Can anyone tell me how to tell the differences between an original Goodyear red line from a repo other than the absence of the DOT-----THANKS
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Re: ORIGINAL TIRE VS REPO
Howard:
The rubber compound in the reproduction tire is a bit softer than the original. There might be some internal, structural differences, as well, in order to make the tire DOT compliant. If you decide to do a burnout with these tires, the rubber comes off in "flakes" rather than as a fine powder, but, I'm sure that you won't "try this at home".
Joe -
Re: ORIGINAL TIRE VS REPO
Howard,
On repros the red line is applied after a grove is ground into the sidewall. On originals the redline is molded into the tire. You can see traces of the grinding around the redline and into the instructions. At least that's the way it is on my Firestones.
KevinComment
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Re: ORIGINAL TIRE VS REPO
Actually, there are several things that need to be addressed here... The first is that there are two completely different types of 'modern day' redline tires. Most commonly Coker tires and Diamond Back Classics. I am the GM of Diamond Back Classics, and in the hopes of informing car enthusiasts, here are the differences. Coker tire employes outside manufactures to 'remanufacture' old style tires using old molds and new molds. Some of these molds have goodyear and Firestone names on them, but are not manufactured by Goodyear or Firestone. They build the redline as an integral part of the tire...when it comes out of the mold, it is red, and inset, or recessed into the sidewall of the tire. These are only available in 75 series sizes. Here at Diamond Back, we take brand new modern day radials by various manufacturers, ie. Firestone, Dunlop, Nitto, Hankook ect, and we vulcanize virgin solid red rubber to the outside of the preexisting tire casing. So we do not manufacture complete tires, we just make already proven tires better with the nostalgic look. All of our redlines are raised 1/8" from the sidewall of the tire and either have the Firestone Supreme name on the sidewall, or are completely void of any writing, since the stripe would actually go through the middle of the manufactures' name. Our process ensures the highest quality in ride and safety. This also allows us to choose any size from 13"-20" in any series as short as 35. Classic Corvettes has become one of our largest markets in the past 4 years and we enjoy working with such as special group of collectors. Lastly, one of our greatest accomplishments has been the introduction of the correct color goldline radial tire.
Thanks for listening, and I hope this helps.
Ron Geris
GM Diamond Back Classic Tires
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