Quote:
Originally Posted by JimFreeh
Radial tires were in their infancy WRT acceptance in the USA in the late sixties.
Dad had a set of Michelins on a 67 Pontiac Bonneville. They replaced the original set of tires, so at this time very few people were even aware of what they were. I can clearly remember riding in the car, and constantly getting bombarded by helpful folk pointing out our tires were flat!
I got my license in 1971, and since I was working at the lower end of the wage scale, my choice of tires was cost driven.... but I can clearly remember the epiphany I had when I transitioned from recap bias ply tires to used radial tires. It was amazing how much grip they had compared to the bias ply tires.
I suggest that this was the reason there were warnings about radial tires on swing axle cars. The greatly increased grip would keep the tire from sliding, and this further exacerbated the tuck under and lift issues. Personally, I ignored the conventional wisdom and fitted Michelin ZX radials to 59 190SL in 74. By then I could afford decent tires.......
Jim
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For years I ran bias-plies (though never recaps) on my Ponton 180b, mostly because of cost, but also partly because of that warning in my Chilton manual. One time I tried upgrading to glass-belted bias tires, but that wasn't much of an improvement. Even later, when I could afford radials on my newer cars, I continued to run bias-plies on the Mercedes.
Finally, in the late '80s, my Ponton needed tires, and I found a decent set of used 13" radials. I was literally shocked at the improvement in cornering, steering and tracking on that car, especially as how I had suffered with those crappy bias-plies for so long.
My Fintail 220S came with the PO's Pirelli radials. Those tires were superb on that car. Maybe the lack of an engine in the trunk helped, but I never felt uncomfortable, occasionally pushing that car a bit in the corners.
Happy Motoring, Mark