Sorry I’ve searched but not had much luck on this So hopefully by now there should be enough first hand experience with these tires for a general consensus if they are worth it??? I’m thinking of trying these radial tires (Coker) hoping to improve the ride and comfort level on long trips in my ‘40. I’ve searched through a couple long threads but don’t seem to find any real definitive answers. First, Size wise, how do the 820R15 compare of the Coker L78-15 ? The measurements listed in the “specs” seem to indicate they are significantly narrower in size. Not just the tread but the cross section width too. Now the biggie, how do they ride and drive compared to the bias plies? How do they actually look? Are you happy with the look of them and are you happy with the overall appearance and ride/handling. I will gladly sacrifice a little loss in the looks department if they improve the ride quality. Does anyone have any first hand reviews on these and maybe some pictures as well to show us. I’m only going to be able to afford to do this once I’d like to get it right the first time. As I stated I won’t mind sacrificing a little radial look if the ride improves considerably. They are going on my ‘40 which I think looks much better with the bias plies. Any help would be greatly appreciated. .
I put a set of them on a customer's 48 Cadillac and it rode like radial tires do, good. I also put another set on a customer's 29 Roadster that previously had bias plus and drove pretty good but once the tire change it drove great compared to the old tires
No aftermarket tire will fool the experts. If you want a quality radial tire, and your tires are a readily available size, buy tires made by a major manufacturer. If you intend to have your car judged, check with the rule book to see what's allowed/what will cost you points.
Check out DiamondBack's Auburn Deluxe tubeless radials. I've got them on my '51, and their Auburn Primiums on my soon to be finished '40. Very high quality tires and white walls.
I ordered a set of the Coker radial bias ply tires . out of stock and no eta. At speedway and Coker. I checked a few other sites snd distributors for different brands as well . All out of stock with no eta . from what I read and videos etc. They are the best of both worlds it seems . But me being an impatient bastard, I opted for in stock WWW bias plys from Coker tire. for the amount I drive , and as far as tire technology has come they have to ride better then the old bias plys of the 50’s , and the white wall is a scootch wider then the radial version !!
Not sure what sizes you were after but Speedway’s site claims they have big/little WWW sets in stock.
Well I thought I’d try a set of Diamond backs this go around. I ordered a set of the Auburn Deluxe 820/15’s for the rear and 560r/15’s for the front. I told the salesman what I have now and that the rears absolutely could not be wider at the cross section width than what I have now he said the 820’s will come in just under that. The tread width will actually be a little wider than my bias plies now so that’s a bonus. I’m really hoping they will just ride and drive nicer than the bias tires I’ve been running for many years. If I’m lucky they may get here in time to put on for Vintage Torque Fest, (550 miles round trip) if not, I’ll have to break them in on the Bourbon Blitzkrieg Run (1200 miles). I’ll post pictures and a performance review of them after I get some miles logged on them. Maybe they will knock my 60’ times down too? It’s not likely they can be worse….
I can only report on the Auburns on a Model A. A friend had bias 17" and went with 16" Auburns (7.50 rear and 6.00 front) he said it was VERY much improved. Better on uneven roads, better handling and better on ruts (rain channels) on the freeways. Full fendered steel '30 coupe with a SBC, 4 spd. I plan on going with them on my '28 when the time comes. But really am looking into them on the '41 p/u in that rear size, so post your results.
The Jalopy Journal
