Bias Ply tires vs radials on the street?

[SS4Real]

For those of you running bias ply tires on your restored cars, how do they compare to radials for occassional street duty? I would really prefer a radial that looked like the original Goodyear or Firestone tires but I haven't found anyone that makes them yet.

[Mark_C]

Bias plys catch every little crack, bump and groove in the road and you have to pay a lot more attention to what your doing. They also wander more than radials and should have more toe-in added to your alignment. Radials are very forgiving in this area.

You need to change your alignment slightly when running bias plys. Remember that the old factory specs were written for bias plys, not radials, so if your using them you should be all set.

My bias plys stay on for local driving, but if I'm going over 100 miles each way the radials go back on for that trip. I've got two mounted sets so it's not a big deal to swap back and forth.

Stock factory alignment specs:

Caster +1/2 deg
Camber + 1/4 to 1/2 deg
Toe-in 1/8" to 1/4"

Radial tires need less toe-in, use 1/8" or less for
them

Just for reference (these are radial tire numbers):

Herb Adams recommends these alignment specs for the street:

1 degree positive caster ( Use around 3.5 degrees if PS)
1 degree negative camber.
1/16" toe in

Guldstrand recommends the following specs for a "touring car":
Caster: 3 - 4 degrees positive (+) PS = more, manual steer less.
Camber: 1/4 to 1/2 degrees negative (-)
With upper a-arm relocation Camber: 0 degrees
Toe-in: 0 - 1/8 inch

[mmcporter]

I have bias plys on my '70 LS6 and they are horrible. Squirrely, squirmy, requiring a lot of attention at the wheel. Handling is more vague and the ride doesn't inspire much confidence. My 70 SS396 had radials, and oh what a difference. Coker makes some radials with a redline strip that have the look of old tires. Definitely go with radials if you are going to be driving the car!

[Don_Lightfoot]

[ QUOTE ]
Bias plys are horrible. Squirley, squirmy, requiring a lot of attention at the wheel. Handling is more vague and the ride doesn't inspire much confidence. My 70 SS396 had radials, and oh what a difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately with my schedule I don't get a lot of opportunities to drive mine, but if I did there would probably be radials on it. With no power steering and a very stiff suspension you need to hang on the wheel with two hands if the pavement is even just a little bit uneven. Hey, I wanted the nostalgic look and feel so I live with it [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Chevy454]

For "occasional" use, the Polyglass will be fine. Granted, you're not gonna out handle anything on a road coarse, but they're fine for cruising, or for a blast down the strip. We've driven our cars on cruises, rural highways, interstate, backroads...no sweat.

If you regularly drive it quite a distance, then radials would be the way to go. But if not, the Polyglass will be fine and look a heck of a lot better.

[hvychev]

The bad ride is a lot bigger of a myth than reality. I have been running bias plys for thousands of miles in all conditions (on the street, for long trips, in the rain, & on the track) with no major problems. If you want a perfect ride buy a Caddy or Benz. Muscle cars were ment to have them and they look awesome!

[Supercar_Kid]

musclecars look stupid with radials. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] There is no such thing as a radial that "looks" like a bias ply, and radials totally kill the vintage look of any 60s or early 70s musclecar in my opinion... people drove these cars every day for years with bias plys, I don't see why weekend cruisers need radials. jmo. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif[/img]

[tom406]

I think, with alignment and everything optimized, radials are better. But I don't believe the difference is as great as most people are lead to believe. I believe that, much like 6 volt electrics, bias ply tires are very unforgiving of things going out of spec. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Most cars that have a huge drivability gain when switching to radials from bias have other issues, in my opinion. The effects of worn front end parts, worn steering boxes, bad shocks, or poor alignment are all diminished by the soft sidewalls of radials, and most of us are too lazy or cheap to properly fix the problem, when changing tires will take care of the 1000 miles a year we drive the cars. I've driven super low mile cars with bias plys - they're not "all over the road". I also think some of the repro bias ply tires suffer from quality control issues, based upon the cosmetic blemishes and balancing challenges I've had. So maybe they're not always a good representation of the breed.

And you just can't get "the look" with radials on a period-correct looking car. The square shouldered EAGLE GT's of the mid to late 80's were about the closest I've seen. I wish Goodyear would re-release those with Polyglas style small lettering, and no sizes (after all, "P215/65/R15" in white letters would screw up the visual, no?)

[mmcporter]

Actually, Coker makes a set of redline radials that look like Bias Plys from 10 feet. And they ride a lot better and are more forgiving than bias plys. I've driven my car with Bias Plys and radials, and I'm sorry, the radials are more comfortable, forgiving and confidence-inspiring than the Bias Plys. True the BPs look nice, and are better for the drag strip, but for people that DRIVE their cars, radials are a safer choice.

[CWilliams]

Give Diamond Back in Myrtle Beach SC. a try. They make an awesome redline radial out of a road king brand tire. Just mounted a set of 215/70/14's on a set of JJ 14x6 wheels and I think the look is just about right. Not exactly the square shouldered bias ply look but the best I've seen in a radial, very square and no lettering on the redline side. Also...If I'm not mistaken, I don't think Coker's are speed rated!