Thread: Bad Tire Problem

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You know how you live with a problem, and then when you figure out the answer you kick yourself for not seeing it sooner? At Good Guys a couple of weeks ago I was talking to a spectator about my '33 and I mentioned that it had always pulled to the right, and that my front tires were needing to be replaced after only 6,000 miles. A couple of minutes later a guy walked over, having overheard my statement about the tires and asked, "Have you tried swapping the tires side to side?" I told him that I had not, but that when I had it aligned I had taken it back after about a week, and the front end guy tweaked the caster a bit and it helped, but did not fix the pull so I had just lived with it. They never mentioned a possible tire problem. Well, this guy had worked a front end machine earlier in life, and he told me that if they adjusted alignment, took the car for a test drive and it pulled they immediately went back to the shop, swapped the front tires, drove it again and if the pull reversed they knew it was a tire problem, not a chassis problem. DUH!! Now THAT makes sense! I thanked him for that insight, and told him I would be switching the tires when I got back to the shop.

Sure enough, I swapped the tires and it was diving left! I called Coker, who have the only 145R15's in the world (I run the Firestone F560's), and while the tires don't carry any mileage warranty they guided me to a tire dealer who had a Hunter Road Force balancer/analyzer and suggested that I have my wheels checked too - turned out to be my old tire shop, not far away. I took the car by, paid them $20 to put my tires on the machine. The wheels were less than 0.012" out of round but the tires were terribly egg shaped with differences in sidewall stiffness. Now some of this is due to 6000 miles of constant turning, but it was pretty apparent that one was much worse than the other, and was likely bad from the mold - maybe a belt crooked or ??? Regardless they were trash, so I ordered another pair - the only other option was Michelin's at 2.5 times the price of the Firestones

Mounted the new tires yesterday, carried them to Tim's for a spin on the Road Force machine and they were very minimally out of balance, and the lateral forces and sidewall stiffness were single digit. Took it out for a spin down the highway, and it tracks straight and true, without a hint of pull for the first time in it's life! What a joy to drive, not having to keep constant pressure on the wheel! I almost feel like it has Cruise Control now! I wish I knew that guy's name who took time to share his knowledge at the show - I feel like I owe him a beer or two, at a minimum!!

couple of my rules of thumb------check air pressure, check tread patterns, roll out, swap sides/ends /crossover, , look at the other end of vehicle, especially if its a brake or constant pull issue----

I think the michs at 2.5 the cost but 10-20 times 6,000 mile life would be cheaper


Those kinds of issues back in the 70s is why Firestone almost disappearred

I had a similar thing happen on a 47 power wagon that my oldest son and I put a 302 in. It was just hard to keep between the ditches - - - - found out that the mag wheels we had mounted in front were too wide for the ?geometry? (that might not be the right word?) of that truck and when we went back to the stock width in front it handled like a dream.

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

I think the michs at 2.5 the cost but 10-20 times 6,000 mile life would be cheaper. Those kinds of issues back in the 70s is why Firestone almost disappearred

Yeah, you may be right, Jerry, but I'm sure that I got a bad tire in my first pair and the guy at Coker said that mine was the first problem he'd ever had on their Firestone F560's, and he's sold hundreds of them. I know people who are getting good life out of them on street applications, but you can be sure I will be aware of the life on this pair. The price delta is $89/tire, and the Firestone's "look" better to my eye. That said, I could be running Michelin's next year, or moving to a taller tire for more selection

If you can find Pirelli's in that size, that's what I would go with.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

If you can find Pirelli's in that size, that's what I would go with.

As I said initially, the only two tires that I can find in a 145R15 (Tire Rack, two independent tire dealers, Summit, Amazon) are Coker's Firestone F560's and Michelin XZX's - Search results for: '145R15' , Coker Search By Size, 15", width 145. If you can find others I wiill be happy to look!!

I generally use 195-65-15 which I can get a vr speed rating in---the front is where most of the braking is done and I want a decent width tire--they still look in size for big and little plus have high performance engineered into them for speed/traction/braking
Its harder to find rears that look good in big/little size that have speed ratings and I will probably be using 17s from now on for a while

Roger, glad you found the cause of the pulling right and the hot rod drives like a dream now. Since you and I have discussed tire sizes for years I'm sure you've told me before but I've slept since then and the CRS has kicked in but what is the tire diameter that you shoot for in your front tires?

Mike

Pirelli's web site lists a 175/65 R15. I know that's not what you're looking for but they will run rings around Goodyears

Originally Posted by Mike52

Roger, glad you found the cause of the pulling right and the hot rod drives like a dream now. Since you and I have discussed tire sizes for years I'm sure you've told me before but I've slept since then and the CRS has kicked in but what is the tire diameter that you shoot for in your front tires?
Mike

Mike,
Yes, you and I have shared quite a few discussions about what it takes for the "right" look, which of course, is very subjective! What I like is a six to seven inch drop from back to front, and I don't want the fronts to have too much section width. My backs are P285x70R15's which have an advertised OD of 30.75, and the fronts at 145R15 (absence of a "middle" number means they are 75%) are advertised 24.3" yielding 6.45" drop. The Pirelli's that Ken likes are only 24" tall, which would also be OK, but their section width is 6.5 compared to my 5.6" - not much difference, but visually they look considerably "heavier" and a bit more "squatty". The 195's that Jerry likes are only 25" tall, which fits pretty well on drop, but their section width is 7.9" and they like a 5.5"-7" wide wheel - considerably more "rubber on the road", but too heavy for my eye. I'll run these Firestone's and see how they last now that I'm not scrubbing them sideways running down the road, and if they don't work then I'll likely spring for the Michelin's in the same size.

Many moons ago, 1962 to be exact, I bought a 40 Ford 2dr sedan and it had Pirelli 5.50 or 5.60 /15"s up front and I believe Firestone 7.75/15"s or some such size out back. It handled fairly decent for a straight axle and when the Pirelli's wore out I replaced them with Firestones and what a difference and not for the better. I don't know about today, but in earlier years a lot of the exotics out of Italy and Europe came with Pirellii's, not Michelin's, as standard. Michelins's are good tires, I just don't care for them as I believe they are over priced.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Many moons ago, 1962 to be exact, I bought a 40 Ford 2dr sedan and it had Pirelli 5.50 or 5.60 /15"s up front and I believe Firestone 7.75/15"s or some such size out back. It handled fairly decent for a straight axle and when the Pirelli's wore out I replaced them with Firestones and what a difference and not for the better. I don't know about today, but in earlier years a lot of the exotics out of Italy and Europe came with Pirellii's, not Michelin's, as standard. Michelins's are good tires, I just don't care for them as I believe they are over priced.

Can't argue with you, Ken, but in the size I want the only choices are the Firestone's (made by Coker) and Michelin. No one else makes a 145R15, anywhere in the world that I can find. I went with 4.5" wide front tires, so going to a shorter, fatter tire is simply not going to work for me. I agree that Pirelli makes some great tires, just not in my size.

I guess the Yoko AVS 205-60x15's ZR() that I have on the front of mine aren't in the running then. They are smoooooooth though.

Originally Posted by IC2

I guess the Yoko AVS 205-60x15's ZR() that I have on the front of mine aren't in the running then. They are smoooooooth though.

Well, they'll be tops on my list, after I put full fenders on for them to hide under. Not happenin' in this lifetime!!