I have not been in a car with the new coker bias ply tires. I need to pick up a set of tires for the car I just sold. The want somewhat of a order look tire which is why I thought of the Coker but they also want it to ride nice. They are paying for the tires but I need to put them on the original rims. Any suggestion????
1959 Ford custom 300 4 door Younger couple not to wise on older cars Does not matter Close to Original they want
That car will look far better with bias plys. Not knowing the couple I can't say whether they may be better off with the radials though. I wouldn't send someone new into old cars off with bias plys. Will they know and care about the difference in a blackwall bias ply as opposed to a radial? You'll have to get the answers to that,
There are plenty of posts on here discussing the pros & cons of bias vs radial. Do a search, and you'll be reading all night. I went to bias plys after much consideration, and am very happy with the results. My '31 coupe steers easier, looks 1000 times better, and I haven't noticed any difference in ride quality. I am really liking them,and this was a welcomed surprise. I was skeptical, after experiences with bias plys years ago. If I were you, I'd definitely read several of the related posts on here. There's a ton of useful info, and very strong opinions for both types of tires. Good luck...............Woody
I've got two sets of wheels and tires for my '32 Roadster. 4 Kelsey 16" 40 spoke wires with 5:25 and 7:60 bias plies and 4 Kelsey Artillery wheels with 175x16 radials on 4 1/2" in front and 215-85x16 on 6" in the rear. Plies are for local cruises and the radials are for trips. IMO the radials stop, steer and ride better but don't come close to the looks of the plies. The FOGGER
I just put a full set of firestone bias on my 63 in place of a set of goodyear radials. Honestly, I cant tell the damn difference. I was looking forward to seeing how the ride was going to change, see'ing that all my 50's cars I've had never had a set of radials on them. But no difference at all to me. Maybe just got a sweet set of Bias from coker.
I would put G78 14s on a stock '59 Ford. They have a wider tread patch than like a 7.50x14 (The stock size). and are more stable riding, although I don't like the way they look on earlier cars. They should look and ride fine on a '59 Ford.
You're the expert. Sit down and talk to the couple and see what they want. An era correct car or a more modern tire that would be easier to find when they're miles from home and have a tire problem. And . . . either style tire can have their probems, especially so nowadays with all the crap that falls onto the highway....
Has anyone noticed any difference in durablity? I noticed on the coker site that bias plys are cheaper than white wall radials. I'm not too concerned about the ride be I live in TN (we have a HUGE transportation budget and a miniscule education budget). I was wondering if you could expect the same number of miles from bias plys as radials.
I was recently in a pal's roadster with bias-plys that rode just like my '62 with fresh radials. I'm sold on 'em. Not too mention, they just look right.
On average, radials will go at least twice as far; maybe three times. One of the reasons no new cars have bias plies.
Just a small side note on radials. If you get the 80-85 series of tires they're taller and somewhat bias looking as compared to the 70 series and lower profiles. A few weeks back I thought I'd see how steelies looked on my mag wheeled 32 roadster and swiped the steelies and new radials off my 31 on 32 rails project roadster. Main difference between the tires: The 32's 14" front tires are 24" tall and tread is 5" wide on a 5 1/2" wide wheel. The 31's 15" front wheels are 25" tall and tread is 4 1/2" wide on a 5" wheel. Wheel backspace is the same on both sets of wheels. Running 30# pressure in both sets of tires, the taller 15" tire rode a little better and steering was a touch easier. Got me intrigued to the point where I'm setting up a 4 1/2" x 15" slot mag for the front of the 32 and will put a set of the 25" tall radials on it. The 1" raise in the front of the car took a little of the Dago out of it and made for a better stance in my opinion. If the 59 Ford has 15" wheels you might want to look into the taller series of radials. The best of both worlds in my opinion....
If the tires were a little bit taller it'd help my rear end ratio anyway, so that's no biggie. Thanks for the advice
So bomber is good? And dope is good when used to describe something neat-o? I need to catch up on this stuff before my short-tempered, crabby pal pops some kid for admiring his car....
C9, dope was good in the 1960s, and we rolled bombers with it. But it sort of killed Neat-o... Kids sure talk funny, eh?
Personally on a '59 Ford 4 door I'd put radials on it. My '53 Ford and my '60 Plymouth both had bias tires on them when I got them and the ride difference with radials is amazing. Wide whitewalls would look nice, but if you go with an off the shelf blackwall tire they'd look a lot nicer if you took the time to sand all the modern looking lettering off of the sides. Skinny whitewalls (the 1 inch stripe kind) are going to look out of place on a '59. If this were some fenderless roadster than I'd go the other way for sure. But the tires on a '59 Ford aren't exposed as much and it'll be worth it for the longer tire life and better handling to go with radials. Also, get yourself a '67 Mustang drum-drum non-power master cylinder to bolt into that '59 to give dual chambers. A lot safer that way.
The Jalopy Journal
