VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Radial to Bias Tires

I'm considering going with a set of Diamond Back tires instead of a set of Firestone or BFGs for my driver 41 coupe. A few things I need to know in order to avoid making a mistake here. It could be expensive.

So:

a. What is the closest size in a radial to the 600x16s?

b. What is the closest oversize that will fit in the spare space under the shelf in the trunk?

c. What experience have you had going with radials over bias? Other than the testimonials that they drive better.

d. Would you recommend the Diamond Back tires?

e. Would I have to use an inner tube with the stock rims?

f. Will the use of Ethanol void any warranty that comes with the tires?

g. What would be the difference in price between Diamond Backs and Firestones and BFGs?

h. Does the Diamond Back whitewall maintain its color for a longer period of time as claimed?

An relevant information and/or experience that doesn't go off thread would be helpful. (I don't want to upset overly sensitive folks here. )

Best,

Charlie

BTW: To Mike. I tried to use the "Search: thingee but got all sorts of hits but nothing close to what I need to know. Maybe someday that will work for me. Go figure.

BTW2: I just threw "f" in to see if anyone was paying attention. Did too!

The closest size currently available is the 195/75Rx16. The section width is almost two inches wider but the diameter, at 27.5", is very close to the 600x16.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
I don't know about the 41 but on the 38 you can't go any wider than stock and fit the spare location. C: Harder to turn at low speed than the bias tire. D: No opinion. E: I don't have to use a tube on my 53 after switching to tubeless radials. F: Why would using ethanol have anything to do with tire warranty? G: They all have web sites, look them up. H: Can't help.

a) 195/80R16. About an inch wider at the fattest part, and about the same diameter. It doesn't matter, you can't get them anymore. The tires Tiny posted are about an inch less in diameter, but at least you can actually buy them.

c) I haven't changed a tire at the side of the road in a few decades. My luck with bias wasn't nearly so good.

d) Probably, but to be fair I have no road miles on their radials. Some friends of mine on the AACA forums rave about how good they are. Ask them about the competition, and they might start raving but not so much about how good. I bought a 600R16 from Diamondback for a spare. They were great to deal with, and the tire came right away. The made a custom whitewall width slightly narrower than what was in the catalog and didn't charge me extra. Your mileage may vary.

e) You probably don't need tubes with radials. Better without if you can get away with it. The beads would have to be reasonably smooth just like a car that came with tubeless. The bead can be horrible if you are running tubes and you would never notice. Also I suspect you have rivets. I am running tubeless radials on riveted rims and they do not leak, but you might have to check that carefully.

g) Radial adds about $70-80 per tire over Firestone or BFG bias the last time I looked, with Diamondback radials costing slightly less than Coker radials. The bias tires will need tubes for sure, so that might eat up a little of the price difference.

h) As you probably know Diamondback claims to have solved that with a barrier later. It is too early to tell on my spare.

Hi Charlie,

Great to hear from you.

I can only offer guidance on a few points in your questions.

Within the last month we put a set of 195/75-16 General Grabber tires on a '49 3100 (1/2 ton pickup). I agree with Tiny about that size being about the closest you can get diameter-wise to a 6.00-16 and is reasonably available.

Based on my research a much better size match would be a 185/80R16. There are a few of those designed to be used as vintage tires for older sports car at about $350 a tire. The tread design would look really out-of-place on a truck.

The owner went with these radials for 3 reasons. He expects that he will get a better ride and handling. It eliminates the tubes. And it was significantly cheaper (about $500 total mounted & balanced) than going with anything from the various classic tire sources.

He was not concerned with retaining the ultimate classic look. They do fill the wheel wells nicely. The greater width is not an issue on the Advanced Design truck.

Given the great winter we are having he has not been able to drive the truck at all. We had a miserable ice/snow storm between Christmas and New Year's and it has only gotten colder and snowed more.

One key point to note is that these tires are installed on 16 x 4 wheels. That was standard on the trucks until 1950 when Chevy went to a 4 1/2" wide wheel. I expect that your car's wheels are 16 x 4.

Putting that wide a tire on that narrow wheel does create quite a sidewall bulge and a noticeable crown across the tread. We are not concerned with this. We know that he will never drive the truck enough miles to wear these tires out. The shop that mounted the tires said that it was a little tricky to get them to start inflating because the beads on the tire were pushed so close together. They did seat fine and are holding air very well. If we determine that this is creating issues with handling or ride or wear we will look for a set of the wider wheels from a later AD truck.

I did some research with respect to the warranty on the tires and the use of ethanol in the gas. It's buried in the fine print but there is a way to maintain the warranty when using ethanol. The trick is that when you rotate the tires to a different position on the car you need to keep the air in the tire in its original position. For example, the right front air has to always be in the tire that is on the right front. Something about rotational equilibrium that is more sensitive in the presence of ethanol.

Take care!