Firestones out of round!

Just got a pair of 550-16 Firestones mounted and balanced though they're out of round. Does anyone know of a place here in Texas that can fix 'em? Zero miles on the tires. Also my Ford 16x4" wheels are wobbling back and forth on the computer balancer. Should I just get new Wheel Vintiques?

Thanks,

rc

 

I got new wheels (from wheel vintique after my originals were wobbly as hell) and had the tires (same ones as yours) SHAVED round (not cheap). I had far less problem with the dirt track fronts as they are made in a better mold.

 

I had to have all 4 of mine shaved round..

 

I've had better luck with the ribbed dirt trackers too. It's funny that the tires marked "for display purposes only" are the only ones that seem to drive well.

-Jeff

 

i just finished mounting up some 5.60 15 firestones....bubble balanced them ....those things rode and drove like a new car ...then it started getting a little shake.....pulled in the drive way , went in the house ....kid comes in holding 2 of the weights i just put on ..... still trying to figure out how they stayed on the car somewhere for over a mile....oh well time for stick ons or silicone...brandon

 

Strouhal tire can shave tires round. They do it for bigrig trucks all the time. There's a location south of Houston on 288 that has the equipment.

http://www.strouhaltire.com/

 

is it only the smaller sizes that are out of round? sounds liek a normal thing?

 

I have bever had a problem with Firestones or BF goodrich. I would try the stick on weights. I have heard of it done. You will probably have to go to the southern side of the tracks to ne of the southern tire shops. If you can find a shop that cutts whitewalls they should be able to shave them too, hope this helps

Rusty

 

Most of them seem to be pretty sketchy- isn't a problem on the old stockers that top out at a bouncy 60mph, but hot rods shake all to hell at 75-plus. And this is working with a good new SO-CAL ch***is. It was normal to have tires shaved round before radials came out. Now the molds are 50-60 years older so think about it.

And please don't take this a sour note- I will do whatever it takes to run Coker tires as bias-plys are the ONLY look I will ever love. All my trucks (5 of them) have some form of tire from Coker.

 

"And please don't take this a sour note- I will do whatever it takes to run Coker tires as bias-plys are the ONLY look I will ever love"

The King is naked, can't you people see that. I also appreciate the fact that Coker makes it possible for us to get these tires but there are something wrong with these tires. Corners have been cut somewhere. The "there is nothing wrong with our tires"-approach is really bad customer service.

Road force balancing finds the weakest/lowest point of the tire which in turn is combined with highest point of the rim.
It will only help if you have an out of round rim to balance against.
Doing it on cast/machined wheels is a waste of time.

Shaving tires are also a waste of time because you do it a near 0 rpm. The out of round at standstill is minimal compared to what happens at 75mph.

The problem with the Firestones is that the cord buildup is too soft and uneven. The centrifugal force makes them grow at speed and they don't grow evenly. That's why tire pressure, alignment and any type of shaving or balancing won't work.

A friend recently solved the problem simply by buying Dunlops.

 

I'd like to try the Excelsiors by coker for the fronts.
They looked good on a 32 roadster at pomona,
and may have better roundness.
tp

 

i use A-1 wheel (281 376-9477) in spring.they can shave them,then balance them on your car.



-danny

 

Next time someone bags on a guy for running radials on his car I am going to post a link to this thread........

 

I have new ribbed Firestones and they are out of round too.
r

 

For sure. Nuff said. But back in the day there was a tire store in town that would true your tires.

 

It almost seems to be a tradition with Firestone. My first new car was a 69 Camaro and it came with Firestone tires, all four needed to be shaved to get them round. Most tire dealers could do it back then since it was a pretty common problem with bias ply tire.
I can truthfully say, that over the years, I've never owned a good firestone tire.

 

I am running the Coker dirt trackers on the front of my Deuce and my p***enger tire rides nice while the driver's side feels like it's an octagon when you get above 55-60 mph.........

I may have an out of round tire here too.......and I don't have a clue where to get it trued.....South Jersey.....

Anybody got a recommendation for a tire service place who can do it?

Brucie

 

Being that Wall Speedway, an asphalt oval track shouldn't be far from you, I'd ask who shaves tires at a circle track oriented speed shop. Someone there should know. Sporty cars and stock cars which are required to race on street tires have their skins shaved to a minimum tread depth to prevent tire overheating and make them faster.

Jan

 

"You out there raven?"

You're on.
Name the place and time and I'll bring my 'stones.
Oh and thanks.
r

 

I did a story on it in Rod & Custom. Worked with a guy who has been on call to the top Bonneville and Indy teams for the last 40-plus years for wheel and tire balancing. He first showed me how out of round the brand new tires were- NO flat spots, they are just molded that way. He shaved the tires round (just as they did for decades before radials)- then he balanced the wheels and tires on his machine with his patented gyro balancing method- THEN spun them on the car and showed how much vibration was still left in the entire spinning m*** with a perfectly shaved round and balanced wheel & tire. The final step was to balance the wheels and tires ON the car and once they were balanced there was absolutely no visible shake in the car as he spun them (up to 90 mph on his machine). This was not voodoo or a one time chance encounter as I cleared the story with Corky Coker himself because I did NOT want to imply that his product was defective (still don't), just was showing a way to make them better.

Not sure about the vintage on the molds, but when vintage tires started making a comeback there were made in the original Firestone molds in Australia. The thing about the old molds was something the tire guy mentioned to me as he fixed the tires. I know he does a handful of hot rods with fresh bias-plys EVERY week for guys that really want to drive their cars.

 

No, just my conclusion based on their behaviour.
The problems only occur at relatively high speed.
The tire throw you see at 80mph is abt 1".
At standstill there is less than 1/16".
The cord is what keeps the tire together, if the cord is even the growth would be the same all around the tire.

Ever notice how flat you can pack a Firestone?
It is more or less a flat package when you get it, whereas other brands have their shape even unmounted.

 

Shaving tires are also a waste of time because you do it a near 0 rpm. The out of round at standstill is minimal compared to what happens at 75mph.

The centrifugal force makes them grow at speed and they don't grow evenly. That's why tire pressure, alignment and any type of shaving or balancing won't work.

Old Dad has had 40 years in the Heavy Truck Tire Industry. Spent a major part of it with Bandag. When shaving Heavy Truck tires they were never true'd cold. The truck was driven to generate heat in the Nylon casing.Then the truck was driven in to the shop and jacked up on all for corners to help eliminate any flat spotting. This was done very quickly to help aid in truing of the tire in its natural form.Nylon tires change there original shape after thier first heat cycle.This practice has since been forgoten in most "TRUCK" tire shops who mostly deal with" Radial" tires. Now he could be completely full of **** but I doubt it.

Cody

 

The wheels looked alright when I had them checked out by a local tire shop. However, when I had the 550's mounted and computer balanced at Discount Tire, I could see them spinning out of round and wobbling back and forth. I'll have the 550's mounted on Wheel Vintiques as soon as the car is ready to run.

 

My stupidity- read it wrong without the quotes.

 

That's the experience I had when he balanced them first on the machine- then again on the car (because of the drums Kevin) spinning them hot up to 90mph.