did stand behind them and we traded them in for the 500's.

Hope they got the problem fixed.
Clark

 

if you where here in Calif. you could have Nate Jones in signal hill cut and balance them they would feel like radials after that!

 

Hmmmmmm, deciding on tire sizes now and have been looking at those on CrazyDs roadster. I am over my tear on Coker after the participation they have put into the HAMB the last few years. I will order mine from them, just need to decide on the sizes.

 

I have seen bias ply tires mounted wrong, aired up wrong, balanced wrong......all of these are factors to cause them to be "out of round" or become that way. I know it's hard to find a good tire shop that knows how to deal with OLD tires and OLD wheels, especially anything requiring a tube inside. So, make sure you get it done right before blaminig the manufacturer.

Been buying from Coker since the 70's and never had a problem.

How do I know?.......my family has been in the tire industry since 1922.

 

Some time back prox 3yrs I put a set on my 32 PU and they were not good, I sent them back and got another pair and they were not much better. Took them to Nate Jones tire and had them trued and they were very good. Put some new ones on not long ago and they were fine out of the bag. I think Coker had problems with them at first but have solved them now. That would be my guess.--TV

 

HHRdave, is sooooo right. I have had problems before with tire shops, slam bangen the tires with tubes and it just didn't work. I have one place I take my stuff to now. Those type of troubles I don't need.--TV

 

I'm not trying to bash Coker. It was just a known fact that they had a problem with that particular size. It would be cool if they admitted there was a problem and let us know it was fixed. I won't run that size til I know for sure it's been fixed.

The 450's are the only ones i know that they had a problem with. Ours were mounted and balanced by an older guy that knows his tires. Once we changed from the 450's to the 500's the problem ws solved. Hell we ran a set of 600 Exceliar tires that didn't have any balancing and were better than the 450's.
Clark

 

No problem with my 550-16's on my 34 pickup.
So many miles, I ended up wearing them out and had to buy a new set of stones.
Thank God we have a supplier who makes these and offers us a sizable discount. I'll trade "no tire" for an occasional out of round tire anyday.

 

I have never had any problems with them. I ahve trun two sets of the 450-475 ans now I am running the 500-525 and seem to be just fine. the one problem is you atlest need to move your car around one a week and drive it a few miles. They dont like sitting around long. Makes for a first few minutes bumpy ride till the warm up and smooth out

Rusty

 

Hmm...maybe they put all the crap in the export bin. It's like british motorcycle parts, there are no factory rejects, just spares.

Please explain to someone who hasn't two lifetime experiences of tire mounting, how you mount wrong, air up wrong, balance wrong to cause a tire to start disintegrating themselves when reaching 70mph. Because all the local rubber shops with just 50 years experience here are stupid, no matter what they do, the tires won't work, rotated, shaved, with or without tubes, every imaginable pressure setup, every type of balancing machine of various age and type.

BTW, on perfectly balanced rim, how much balance weights would you consider be allowable before you suspect that something isn't quite right? When you have to put on a second layer or what?

/Mikael

 

When seating the tire with a tube inside, as the tire airs up it should be laying flat on the machine and the installer should be watching the bead during air-up to make sure the bead is seated equally all the way around the rim.

Over inflated tires or tires that are aired up too quickly (valve stem taken out) may cause the bead to shift on the rim and later cause a wobble or feeling of "out of round"

Most bias ply tires work better when aired up to 35-38 PSI then dropped back down to 28-30 psi when running on the car. Use the chalk accross the tread method to check for proper inflation, all hot rod car weights are different.

As for wheel weights and balancing. Never have weightrs placed in more than one location on each side of the rim, if you see this, then the balancer tech does not know what he is doing.

If your wheel requires more than 4 oz of weight during balancing, then I would consider a new wheel or getting the wheel trued.... more than 4 oz, you can't blame the tire manufacture...UNLESS- the wheel requires very little weight with no tire on it.

Just some things to check when having vintage tires mounted up.

 

I've had a couple of bad tires, but my 450/475's are fine. One of my 7.00x16's on my roadster has been wobbly for 13 years, but I just can't seem to wear the back tires out soon enough to buy new ones! I had a bad 6.70 a long time ago that I returned for a better one. I can't stay mad at bias plies, they're so pretty! Those tiny front runners don't have much cushion though. I put 6.00's on the front of the '29 to go to Vegas one year and it felt like a Cadillac!

 

Before I switched to Coker/Firestone 16" and 18" dirt track tires I ran the Coker/Firestone 450/475's on my roadster with no problems whatsoever............ Mike

 

There all fine... and,

I'LL BUY EVERY "OUT-OF-ROUND" RIBBED FIRESTONE 16" DIRT TIRE YOU GUYS SAY YOU HAVE... TELL YOUR FRIENDS.. I'M NOT KIDDING..

PM ME!!

Joshua Shaw

 

I have nothing but good things to says about my Firestone Bias Plys from Coker.

I have 5:60 -15 and 8.20 - 15 on my 40 they have been great




I put on 6.00-16 and 7.50 - 16's on my roadster and they work perfect. I have had them over 100 mph and they were smoooooth.

 

I had 4.50-16 and 7.00-16 stones on a deuce roadster and they seemed to work fine. I have 5.50-16 and 7.50-16 Excelsors on my new deuce but haven't driven it yet.

 

well crap, I just got a set of 4.50/16s for the front of my dads duece a week ago.

Does anyone know if this has been resolved? Coker???
If not, I haven't mounted 'em yet, I'd like to swap them out for some 5.00's if there is still problems.

 

Just put in my order for 2 sets of 4.50/4.75s . . . not worried about it one bit.

 

You may be right. The law of averages are just too great. How many are out there and how many reported problems.

Also, it didn't help the problem that the small percentage that publically reported a problem is one of the hottest rod builders in the game today.

 

I've ran more than a few sets of the 450/475-16. I have had no problem. In fact the only size I have had a problem with was the 750-16. I had one that was a little 'lumpy'. Coker replaced it without a problem.

Of course, I don't just slap them on the wheel and punch the gas. I measure the road force of each tire and match mount each tire to it's wheel. Then I also DYNAMICALLY ballance the assembly. Some say that you can't measure road force on a bias ply tire, but yes you can... I have had great success...

 

How do you do this?

 

You need to take your tires and wheels down to a good tire shop and have them match mount each tire to each wheel for the best Road Force Variation.

*****Road Force variation is not the same as balancing.*****

Road Force Variation is a measurement of how much the sidewall 'squishes' all the way around the tire. This simulates the weight of the car on the tire. The force (weight) needed to 'squish' the tire a certain amount is not the same at different points around the tire, therefore causing the tire to bounce up and down at speed. You can balance the tires all day long and they will still bounce. The idea behind match mounting is to match the hardest part of the side wall to the lowest part of the wheel's diameter. A good tire shop can measure the Road Force Variation of your tires and mount them accordingly to each wheel. All you have to do is find a shop that has a tire machine that can measure the road force of a tire and wheel assembly. If you ask the shop and they have no idea what you are talking about, turn around and walk out. I have found that a shop that doesn't have this type of a machine will try to convince you that all you need is to balance the tires, and a shop that has this kind of a machine knows full well what Road Force Variation is. Bias plys and old wheels make for a bumpy ride without proper match mounting...