Has anyone had any trouble with the Bias coming out of round??? I know at one time right after I got mine some people were having trouble and the guy from Coker got on the board and stood up for his product. Is he still around? My tire is not seperating or anything, it's just making my front end shimmy like hell at anything over 50 miles and hour. Any suggestions??? Thanks, monkey
I'd look at loose front end parts like a tie rod end or tire /wheel balance. I've had two sets of Coker wide white bias plys and never had a problem with them.Is it a solid axel car? I cured it on one car by installing a panhard bar on the front axel.
I don't think there were many problems with the bias ply ones. Have you had the tire rebalanced? I just replaced a tire, on my driver, and it had been shaking the entire car. I examined the sidewall and found a place where the "flow" of the rubber looked funny. The plies had separated and caused a weird out of balance condition.
I had the same problem just the other day..thought it was the tires...checked the front end and the steering arm and tie rod were loose.
Just had the tires re-balance before I left for Wellington to McPhails. It's a 47 3/4 axel with a 4 inch drop. Split wish set up.
Is the shimmy triggered by anything,like a bump in the road or steering wheel movement? I still think it's something in your front end or tire balance.
[ QUOTE ] I know at one time right after I got mine some people were having trouble and the guy from Coker got on the board and stood up for his product. Is he still around? [/ QUOTE ] He came on long enuff to tell us how wrong we were and never came back from what I remember. I have not heard of many problems with the plys, it has been mostly the radials that have had problems. I really hate the hit and run internet tactic...and from what I remember that is what the guy did, came on...said a few things about how wrong we are, said to call him, and never came back. THEY NEVER TOOK CARE OF ME OR SEVERAL PEOPLE I KNOW SO I SAY THE GUY IS A TOOL AND A LIAR. I threw away one of the tires in question after all these years not too long ago that they would not take back. I ain't a fan of them at all. Lets see him make me happy, give me a new set to replace the ones I tossed. Of course I don't have them amymore or any paper work since it has been over ten years ago now...gee, I am petty with my long memory BTW, my new radials were so out of round they were not usable and my other set came apart. My fav comment was to a well liked and well known local guy who had some blow apart on him...they asked him what kind of miles he was putting on the the tires and told him they were not really for that...they were "show car" tires.
Still sounds like an out of balance condition, since it occurs at a specific speed. Find a shop that can spin the tires up on the vehicle to the speed of rotation that the imbalance comes in at, and balance accordingly. It will probably have to be a truck shop, as most "tire stores" only have computer balancers. At the same time check for any lateral runout in the tire and/or wheel. As the rpm's increase, this CAN get cyclic enough to cause the shimmy. Any bump will start the oscillation. Obviously make sure EVERYTHING is tight.
Every set of Bias Ply we have ever run on our cars has a tendency to go out of round. Coker, Diamondback, Lucas Tire out of longbeach, whatever. If you park your car in one spot long enough its bound to happen I guess. For that reason my father always stores our woody on jackstands for the winter. Keeps the tires round... I've never had a problem with my Coker Bias Ply. The radials are the problem. -Dane
[ QUOTE ] ...At the same time check for any lateral runout in the tire and/or wheel... [/ QUOTE ] What is Lateral runout (dumb question?)? I too have coker bias plys on the front of my roadster and am having the same problem only at 65 mph instead of 50. I've been told that many Cokers are out of round and require trimming. I've gone through my front end, found a bad tie rod end, replaced it, didn't help. I had the tires balanced (off car), improved a little, but still a problem. My next step will be to check round and shavem down as necesary AND then balance them on the car. I think the balancer is called a "Hunter Balancer". Good luck let us know what you do and if it helps. I'll keep you posted with my results. Cheers. Tim
How is Corky a "Tool and a Liar" if he told you to call him to resolve any issues? What if he'd never come on here at all? He gave you an option, don't you think it in your best interest to follow up on that? Anyhow, many of the bias-plies I've run could have used a "shave", but I just got used to it. Finding early steel wheels anywhere close to "true" is near impossible, and even some aftermarket steelies are off. Good balancing and the right air pressure are really important, but having your tires shaved might be the only option. Facts of bias-ply life!
Here is the deal though....this shimmy has just started not too long ago, about 2 weeks, and I have run these tires for over a year with no problems. The truck sits most of the week and then is out all weekend.
I've had problems with cokers bias plys going out of round. The first set of rears on the roadster were fine for about 6 months. Then I developed an egg on the inside side wall of one tire. Drove me nuts balancing the tires checking the axle baring, everything to find out what the hell the shimmy was. Fially felt the bulge in the tire and replaced it. Then it happened on the other side. I love my hurst cheater slicks I'm running now.
Monkey, are your kingpins or tie-rod ends worn out? Did you loose a wheel weight? What about the wheel bearings? Even your shocks could have a bit to do with it. I've never had a bias blister or bubble, but I'm sure it's not unheard of. I don't think leaving the car parked for a week straight will lead to flat spots, but who knows...
Believe it or not, shock also play a factor. Check to see if your shock bolts or the shock mounts have come loose. The shocks can absorb minor tire imperfections if working properly. If not, it can magnify the problem. I've had pretty good luck with Coker's BFG silverton wide whites.....Knock on Wood.
