Hot Rods Firestone dirt trackers?

Getting a bit concerned about the age of the 345 x 16 Truck radials on my coupe. Looking at possible replacements. I like the look of the Firestone dirt trackers . I do a lot of miles and was wondering if anyone has experience of these. Any good in the wet?

 

Are the 345X16 Radials no longer available? They look like they have served you well.

 

Haven't been available for a few years.

 

Coker sells these

 

I will also be needing some dirt trackers for my vintage looking champ car build, but I would like narrower than the ones pictured, to be era correct. Any other suggestions? Also need fronts.

 

I had them on my 32 5w coupe for years. I drove to California from midwest with no issues. I now have a pair on my 33 3w and another pair in the basement. Pretty spendy now, but it costs to be cool

 

Can't get these anymore either!

 

And they as round as a brick

 

I like the older style tires like a lot of us do. The dirt track tires were on light race cars and for the most part so are the hot rods we want them on now. If you’re pretty conservative in your highway driving and carry an electronic thermometer and check them often on the road I think most will be fine.
I use 303 Protectorant on our current dirt track tires and am getting more wear (laps) out of them. You can read how it’s supposed to help rubber. I soaked the wiper blades of my OT truck with it when they were new and have 5-1/2 years now. I rewipe them with it on every wash. Good Luck.

 

I have been running Firestone 14x31 15 double diamonds on my roadster for many years with no problems. They are repops from Coker and area DOT approved. Ralph double diamonds are rare and wear out like erasers because they are dirt track racing tires for sprint cars and were replaced regularly. One problem I had with the Coker tires was initial balancing. I mounted them on 15x12 wheels with early Ford centers, purchased from WheelSmith. My tire guy mounted both up and balanced them. One took 3 ounces and the other took 16 ounces! Neither was out of round. I called Coker when they were in fresno, and they told me that it must be the wheel bad. I told them that it was a steel wheel and how could you hide 16 ounces of weight on a steel wheel and hot notice it. I finally loaded up both wheels and tires and headed for Fresno. They took me to a specialty shop they trusted and he balanced bot wheels. Sure enough, one took three ounces and the other took 16. Not satisfied, the manager from Coker had the 16 ounce tire rotated 180° on the rim and surprise, surprise, the weight followed the move! A call back to Coker got us another tire. It got installed and it balanced out with 3 ounces like the other good one. Just to let you know what can happen with these tires from Coker. I have not heard of big balance problems with them of late. But, they look incredible, wear well and ride great, once the balance problem was solved. Since my roadster is a hiboy, it does a very
interesting while going through puddles and water covering the road. They throw giant rooster tails, put little "roadster marks" on the back of your shirt, and best of all, keep people from tailgating you in the wet!

 

Yes, on a slick track they lasted one maybe two races.

 

You cannot run them low pressure and expect them to last. Lots of guys lower the pressure to get a better ride.

The real ones actually wore real well. They really were not using soft compounds back then. I am not sure what Coker uses. They have never been DOT approved. That never mattered to us. They were fat.

 

best "traditional" tyres I've ever had, regretted selling them would have looked the billy bolox on my roadster