bias ply woes lol

[dan nichols]

hi everyone as some of you might know from my build thread i have just got my bucket legal and driving. i have taken it down the road a few times and am experiancing a wandering issue at highway speeds i adjusted the front end and it helped some such as setting the toe in and caster i finally took it to the alignment shop and they worked on it some they have been in business for a long time so i trust them. i picked it up this afternoon and me and the tech went for a ride and it is alot better but im still a little comcerned, he said they didnt have to do much as i had done a really good job squaring everything he said if i wanted it to drive any better switch to wider radials or buy a caddy lol it has no death wobble it drives straight on a good road it soaks up bumps well it just really likes to follow the groves in the road they told me to learn the car and be proud of it and get it out and enjoy it as in a few days i will get used to it............. so for you guys out there please share your experiances with bias ply and rdials thanks dan

 

[tfeverfred]

I have a friend with a '53 Chevy and he uses bias ply tires. I've driven it once and it was quite different from radials. Yes, they tend to follow the grooves in the road. In my opinion, I don't see the benefit, unless you're just in love with the traditional vibe they can give a car. I don't like being distracted while driving and driving his car had me on my toes. But, perhaps over time, a person could get used to it, but not me.

 

[Swampdog]

I have a 62 Dodge with power steering. It had bias plies with 7.775 x 15 on the front and bias g-60 Pro Trac on the back. It was all over the road. It was like herding goats. I checked out the front end and replaced the steering box with a Firm Feel Stage 2 box and went to radial tires all around. P225 - 70-15's.

It now drives decent. Almost like a modern car but better than they drove in the day even. This picture is with the old tires.

 

[dan nichols]

thanks for the info guys I really appreciate it. I read also that they follow the groves but figured I would try them as they came with the wire wheels. they definitely look right on the car but to me safety is the top priority. I can get a radial tire about the same size as the 600 16 that's on it I'm going to finish the wiring g and other small things and then figure out the best plan of action it's just sad that on a good road it does really well but most roads around here in Indiana they suck lol

 

[dan nichols]

by the way that's a really sharp dodge in the pic

 

[EX JUNK]

If you are going to switch to radials do all four. NEVER mix radials with bias ply tires. I say this from experience.

Jim

 

[dan nichols]

ok thanks

 

[fletcherson]

Coker tires makes old school looking tires that are radials to give a modern option to the collector cars.

 

[dan nichols]

yea i was looking at the coker radials but man there pricey i think a 215/85/r16 is really close to what i have and i can run them on my wire wheels still thinking about going that route

 

[fletcherson]

yea i was looking at the coker radials but man there pricey i think a 215/85/r16 is really close to what i have and i can run them on my wire wheels still thinking about going that route

Yea, all things for our hobby are expensive, especially specific low volume stuff. Tires are expensive enough already, and they don't hold up. They dry rot. I was just pricing them at various speed shops to go on my bucket. Looks like between 700 to 900 for four tires... two of them are smaller than my motorcycle tires... I put ten ply on my dump truck for les, six of them, lol. It's not quite as fun to drive.

 

[dan nichols]

yes i agree the prices are getting up there for sure im going to get it out this weekend and go for a drive and see how it does

 

[tdkkart]

Play with tire pressures a bit and see if can help it any, generally too much pressure will make them follow grooves badly.
There are no hard and fast rules on tire pressure, use what works.

 

[dan nichols]

thanks for the info i wondered if lowering the tire pressure might help i will deffinatly try it

 

[fletcherson]

I have bias ply tires on an old boom truck and havent changed them because they still have like new tread and I seldom use the truck. Anyways, it likes to wander a bit until I get some heat in them. After driving it for twenty minutes or so, it drives ok, but it feels squirrelly when I first get in it, especially after driving something with radials and modern suspension.

 

[gif]

I think you need more Caster.

Read link: The Science Of Straight Axles - Street Rodder Magazine

I run bias ply and think they are fine.

 

[dan nichols]

thanks for the info i got it at 8 degrees now and its better but still not great i may try some more

 

[PotvinGuy]

I started with MT bias plies and the car would jerk around on grooves and other road imperfections. Switched to Hoosier radials and it all cleared up.

 

[dan nichols]

so time for a update i messed with the air pressure and set the rear tires at 38 psi and put the fronts at 30 and it was better but still not really well.so then i took the car to a guy out the road from me that has several model a fords the same guy i got my wheels and tires from and he said modern alignment shops are not very good at doing the old straight axles. he got out his tools and did some adjusting and now the car drives really well unless the road is really bad i tried to pay him and he just smiled and told me to just stop and visit lol there was a gruop of them 40 in total that drove there model a's to the vanderbuilt mansion a few weeks ago. so the morel of the story is find a old really smart guy to set up your front end if its giving you fits lol. i drove the car 120 miles yesterday and am happy with it now thank you guys for all the great info and help.

 

[2old2fast]

Be good to know what he "adjusted' ??

 

[dan nichols]

he adjuster the toe in to 3/16th adjusted the drag link im not sure how much i can measure it when i get home and also added a little more caster and we readjusted the steering box to make it a little tighter.