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Front Tire Width and Diameter

Neshkoro

Well-Known Member
I'm in the market for a couple of new front tires for my roadster.
I've seen narrow tires, like motorcycle tires, and wide 50, 60 or 70 series, like those on today's new cars and everything in between.
What is the consensus of which works the best for tracking? I have the typical issue that many of us have with the car wandering here and there, always having to correct where it's headed.
What do you think?

Bill
 
I think that if you have "wandering" problems you should be checking other things before buying new tires. Check caster and toe along with tire air pressure.

Jim
 
Bill , I'm running 185-70 R14 on the frt . Like ex-junk said . I'd be looking at alignment/components 1st.
 
I have the typical issue that many of us have with the car wandering here and there, always having to correct where it's headed.
What do you think?
Bill
I think "typical" should be NO wandering. I agree with EX JUNK, you need to fix the problem before buying tires. Do you have any play in the steering wheel when stopped?
 
I opted for wider tires on my front (185/60-14) for better handling. And I agree the wandering is probably not the tires. Try making slight changes to your caster by adjusting your radius rods to tilt the kingpins a little at a time. Drive it and see if it helps. If worse, go the other way a bit. The caster & toe in / out should work together to make the wandering go away.
 
Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. The tires look good but are more than 10 years old. I've adjusted the toe in and toe out between 1/8" and 1/4". It is now set to about 3/16" in; not out.The steering box is pretty tight. I replaced the king pins and bushings.The rod ends are tight. The caster is set at 7 degrees. There is a damper on the drag link. Tire pressure is low. Maybe I'll increase the tire pressure and try again.
The car is 30+ years old. It seems to have gotten worse over the years.
I adjust, drive, adjust, drive and then get tired of monkeying around and then live with it. It's a PITA!
Bill
 
I'm running relatively skinny 135R15s (think early Volkswagen tires) and my car drives like it's on rails. I spent a lot of time tuning on the front end to get it dialed in. I'm running 28 psi.

Tire source... Firestone F560 Radial Tire | 135R15 | Coker Tire

TogetherAgain001.jpg
 
I originally built my car with 195R/15 on 6" rims. I changed to 155R/15 on 4" rims and the only really notable difference was that it was a little easier to steer at very low speed. I might also add that both set ups were inflated to 28psi.

Jim
 
I run Firestone F560-135 R-15 Cokers on mine with Mickey Thompson 33x22x15 street radials on the back, they work great for me.
 
I think that if you have "wandering" problems you should be checking other things before buying new tires. Check caster and toe along with tire air pressure.

Jim

Yup. Something else is going on up front besides tire size.
 
Humor me here , is it possible something under the REAR has gotten loose/sloppy ?
I was thinking the same... on mine, they had it all jacked up, the rear end was out of square with the frame, and front tires. Nothing was wrong, they had the adjustments all jacked up. Some time with a tape measure, a level, etc, may be enlightening. Also look at all of the bushings, heims, etc... if one shock is bad, that would do it also. Happy hunting!
 
The alignment, as far as I can tell, is OK. I used the string method as described by one of the T Bucket members, to align the front and rear tires. The kingpins are leaning back about 7 degrees. There are shocks on the front. They could be bad. I checked the tire pressure last night and all tires were quite low. I adjusted them to 26 psi. I will drive it today and let you know.
Thanks,

Bill
 
I found that if I let the pressure on my rear Mickey Thompson Sportsman get lower than 20 PSI it will talk to the front end as cause a wobble. I got 205-70-15's on the front. Running the backs at 24 PSI sure don't help the ride though.
 
So, I had a chance to drive it yesterday. The increased tire pressure did help the problem somewhat, but still is there. The front shocks do seem to be OK. There are no rear shocks. It is set up for rears but I never installed them. I will try to increase the caster angle. It is now set at 7 degrees. Does anyone run with negative caster?
I'll keep trying as I find time. I'll be busy for the next week.
Thanks,
Bill
 
. . . I will try to increase the caster angle. It is now set at 7 degrees. Does anyone run with negative caster?
I'll keep trying as I find time. . .

I have found that small adjustments in caster can yield big changes in handling. Don't get carried away!
 
When does it wander? Is it a constant, is there a speed that it's more noticeable, is it in one direction more than the other and when? Do certain road surfaces change it, etc... how are your tires wearing? I'm just posing some questions that I would ask myself in trying to identify the cause. I would also be looking at the rear tires for wear and all of the fasteners, bushings, etc, and making sure that the rear end is not moving and is retaining alignment relative to the frame. Are the rear springs allowing more deflection than the front or allowing it to sit at an angle when loaded? Weight transfer can cause wandering. How much does the rear move? you mentioned that you aren't running rear shocks. When you initially aligned it, was it loaded to simulate a driver? Just a thought. Also, I would look at the brakes... I had a brand new truck that was in and out of the shop for alignment issues, they changed the gear box, re aligned it, different tires, etc... finally, at about 40k miles the rear brakes started squeaking. I tore it apart and one side had the stainless steel anti rattle clip damaged just enough to allow one corner of the pad to hang up. That was the cure. I had personally walked around the truck with a infra red thermometer and checked rotor temps, jacked it up and spun the wheels, etc and could not detect the problem. It seemed to get worse as I got up to speed, it would climb the crown of the road and change lanes to the left if I took my hand off of the steering wheel. Moral of the story, don't overlook anything. I've also had debris get inside of brake hoses and act as a check valve on occasion and drive me insane chasing intermittent problems. If everything checks out, you might try switching the wheels from side to side just to see what, if any effect it has before spending money on new tires. Hope you find the issue soon!
 

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