tires

[John M.]

      All that's standing in the way of getting Allstate on the road is the encroaching Illinois winter and the 50 yr. old Sears tires that it's resting on. With all the driving experience represented on the forum I'm asking what type of tires folks find best suited for H.J./ Allstate.
     Am more  interested in ride quality and economy than period correctness. Collector bias plies are expensive, but I like that they are the correct diameter- apprx. 27" and tread width which would  keep steering light. Do bias plies ride more harshly than radials? Modern radials cost half as much. Is there a radial size that would approximate the original size. I'm concerned that radials would be too small in diameter and too wide in tread width. Would a smaller diam. affect final drive ratio?i.e. acceleration and top speed? And would the wider tread affect steering effort noticably?
     Having driven up and down the driveway on the old tires (after inflating the two really flat ones) the steering feels pleasantly light. Don't foresee much if any highway driving so would like to keep ride comfortable and steering light around town. Am counting on forum members experience and opinions to help decide which tires to get. Thankyou all.

[Terry T]

You are correct about the harshness of ride on bias ply.
I bought Diamond Back Classic Radials for my HJ before I drove to CA on Route 66.
Having driven the car for 4 years on 5.90 bias ply, the radials provided a much more desireable ride.
I suspect that I would have been crippled by the time I got to Santa Monica if I keep the bias plys.  On my drive , I always took the oldest 66 alignment and some of those were either gravel or busted up blacktop or pot hole concrete.
These radials are wide whitewall and look just like bias ply.
I chose Diamond Back over Coker--Google it.

[joefrazer]

Conversely, my 54 W Aero Eagle Custom rode and steered like a tank with Firestone radials on it. They were removed in favor of 6.40x15 Firestone bias ply tires and it made all the difference in the world. My 48K was a stiff steerer with radials but rode well on the hiway and the same held true for my 53K. I swapped into bias ply tires on the 53 and that made slow speed steering much easier but I lost a bit in comfort on the road. Go figure.

So, I'd say it's personal preference...

[boatingbill]

Radials have a softer more flexible sidewall providing a smoother ride. The bias ply tires with a firm
sidewall provide a harsher ride, but a easier to steer and turn advantage because the side wall is
not scrubbing when turning. Again a personal choice.

[Jim B PEI]

The trick with the change to radials is to find the tallest thinnest radial possible, of course. Easier said than done. Radials are now squat and think; nothing is available like the old Pirellis that were on the mid-50s Jaguars.

One thing--make sure you install "Armstrong Power Steering"

[John M.]

      Info helpful, but still a bit confused. Do I have to break the bank and get original sized specialty tires? Or have people had good results with available modern sized tires? And if so what are the best size options? Again, most driving would be lower speed around-town kind. Thanks forum for your consideration.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The suspension and steering geometry of any 1950's car was designed around the general characteristics of bias-ply type tires.  Rims used on 1950's cars were generally set up for bias-ply rather than radials, in fact some types of wheel rims do not seal properly for tubeless tires; I had a 1951 Kaiser like that (or perhaps, with age, they lost their sealing abillity). 

It IS a matter of personal preference on what tires to use, but for judging purposes, the 5.90 x 15 tires (size used on Allstates) would be correct.  What Allstate sales materials I have do not show a 6.40 x 15 option.

[Terry T]

I mounted my Diamond Back tubeless Classic radials on production HJ rims.
No loss of air in 4 months including that torturous 9 days on Route 66.