What I've noticed on bias-ply tires

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

A new set of tires went on the Henry J 2 weeks ago.  The car no longer has its American Classic 165R15 radials; the new tires are B.F. Goodrich Silvertown 5.90 x 15 made off original company molds.  I have noticed the following changes:

1.  The HJ turns easier than with the radials on them.

2.  While I have yet to drive it on a wet road, I have noticed that the everyday routes I use seem to ride a bit better and that bumps, etc. are less pronounced than with the radials on the car. 

No changes were made to steering or suspension in the process of swapping the tires.  It almost feels like a power assist was added to the car (but of course, it hasn't been installed)

Any comments from others making a recent tire switch on their old cars?

[DTort96646]

Question on air pressure your tires were set to. Radial tires are usually inflated to a higher pressure than bias ply tires due to the tire construction. ie: a tire on my 1951 Frazer Manhattan would be 24 psi for the 7.10 x 15 bias ply. Rides great at 24 psi. Radials would be 30 psi for a 215 x 75R x15. It also rides a little hard. If I deflated the radial to 24 psi it would ride great but steer like a tank. Just a question to help clear any confusion.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

For the moment, I'm running 26 psi all around on the new B.F. Goodrich tires.

[konrad]

Cars of our vintage were designed for bias-ply tires, bias-ply tires were designed for said cars.  Radials, steel belts, etc. came after the wide spread adoption of power steering, hence the reason why radials make driving cars of our vintage more difficult.

Are radials better tires (more durable, longer lasting, etc.)...absolutely.  Are they better for cars of our vintage...no.

If you want great bias-ply repro tires, try Coker Tire...they're the premier supplier for vintage cars.

[MarkH]

Michelin started making radials in the 40's. I run a set of XAS (early 60's) model on my Aero. They're a round tread design for non power steering cars. The steering issues come with modern flat tread radials.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

It rained yesterday here, so I took the Henry J out and it handled very well on a variety of pavement surfaces.