Radial Tires - were you an 'early adopter'?

[Kuato]

I had bias plies on my 1st car when I got it, and changed to radials when the tires were replaced. This was in the late 80s.


Originally Posted By: Burt
My father had some firestones on his oldsmobile in the 70's and experienced the widespread problem of tread separation on this brand. It took them a while to perfect them. People had a tendency to think that their radials were underinflated due to the characteristic bulge on radials.


Firestone? Tread separation?

I'll never own firestones.

 

[2oldtommy]

addguy, I ordered a '74 Old delta 88 with the extra cost option of radial tires. (first year they were available as OE on Olds ) It also included "radial tuned suspension" which was stiffer and with a rear sway bar. By 1977 Olds had made radial tires standard on all full size Delta 88's and 98'. The tires that wear OE in the '74 Olds were made by Firestone although they had the GM specific tread design. They all had to be replaced under warranty as they had ply separation at about 8-10k miles. There were a lot of growing pains as american tire mfg's learned how to make a good radial tire. FWIW-Oldtommy

 

[Spazdog]

When I bought my '65 Impala (very used) it had a set of fairly new Montgomery Ward radials. Don't know which company actually made them. But they were acceptable tires. Good in all conditions, exceptional in none.

But the funny thing was the spare.

Don't know who made that one either....but it was a J.C. Penney bias-ply tire. No real tread, just 4 straight ribs that ran the circumference of the tire. Where the tread ended and the sidewall began was a perfect 90° angle. And I mean they were board straight. No zig zags, no side grooves to force the water out of....just 4 straight ribs.

It was funny to me just because of how simple it was. Like the designer said, "...make it round, make it black, and oh yeah, cut some grooves in it...there you go. Tire."

 

[Cristobal]

I first used radials mostly in the middle 1980s.

I knew about them before but they were always more expensive. That is not an issue much these days as radials are now very common, in fact around here they now seem more common than the traditional tire, and someone is always having a sale.

 

[eljefino]

Pull any magazine car ad from 1979 through 1984 and you've got "metric radials" and "halogen headlamps". Really what else was there to brag about? And it's funny how easy one could retrofit those to your current car.

Following that awful period came fender badges for "electronic fuel injection" (chevy) and "5 speed overdrive" (ford escort).

 

[weebl]

Originally Posted By: ChuckBerry
Interesting to note that bias ply tires have gone the way of the dodo, and conventional oil is still selling strong, and is in most ways highly competitive with synthetic oils.


Wish that were the case in all segments. Unfortunately, they still dominate the trailer tire market, and for my trailer, the only ones for the OE fitment and load range are bias. Tires I figure are about half way through what I would want to keep them for. Seem to be already wearing unevenly, more on the sides than the middle, and somewhat feathered. Inflation is kept right on spec, trailer is fairly new. Not too impressed with the bias. I'll be doing an axle "flip" to upgrade to 185R14C radials when it's replacement time. They'll probably be Continental Vancos. So I guess I'll be an early adopter for the type of trailer I have, as the majority for pop up trailers run bias.

 

[mikiee]

I put radial tires on my 72 Beetle. Never got stuck in snow in that car.

 

[4ever4d]

My first radial tire was a feeble attempt at retreading,they failed miserably about oh.... two weeks after installation. The"new" tread started peeling off at the edges.I was newly married,poor and needed tires. I think if memory serves me they were around $100 for the set of 4.I ultimately had to borrow some money from my dad and buy some decent tires that were"bias ply" of course.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: 4ever4d
My first radial tire was a feeble attempt at retreading,they failed miserably about oh.... two weeks after installation. The"new" tread started peeling off at the edges.I was newly married,poor and needed tires. I think if memory serves me they were around $100 for the set of 4.I ultimately had to borrow some money from my dad and buy some decent tires that were"bias ply" of course.


At the heart of every re-tread was a worn-out tire.

Not that retreads can't be good, many Aircraft use inspected, X Ray-ed casings that are re-treaded. Just most of the cheap, automotive ones were garbage.
I know, I used to make them.

 

[ChuckBerry]

Originally Posted By: weebl
Originally Posted By: ChuckBerry
Interesting to note that bias ply tires have gone the way of the dodo, and conventional oil is still selling strong, and is in most ways highly competitive with synthetic oils.


