Reproduction Tires

[Tim S.]

I am in the market to purchase a set of tires for one of my cars. Has anyone had a poor experience with reproduction tires that gets driven a little (less than 1,000 mi yr.) I am a purist about the appearance of the car but do not want to spend big money and hurt a fender or cause and accident. In advance, thanks.
Tim

[Pat M.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

I doubt you'll harm a fender with new repos, but you'll harm your driving experience. Take it from someone who tried - non-radials drive like crap.

[Lyndon S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

[Bill O.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

I agree that ride quality of the Polyester bias plys doesn't even come close. You can load balance them and you can over inflate them and they still drift, fight back on a curve and if they can find the slightest grove in the pavement they will get in it and stay in it until you steer out. They can call them 4 ply but the construction and the materials are not like the old ones....even an early DOT Rayon 4 ply was superior.

Consider an extra set of old Chevy steel wheels and put radials on for driving pleasure. You will not believe the difference.

Bill

[Tim S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Perhaps I did not clearly ask the question. I am fine with the compromises or shortcomings if you will, with bias tires. What I was wondering, has anyone had problems with things like ply separation or blow outs with what is a new tire. I have to think there are some members here that are "driving" reproduction tires. I have a set on both of my 65's but one of them has a set of unknown age. My apologies for not being clear. Thanks to those for their input.
Tim

[Lyndon S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

No I haven’t had any blow outs and separations and I would routinely drive in the 70-90 mph range on my non speed rated reproduction tires.
_________
Kelly

[Dale S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Everyone drove on non speed rated tires for years. I am sure that some members of this board drove very fast on non speed rated tires.. I got a ticket in Nevada (no speed limit) in 1961 for "excessive speed" a "Justice of the Peace" court. I think that some other stories could be interesting as the statue of limitations has run out. Dale.

[Arland D.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Tim,

I can't provide an exact mileage threshold, but I (and others) have experienced tread separation and sidewall cracking with Coker repro tires on Corvettes and other makes. Regards,

Arland

[Lyndon S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

That might be the problem COKER, the old saying you pay for what you get.
________
Kelly

[Michael A.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Tim
I admire your desire for the "purist" look. It is really cool. However..... if you're really going to drive it I can personally vouch for the recommendation Duke Williams often provides. The Pirelli P4000 Supertouring is incredible. The 215/70ZR15 is about the fattest tire you can put on a mid year without rubbing (at least on my car). I replaced a previous set of cheapo radials and can't believe the difference in how it drives. The ride, the noise, the control, the traction is the best I've ever experienced. And you can pretty well be assured you won't have issues with separation, etc.

Now if you really want to talk about a vintage look, mount them on a set of American Torque Thrusts......
ahh.... but I'm now moving over to the dark side. Apologies.

Good luck with your choice. You can't make a wrong one. Just keep on driving and STW!

Cheers
Mike

[Tim S.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Here is the car they are going on. My 65 5 Star Bowtie F.I. car. Perhaps now you can see my methods.

[Jeff A.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

I was kinda wondering the same thing lately.
I am using a set of Coker Bias redlines that are 15 years old.

Should I be worried about them?
They only have 2K miles on them.

[Michael A.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Here is the car they are going on. My 65 5 Star Bowtie F.I. car. Perhaps now you can see my methods.

Tim
You've got a beautiful car there. I understand your methods completely. Beware of the dark side!

Cheers
Mike

[Stephen L.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Tires tend to age, even while standing still. I had a spare explode in the trunk of my vintage Monte Carlo. Blew the side out of a radial that "looked" like new. Didn't even know when it happened until I removed the tire to clean up the trunk floor......surprise!!!!

Look at it this way... If you blow a tire, the resulting damage to the car can be catastrophic. The cost of a set of tires vs damage to the car becomes minimal. Odds are that new tires vs aged tires are more dependable.

RV folks highly recommend tire replacement every 4 to 5 years even if they have adequate tread. Most vehicles that are driven daily replace the tires about every 2 to 3 years due to wear....

[Michael A.]

Re: Reproduction Tires

Jeff and Tim,
Steve offers some good advice. You can search the archives of the TDB for more details, but the basic story with tires on our old Corvettes is - it's the years not the miles. Tires continue to "cure" from the moment they are manufactured. That is great for the first few years but at some stage the curing turns into deterioration.

I had a good friend with a 66 with bias plies of an unknown age on them. It was a sad sight to see what happened when the tire failed and tore up the rear fiberglass. This is not unique to bias ply tires. When I bought my 66 back in 96 it was fitted with 10+ year old radials with lots of tread. It had not been driven much over those years. Within a few weeks of me driving it regularly I could feel and hear a thumping sound. Fortunately I caught it before it blew but it taught me a lesson.

Bottomline, if you have a doubt, and you're going to drive that fine FI coupe a bit, I'd suggest replacing the tires. It's cheap insurance.

Cheers
Mike