1952-59 Ford Bad Luck with Wide Whites

Spent the big bucks and bought some wide whites from a major mfg and new steel rims from another major brand and got the look i was after. BUT after trying to ballance the lot, Just cant stop the bounce/shake starting at about 50 mph. First two ballance jobs were using the center hole and the last time with the lug adaptor. I even tried ballance beads. So everything is going back this week and i will have to start again. Has anyone been happy with their wide whitewalls or am i expecting to much. FYI my old blackwalls tires were near perfect

 

I'm unsure if the old blackwalls were on the new rims and ran smooth or if the new rims and tires were installed at the same time. A spin-up balance machine should be able to tell if anything is out of round. I feel your pain, I hope you find a simple solution. I don't know the brand you have, but one brand has had a lot of unhappy customers. Returning them might be your only recourse. Please keep us posted on your solution.

 

I'm happy with the Diamondback wide whites I got about 3 years ago. Unlike those other guys whose name begins with a "C", Diamondback does not make their tires from worn out molds, they buy from major manufacturers and add the white themselves. My tires are made by Toyo.

 

I had no issues with the BFG Silvertowns but they were bias ply so they had a flat spot until they warmed up.

 

These tires were radials and they did come from C. I may have just ended up with a bad batch. My original old radial tires on unilug rims (see avatar) ran fine, so i am sure its not the 54. Bought these thru Jegs and when i called them and explained the problem, they were great about it. I had my return labels with 20 minutes. Will be taking them to FedEx tomorrow.. I will let you all know how the final transaction/refund goes in about a week or 2. I will check into diamondbacks...has anyone had any experience with CaliTire ? https://www.callitw.com/

 

Coker is notorious for your problem.

 

more than likely just the luck of the draw....i bought diamond backs and one of the front ones ended up with a bulge in the sidewall so big it would not go past the cycle gaurd mount and now the whitewall is lifting on one of the rear tyres....not real impressed with diamond backs at all. oh yeah only just done 15,000 k's

 

I have Coker www on my wagon and I have never had any problems with them, I also had them on my Deuce pickup, again no problems. HRP

 

I've had both bias ply and radial white walls from Coker on my Tbucket with no issues.

 

Ya I think sometimes a little luck may come into play. I have Coker Firestones on the Highboy and they have been great

 

seems Coker tires are a mixed bag - some swear by them, others swear at them.

 

Diamondbacks require a higher, than what I consider to be normal, air pressure which should prevent the Whitehall issues you are describing. I believe I have mine aired up to 40psi.

 

Had Diamondbacks for 6 years on my 56. Had them make the ww’s slightly narrower. They were on Coopers and perfect on stock rim/wheels.

 

Or there's always this And this:

 

I've seen the shaving method before, and you can save some dough doing that but I'd be concerned about possibly reducing the strength of the sidewall. Also, I've heard the white surface isn't smooth and collects grime quickly. Whitewalls are enough of a PITA to keep clean so why make life harder?

 

The whitewall overlay is not part of the actual sidewall so strength is not an issue. Many lowrider shops that do shaving use a sealer after shaving or you can do this: https://www.ebay.com/p/1560496275 Like "back in the day"

 

Yes, we fondly remember the good 'ol days. I would submit that not everything from the good 'ol days was as good as we recall. Most folks rode on bias ply tires and portawalls worked OK on those, kinda sorta. They don't work on radials. I run radials on my '55 Merc and will never go back to bias plys.

Here's a thread from this forum on the subject; it's hilarious:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/porta-walls-on-radials-why-not.406564/

The fat women in Spandex comment reminds me of an old joke. "Fat girls are like mopeds. They're fun to ride until a friend sees you."

 

My Diamond Backs are perfect. No problems. If there are, they have your back, ask me!

 

had not heard that before...i guess it is too late for me now

 

Here's a thought:

 

I have had multiple sets of wide whites and all have been fine. One set was BF Goodrich radials from Coker, another were Coker branded radials, a couple sets of Firestone bias from Coker, and I am now running a set of American Cl***ic radials that look like bias. No problems with any of those.

 

This is a diamond back wide whitewall. HRP

 

Did Diamondback make it good? That's an obvious blem.

 

I've had 3 sets of Firestone Deluxe Champions on my car. The first set ran perfectly at 65 mph but the whitewall started to crack on them. Sent them back under warranty. Second set was out of round big time. Sent them back. Third set I took to a guy that has a old tire truing machine before I ran them. There is some runout on a couple but now I can cruise at 75-80 mph no problem. I'm not terribly happy with Coker's quality but their customer service is excellent. I'm not sure its enough for me to buy another set though. I've been through 3 sets of tires in less than 2000 miles.

 

Just an update on the returned tires & rims to JEGS. Within 3 days of Jegs receiving the tires, i had a full credit refund. Would have liked having the $ back, but i can use up the credit with other purchases. Also, I had purchased the extended waranty from Coker and they refunded that back to my visa. Now I have to start all over with a wheel and tire purchase. Wish a major mfg made wide whites again.

 

Try to find someone with a tire lathe. I had the same issue with some tires I got from Coker. I put them on a lathe, had them perfectly rounded, and bam, perfect. I highly recommend.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will ask around and see if i can find someone that can true up tires. Many years ago (when i was young) had some ****py re-caps trued up and when they were done, the tires were less than the legal depth. Ran em anyway. Couldnt afford another set of tires

 

Use those Mr Clean melamine sponges to clean your WWW.
They clean better and don't leave any kind of slippery residue (Good to know if you're cleaning a motorcycle seat).