American Classic bias-look radial tire

[jdwilker]

Has anyone tried these tires on their Skyliner? Given the weight and distribution especially with the top down, I was curious how the car handles.

[59 Retract]

I put these tires on last spring and really like them. If you are coming from bias ply tires you will notice a significant improvement in handling. Installer said they mounted and balanced really well. 1.500 miles on them so far with no problems. Just make sure your hubcaps are on good and tight.

[Finster]

I have used the American Classic radials (That look like Radials) for 8 years now and so far no issues. This wont help you much with regards to the ones your buying but its the same brand so should be a good sign. No White wall peeling away etc. or Hub Cap loss as of yet.

[fogasu]

still no issues ??

I put these tires on last spring and really like them. If you are coming from bias ply tires you will notice a significant improvement in handling. Installer said they mounted and balanced really well. 1.500 miles on them so far with no problems. Just make sure your hubcaps are on good and tight.

[59 Retract]

Still no issues. I found that with 32 lbs in the rear and the top down, the back end seem to sway a little bit. When I put in 35 lbs psi in the rear tires this straightened right out. I personally like the tires despite the rather high price.

[jdwilker]

Are you using these on the stock 14x5.5" rims? There are some who think that because of the construction of OEM rims and the way that radials stress the rim differently than bias ply tires, that it could lead to cracks or outright failure.

[59 Retract]

Yes, I am using the stock 14 inch rims. The tires do not seem to lose any air pressure which I think would happen if the rims were cracking. Maybe 3K miles on them with no problems and maybe a 50/50 mix between highway and city driving. I do drive the car pretty easy though. I read the articles as well using a radial tire on a rim designed back when only bias ply's were available and the logic makes sense. Just speaking from personal experience, no problems here. I did have one hub cap that I had to pull out the prongs a little to get a tighter fit but I am not sure if this was caused by the radials or just a hubcap thing. I also have a 1950 Ford which I have been running the Coker wide white wall radials (don't look like bias ply) for at least 10 years now without any issues with the rims. All this only my personal experience.

[1959retractable]

I have driven antique cars for about 25 years, at least 8 of them as daily drivers and have never seen any wheel issues from radials. I also never have hubcap problems. From day one I always bent the "teeth" out on hubcaps because I could tell that years of installation had bent them over farther than they originally sat. This is just my two cents worth, but I've never had any issues running radials on antique rims.