thats funny, I didn't recognize my own town.... I have yet to enter that show, my car has been in the shp every year at that time

That photo was taken on Main St. Barstow, Ca. during the Annual Main Street USA Run put on by the ?Saturday Night Cruisers? of Barstow, CA
Dennis

Quote from: Dennis Hemingway on April 17, 2007, 07:33:40 PM
No Tubes.
Dennis

where was that one taken at?

I dont use radials on my Savoy and my bias plys are tubeless. I do have radials on my 59 Apache... no problems there.

Cliff54

No Tubes.
Dennis

Dennis are you using tubes?

I have been running radial tires on my stock 1948 P-15 wheels for years with no problems. I am not using any sealer on the wheels. I am running P205 75R15 tires.
Dennis

My comments about tires is based on over fifty years of operating experience with vehicles ranging from cars through light trucks (pickups) and heavy duty trucks carrying loads in excess of 50,000 lbs..  In the region I live in, the western United States, we encounter tempretures above 110 degree's with road temps probably over 180 degree's.  If you have ever been on a So Cal freeway in rush hour traffic when everyone has the peddle to the metal and someone blows a tire going every way but straight,...... then you might say to your self.... I think I had better have my tires checked.

It does not matter what kind of a tire a person is having mounted, the rims should be correct for the vehicle, structually sound, clean, free of rust and scale on the bead area with a light coat of paint, sealants other than a  normal tire mounting lubricant should be all that is needed. If tubes are used in the tire they should be for a radial tire . I even use radial tires on my trailers and have found out the hard way that tires designed for  trailers should be used in lieu of car/truck tires....Bill

Bill    that is interesting what you have said about failure through heat build up using tubes in a tubeless tyre ,it is something that i have not yet found in the years that my 54 has been fitted with radials ,with tubes.  Up till the last couple of years it has been my daily runner,being used for every thing,including takeing me deer hunting and duck hunting.(inother words it has been used and not kept in cotton wool and was used summer and winter)i admit it is  now showing the effects of that use and is noe waiting for a restoration or major tidy up. but with all that use i have never been let down by the tyres, it might be hard to believe but not even a flat....Rex

Thanks for the positive information. This is the first I heard about going tubeless. Do you mave any problems with the old original rims sealing. Do you coat the inside with any type of sealer?
Thanks
Mike

Through out the years since radial tires became the norm on modern cars, ie; vehicles manufactured since the mid, late 1960's, the controversity as to if tubeless tires and/or radials can be used on the older vehicle has been debated to death. The group that thinks people should still use non-detergent oil in engines and water in radiators will try to convince anyone in ear shot of the pit falls of radial tires on "older" rims.

The fact of the matter is that solid axel cars/trucks (I beams) actually drive better with radials. Will the rims split?  ........ Nooooo! Bias ply tires are more likely to split a rim than radials because the bias tires do not flex. Will the tubless tires come off the bead on a turn? .....Nooooo!..... if the tire is properly inflated. Should tubes be used in radial tubeless tires? Nooooo! The tubes tend to cause failures because of heat build up between the tube and the tire casing. The big thing you have to be carefull of when using tubeless radials on old rims is:  Are the rims in good shape? If they have rivets, are the rivets tight? Make sure that the tires you use are designed for the rim width you have. If the tires have a notation on the side wall that says..... use on 6.5x16 rim don't use them on a 4.5x16 rim.... the side walls will be pinched in causing the tread to not come in full contact with the road.

I have used nothing but radials on all of my vehicles, cars and trucks since 1965. I currently have them  on... 1939 Plym, '53 Pontiac, '56/57 T-birds, 59 Ford pk up, 63 Chrysler 300, plus a few more....Bill 

Thanks for the information, as of now I see no reasons no to go ahead with the radials

If you are fitting 600/16 radials you should,depending on the condition of your wheels have no problems .i would have the wheels checked out first....ride, performance and cost ,theres no comparison .I cant remember exactly how many years i have been running radials on my 54 but it has to be well over 10 years.the ride , after changing to radials it made me wonder why i hadn't done it a lot sooner. performance; i was only getting about 6-7,000 miles out of cross plys(o.k i might drive a little harder and corner harder than the average driver) but i get at least 2-3 times that from radials.  price; i cant comment to much as i don't know your prices in the states, you said radials cost more than cross plys ,it is the other way here in NZ. even if radials cost more than cross plys there is the extra milage you get from radials .another thing when i had cross plys fitted the car would tend to follow ever cack and hollow in the road  and was a lot harder to hold on the road, i intend to fit radials to my 39 desoto after it is finished being rstored

I was  reading the NOV/DEC Plymouth Bulletin and looking at the Detroit Region report (page 10) and they referred to old copy of a Cars Weekly article on wheel failure caused by radial tires installed on rims designed for bias ply tires. This was all that was mentioned in the Detroit Region article. I was in the process of buying 600/16 whitewall radials for my 41 plymouth coupe. Is there a problem that any of our members are having mounting or driving  these new radial tires using the old rims with tubes. Is the ride and performance any better considering the increased cost of the tires? Maybe someone out there can stop me from making a mistake one way or the other.
Thanks