My kingpins definatly need replaced, my tie rod ends could probably be replaced as well. My whole front end really needs a good goin through. I just don't understand why it would happen all the sudden.
<font color="green">Say Brutha, have you checked for bulges, be sure to look on the inside also. When I was at Casa de Radshit, he had a Coker with a NASTY bulge in it. He said it would come and go. And it did, while we were there it bled down. I guess the action of driving would force the air between the layers and then the air either leaked out of the tire or somehow back in? Anyway, you could have some similar deal that bleeds off before you check it. RASHY </font>
Probably could use a good reeming (on your spindles!) with new pins and brass bushings. Once they start to wear, they only get worse, not better. If you have zerks on your spindles, squeeze some grease in there for the time being.
I think I'm on at least my fifth set of bias ply Coker Classics. I've only had real trouble out of two tires out of all those, with the last one pictured below. It was wearing properly and had about 4K miles on it. I fortunately heard the sidewall flapping in the breeze and pulled over before it could blow out. It still held 30 lbs of air even in this state. I had just looked at all my tires before I drove off (going to a show), and there was no evidence that the sidewall was about to come apart. I've noticed that the last couple of sets of Cokers I've bought have developed little 'cuts' in the whitewall after use that kind of worry me...I hope they don't end up like this one. The only other tire I had trouble with was a new L78-15 that they had cut into the cord on when they were doing the whitewall. It had been completely covered with that blue stuff and I didn't even know it was there until I had already mounted the tire and started to clean it. I called Coker and they said I could ship it to them so they could take a look at it, but I'd have to pay shipping both ways. I ended up having to return it all the way from Waco to Dallas to get it replaced, and Coker refused to compensate me for any of the return costs. That kind of pissed me off. I'll keep using the bias Cokers though, because they look right, and the price is still pretty fair IMHO. You just have to accept that they aren't going to ride like new radials...and that their service is pretty lackluster at best. Picture 1:
[ QUOTE ] How is Corky a "Tool and a Liar" if he told you to call him to resolve any issues? What if he'd never come on here at all? He gave you an option, don't you think it in your best interest to follow up on that? [/ QUOTE ] How is he a lair...long before the liar came on here they WOULD NOT TAKE BACK A SET OF TIRES THAT WERE OUT OF ROUND. I bought them, they sat for a while unmounted, finished the car and they were out of round....they would not exchange them. They would not replace the blown ones I had. Many people had the same problem. He came on here and tried to sing a different tune...that they help customers out and that is not true. They left me with four brand new tires so out of round they were useless. They would not replace one the tread went south on. My buddy had all four go out...after a huge war with them they replaced them but told him they were show car tires. The last set I bought I put on another car I sold...I saw the car months later and all four tires were bad. Is that enuff proof for you....they do not stand behind the stuff from what I have seen. BTW, it was not Mr. SEMA leader that came on the HAMB...some lacky. He came on and ignored me...wonder why? Hope that explains my venom...
Now that I think about it, I did have a couple more 5.60-15's that went really out of round when they were about at the end of their life expectancy...but they needed to be replaced anyway so it didn't bother me too much. Picture 2 (Ouch):
"Coker refused to compensate me for any of the return costs" Yep, sounds like the Coker I know and love For a company so concerned with customer service why does this issue keep returning. They take care of one person and mess over another. I think they are penny pinchers to the max. I know I was treated badly and I am doing my part to do the classic "tell everyone and they will tell everyone" part in the drama and they don't care. Hell, I had some Cokers on the back of my 32 when it was being put together and the inner bead rim area that goes right next to the rim on one of them was bad and it would not seal to the tire. They said I could exchange that one...but it would cost me shipping...yeah, great job Coker. I'm done for this years addition of my anti Coker rant. And once again...this is radials I am talking about. Funny thing...my Dimondbacks have not given me one bit of trouble. BTW, what happend on the monopoly case against Coker?
I'll try and take some pics this week sometime. It's a really annoying shimmy. Freakin front end is all over the place. Thanks for the info fellas! Bass, isn't that the tire you had problems with comin into dennison last year?? monkey
Honestly, I've never had a problem with Coker. The one set I had that were really troublesome, they replaced immediately. I can't imagine them not doing to same for anybody else. I could maybe understand them trying to weed out the guy who let his tires wear prematurely due to misalignment or*****ty suspension versus the guy with a legititmately bad tire, but to just disregard a customer to "pinch a penny" doesn't sound right, especially for a company that****umably supplies 80-90% of antique tires. Now, I can't speak for the radial whitewalls...never owned them, probably never will. I can sacrifice ride quality for looks anyday.
Hey be sure to check them bones, got cotter pins in them. That shimmy shook both sides completely loose on my ride to and from Paso last week. I think your on the right track, with throwing a weight or worn front end parts, given that your problem came on suddenly. Tighten everything down good.......
I just saw the new Coker 16" radial tire at York and the thing looked real close to a bias tire.I'm scared to death to buy the damn things because I've heard so many stories.
Monkey, I'm gonna say kingpins. My ford has 'em and you know when you need to get new ones. Does the same thing your getting with yours. Shake and shimmy all over but it's not constant just at certain speeds. Also bad if you hit certain bumps/potholes at certain speed, damn thing gets all over. New kingpins and all is well now.
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