Wish that were the case in all segments. Unfortunately, they still dominate the trailer tire market, and for my trailer, the only ones for the OE fitment and load range are bias. Tires I figure are about half way through what I would want to keep them for. Seem to be already wearing unevenly, more on the sides than the middle, and somewhat feathered. Inflation is kept right on spec, trailer is fairly new. Not too impressed with the bias. I'll be doing an axle "flip" to upgrade to 185R14C radials when it's replacement time. They'll probably be Continental Vancos. So I guess I'll be an early adopter for the type of trailer I have, as the majority for pop up trailers run bias.


I did know that some industrial machines still used bias ply, but I wasn't aware that it was still relatively common for trailer tires.

 

[mechtech2]

I had redial tires on my 1967 Spitfire. It had them on when I bought it used in 1970.

 

[4ever4d]

Originally Posted By: ChuckBerry
Originally Posted By: weebl
Originally Posted By: ChuckBerry
Interesting to note that bias ply tires have gone the way of the dodo, and conventional oil is still selling strong, and is in most ways highly competitive with synthetic oils.


Wish that were the case in all segments. Unfortunately, they still dominate the trailer tire market, and for my trailer, the only ones for the OE fitment and load range are bias. Tires I figure are about half way through what I would want to keep them for. Seem to be already wearing unevenly, more on the sides than the middle, and somewhat feathered. Inflation is kept right on spec, trailer is fairly new. Not too impressed with the bias. I'll be doing an axle "flip" to upgrade to 185R14C radials when it's replacement time. They'll probably be Continental Vancos. So I guess I'll be an early adopter for the type of trailer I have, as the majority for pop up trailers run bias.


I did know that some industrial machines still used bias ply, but I wasn't aware that it was still relatively common for trailer tires.

It is also a common practice on the rear of heavy trucks. DOT does not allow retreads on the front though.

 

[JHZR2]

I remember records, I remember analog radios and TVs with dials and rotary phones... But I dont remember my parents ever buying anything but radials.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I remember records, I remember analog radios and TVs with dials and rotary phones... But I dont remember my parents ever buying anything but radials.


What about cars with Drum brakes on the front?
I remember seeing some of those in the 70's. I also remember asking a 'mechanic' about them, he told me "Disc brakes were OK on those toy-sized European cars, but did not have the friction area to haul down a full sized car. That's why you don't see them on trucks"

 

[NYSteve]

My random retread story from the mid-nineties. My grandpa had an '89 Mazda 323, that my dad gave him around 1995, with the now comically stock 12" or 13" wheeels. The only option the car had was an automatic trans. No AC, AM/FM radio, vinyl manual seats. Really fun in Albuquerque in August.

He need some new tires, so went to Big-O and got 4 retreads for $40 TOTAL, yeah $10 each. He told my dad who then informed him he could have gotten 4 NEW tires for same amount at Price Club (now Costco).

Funniest part might be the fact the car had Tokico HD shocks that my dad had installed when he owned it.

 

[SteveSRT8]

My dad was. He bought a set of BFG radials in 1970 for an Impala SS.

 

[ffhdriver]

Got my first set of radials, for my '70 Olds Cutlass. about '75 or'76. They were Michelin from Sears. I made sure the sidewall said made in France and not USA. They really made the car handle better.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I remember records, I remember analog radios and TVs with dials and rotary phones... But I dont remember my parents ever buying anything but radials.


What about cars with Drum brakes on the front?
I remember seeing some of those in the 70's.


My '66 (in sig) had 4-wheel drums up until I did a major re-work on it around 2000. The biggest thing I always worried about wasn't the fact that the front brakes were drums (they actually stopped the car VERY well, but needed far more maintenance than disks). What scared me was that it was a single-master-cylinder system. One blown brake line, and ALL the brakes were gone! The last year such systems were allowed was '67- split braking systems were mandatory in '68 and later. It now has a dual master cylinder system with front disks and rear drums from a '72 Newport. Direct bolt-in!

As for the last year of 4-wheel drums, I'm not really sure when that happened. I know a few low-end cars were still sold with them as late as 73 or 74, but by and large I rarely see anything after the late 60s without front disks when I make my junkyard forays.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: mikiee
I put radial tires on my 72 Beetle. Never got stuck in snow in that car.


I put chunky Firestone bias ply snow tires on my 72 Bug with the factory Continental bias ply tires and did ok in the snow. Wet roads was another story

!

Whimsey

 

[Whimsey]

I bought a set of BFG radials for my 1972 Mustang in 1974. All I remember is they were a heck of a lot better than the factory bias ply tires that it came it!

Whimsey