C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

[Greg F.]

There have been recent posts about original tires for judging. I'm concerned with judging as well (hope to be judged within the year).

My question: I REALLY like the original look of the Goodyear Wide Treads for my 71. I haven't read a detailed difference in the drivabillity of the bias tires. I've never driven or been in a car with bias tires. Can someone give me an accurate description of what I can expect if I changed from radials to bias? I drive my car about 3/K per year - mostly small town driving but occasionally on a highway for short distances.

Thanks in advance,
Greg

[Bernard S.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

Greg: With bias tires, the road will feel as if it is full of ruts and the wheel will be pulled in every direction. One can deal with this at low speeds, but at high speed it can wear on you. Many owners have two sets of tires one for driving and one for show. Firehawks were a popular driving tire, but I am not sure they are still available

[Jay G.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

My 69 Nova SS 396 L-78 has Redline bias ply tires with the SS wheels. Handles like dog meat or S--- But looks great on a Black/Black Car. I've gotten used to the handling but they are F70 14s. If you go with the Wide Oval on the Vette you may find more meat on the road etc. and better handling than the skinny tires.

[Paul H.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

I would definitely leave the bias ply for judging only. If you are driving 3,000 miles per year I would stick with the radials for driving. The few times I have driven with bias ply tires the car rode very poorly and handled even worse.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

There have been recent posts about original tires for judging. I'm concerned with judging as well (hope to be judged within the year).

My question: I REALLY like the original look of the Goodyear Wide Treads for my 71. I haven't read a detailed difference in the drivabillity of the bias tires. I've never driven or been in a car with bias tires. Can someone give me an accurate description of what I can expect if I changed from radials to bias? I drive my car about 3/K per year - mostly small town driving but occasionally on a highway for short distances.

Thanks in advance,
Greg

Thay suck. I don't know how we kept them on the road in the day.
KEN

[Charles F.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

My 1968 Coupe L 36 came to me (last year) with bias ply tires. I hadn't driven on this type tire since the 70's. Frankly, it was frightening. They are like a bowl of worms beneath you, squirming and wiggling their way down the road. They are noisy and the handling is awful. I felt unsafe. On one of my favorite curves, going at a comfortable but fast pace, I was moving 20 miles per hour slower than my Acura. Changing the tires to modern radials removed all the squirm, improved handling, improved the ride, made me feel safe and my favorite curve was done faster than the Acura. I have the set for judging but will not put them on for any other reason. They scare me.

Chuck Faillace

[Joe C.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

There have been recent posts about original tires for judging. I'm concerned with judging as well (hope to be judged within the year).

My question: I REALLY like the original look of the Goodyear Wide Treads for my 71. I haven't read a detailed difference in the drivabillity of the bias tires. I've never driven or been in a car with bias tires. Can someone give me an accurate description of what I can expect if I changed from radials to bias? I drive my car about 3/K per year - mostly small town driving but occasionally on a highway for short distances.

Thanks in advance,
Greg

Greg,

I have heard that today's reproduction bias ply tires use a softer compound than did the originals. If that is the case, then expect the treadwear rating to be in the neighborhood of "150" or so. I don't know of anybody who can give an actual mileage estimate of a repop bias-ply tires life expectancy, but I DO AGREE that the rubber compound is soft. If you have occasion to "light up" your classic Corvette's rear tires, you'll notice that the rubber sloughs off in coffee grain size granules........almost like those of racing rubber!

With all of that said, I would expect newer bias-ply reproduction tires to be quite a bit stickier than the originals. They are, admittedly, somewhat harder to spin because of the rubber compound. I would expect that to carry over into the wet/dry corvnering/braking aspects, as well.

One curious aspect of bias (belted and/or ply) tires as opposed to radials: they corner with much smaller drift angles, and exhibit very abrupt "breakaway" at the limit of adhesion.

Now, when I drive my '65 Corvette with 7.75 - 15 Goodyear Power Cushions at speed, and approach 1.5 G's cornering loads, ..............

Joe

[Dick W.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

Thay suck. I don't know how we kept them on the road in the day.
KEN

We did not know any better. I bought my first set of radials about 1967 and thought they were the worst driving things known to man kind.

[Charles P.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

You will hate the bias ply tires unless of course your daily driver is a covered wagon. The comment about following ruts in the road sums it up nicely. The bias ply will look like a page out of a magazine from 1971 and judge well.
You could always get a 73 where the GR70-15 radial was standard. Of course it did take Firestone a while to figure out the steel belts

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

I have no desire or intent to drag this thread off topic, but:

I thought the F70x15 nylon cord bias ply tires on my 1970 were the greatest things since sliced bread when they were new. Then I got used to radial tires on other cars. Back to the bias ply just sucked.

Go over the CF and look at the C6 posts about the Goodyear run-flats in comparison to non-run-flats. It sounds like the same discussion we are having here.

This expression sounds better in French, but I can only say it and not write it in that language:

"The more things change, the more they are the same."

[David T.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

I switched from radials to bias ply when I was showing my '68 L-36. Absolutely terrifying to drive at speed! Vette was all over the road and it felt like the tie rods were worn out. Needless to say radials are back in place now. How did we survive the '50's and '60's?

[Jeremy D.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

"Plus ca Change, plus c'est la meme chose"....I think I heard it in a Rush song somewhere.....

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

That's it. No offense Jeremy, but to hear it from a native speaker, preferably female ... Oh the memories.

Terry

[Kenneth B.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

I have no desire or intent to drag this thread off topic, but:

I thought the F70x15 nylon cord bias ply tires on my 1970 were the greatest things since sliced bread when they were new. Then I got used to radial tires on other cars. Back to the bias ply just sucked.

Go over the CF and look at the C6 posts about the Goodyear run-flats in comparison to non-run-flats. It sounds like the same discussion we are having here.

This expression sounds better in French, but I can only say it and not write it in that language:

"The more things change, the more they are the same."

TERRY
Do you want your money back for the F 70-15 GOODYEAR RWL tire I sold you to get your LT-1 judged back in the day. I would gladly take it back.
KEN

[Terry M.]

Re: C3 - 1971 - Driving Difference between Bias & Radial?

Do you think you can identify it, Ken? I probably have a dozen, maybe more, (none for sale -- as the expression goes) out there. I doubt we could work out a deal anyway. I can't remember what I paid for some of them -- he(( any of them for that matter. If you remember that transaction you are doing better than I.

Once they get close to 40-years old there is no soft compound left either. At that age they behave more like run-flats than bias construction. And no, I wouldn't drive much more than 25-30 mph on those aged original things.