Ok, I picked up a 48 Ford F-1 this weekend and I am starting to get to work on it. I will be running 52 desoto hub caps and what wide whites on it. I am not sure on weather to run a bias or a radial, what are you guys running? I like the look of the bias but I like the ride and drivability of the radials. Do the new bias tires ride and handle like the older ones? I havent driven anything with bias for a long time but I remember they followed all the ruts in the road, were a handful in the rain and in the cold they got flat spots until the warmed back up. Lets hear your opinions on both.
My $0.02 worth. Looks old - drives old, go with bias plies. Looks a bit different - drives better, lasts longer, go with radials. I've tried bias plies again in recent years...they just don't cut it. But then again I don't care what the bias police have to say.... Charlie
If you do a lot of long distance trips throughout the summer...then radials...I've had radials on my '40 Stude since forever (built the car in '78...got over 130,000 miles on it...and been back and forth across this country many times cuz it drives great). My '55 Cadillac just got new Diamondbacks...best whites there are...!!! R- Wouldn't own a car with bias...
I've got Coker Classic radials on my 32 and love em! They look old, but ride and drive great. Kinda pricey, but the bias are too.
I got a buddy with a nice original '48 F-1 and he has driven with both radials and bias and he swears he'll never drive with bias plys. Apparently its down right scary. I kinda think if you've got a light car like fenderless hot rod you can get away with bias plys but on something heavy like an F-1 the freeway driving can get a little hairy and besides you can tuck the radials under the fenders and nobody really notices the newer look of radials. JohnnyA
Well the last set of bias I drove were scary at hwy speedy but I was thinking that they may be better now, but dosn't sound like it.
I have Firestone w/walls bias ply tires on my 49 Ford Coupe, wouldn't run anything else. My 56 Nomad and 55 F100 , I have ribbon white walls radials on the those rigs and was going for a 60's look. Never have liked the looks of radial wide whites. But it's your car in the end, do what makes you happy.
I ran 560 15 firstones on my 47 chevy with a mii and 350 motor you cant drive safely on the fwy i updated to 165-15 bf goodrich now i can step on the gas
Bias plies are only good for looks. If you plan on driving AT ALL, then you should use radials. Please listen, this is the voice of experience!
I've used radials and ended up taking them off....look like shit had problems with excessive wear on a fresh rebuilt front end...I rebuilt the front end again and put bias back on no problems since....I well never use radials again
i used to be one of those guys that was tryin to keep it real by runnin bias plys. now im kickin myself in the ass cause i have three cars i now want to buy radials for. GO WITH RADIALS!!!
Depends on what you're priority is.... Looks?.......Bias plys Ride?......radials If your car/truck rides really nice,already...you won't notice a big difference. If it rides bad...bias plys will make it worse. If you dial in your ride first,right shocks,springs,clearance,etc,then you can make a better decision.
I will agree with you on the ride quality. But I hate how they look on a fenderless car. Can't beat the look of the Firestones.
I've run both on various old vehicles. If the suspension, brakes, and steering systems are in good working order, I notice little difference. A little waver when driving on grooved pavement doesn't scare me. I put 7k on my roadster with bias plies last year alone, no issues. I'm about to put my '52 F1 on the road, it also has bias ply wide whites. I think the most important thing is to be aware of their limitations and don't expect your 60 year old pickup truck to handle like a '11 Camaro no matter what tires you have on it.
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