Radial vs. Bias Ply

[The Rebel]

Here's a good thread that I started on the same question: Need Tire Brand Suggestions | For B Bodies Only Classic Mopar Forum

 

[Cojohnso1]

Here's a good thread that I started on the same question: Need Tire Brand Suggestions | For B Bodies Only Classic Mopar Forum

For me? I have not has good fortunes with Goodyear. Either race or street. They perform great. Don't last worth anything. Much better with BF Goodrich street and Hoosier strip.

 

[gtx6970]

When I bought my car last year. I knew tires were gonna be soon after. The BFGs on it were at least 15 years old.
I REALLY wanted to go back with the same but refused to have to deal with the potential brown lettering issue.

I ended up going with diamondback redlines. And I'll be brutally honest, they ride SO MUCH better than the BFGs i took off . My car is a hemi car but Going with the original 775-14 blue streaks was never a consideration. With my car having red interior I feel like the look would clash. And I drive my car far to much to want to live with that ride .


My old 1970 Challenger 340 had the repop Polyglas tires. LOVED the look, the ride was so so.

 

[69L48Z27]

I have the redline bias ply radial look-a-likes from Coker. They ride and hold the road very well. The 67 R/T is a pleasure to drive wither on it. F’R’70-14.

 

[Big bill]

I have bias ply on all my cars for the last 20 years repops and nos can't beat the look and I think the ride and feel is like you are driving a old car . That said I don't drive on the freeway at 80 miles an hour either but back roads at 50 miles an hour no issue I dig them .

 

[Garethw]

Definitely radials. Had bias ply tires on my 66 Belvedere back in the 90s. Took it to 100mph on the freeway once and it was scary. Car felt very unstable. Later swapped to radials, nothing else changed. Took it to 100mph again and it felt like a totally different car. Couldn’t believe the difference.

 

[roadrunnerh]

Back in 1991, I was driving a '68 GTX daily. For a brief time, I ran bias ply Goodyears (non poly glass) until one day I came close to losing control in a bad way!
Cruising along rt376 here in Pgh, around 65mph on an asphalt surface and entered the Fort Pitt Tunnels which were brick surfaced at the time. Those bias ply tires instantly started following the brick grooves - it got squirrelly real quick - inside the tunnel.
Only Radials for me!

 

[Cojohnso1]

Radial tire is just far superior for street use. Technology testing put any doubt to rest. Race track can be a different story depending on conditions and application. I really wouldn't consider bias for any extended highway use. Even drag radials are closing the drag race performance gap on bias.

 

[Nevada dan]

I ran and still run bias tires and radials, I prefer bias for the firm feel and I've found that pretty much all the bad things everyone has come up with can be attributed to worn and sloppy steering components ,they do show you that, and I've never ever had a bias bow out or come apart , sure radials are soft and comphy but thats just not my style

 

[mvent]

Thanks for all replies, probably going with Diamond Back Series III B.F. Goodrich Redlines. Curious if any have run Coker bias look radials, are they as good as conventional radial or a compromise?

 

[gtx6970]

A very good friend of mine used a set of the Coker brand redline radials many years ago. No issues what so ever.
A few years back he bought a set of the BFG carcass tires from Coker ( there own brand tire was no longer avail ) He has / had balance issues from the word go. He even had a couple replaced under warrenty. Never did fix the vibration.


Just this past summer I bought a set of redline radials from Diamondback ( they area milestar brand carcass )

They ride NICE a lot smoother than the old BFG radial TAs I took off the car

your mileage may vary

 

[1STMP]

"Really like the look of the bias ply tire"
What is it about the "look" that you like?
Radials, when installed on their wider rim
range have the look of the sidewalls being
wider than the tread.
It gives the tire a balloon look, and some
really do look like lunar rovers. To get close
to the look of a bias ply, try and pick a tire
that maintains a flat sidewall and a square
shoulder. I wouldn't take a step back in time
sacrificing looks for safety. Tire joints will do
everything under their power to sell you a set
of tires. They'll also p*ss down your leg and
tell you it's raining, and swear those brand
new tires on your car look amazing. Don't
settle until you get the look you want. They've
changed as many as 3 sets for me until
I was happy with the look. It's your loot
they're after....

 

[Alan P Zelanski]

I drive my 69 Dodge on bias ply all the time with speeds up to 80 miles an hour with no trouble at all and have been doing so for over 20 years. I will admit radial handle better but I just hate the look of radials on the car.

 

[HawkRod]

I run tiny little original style bias ply tires on my "family heirloom" unrestored 62 Corvette. They actually work OK, but there is no doubt in my mind that radials handle better, except for slow speed steering maneuvers.

Compared to my Road Runner tire!

Tire technology has come a long way since the 60s and 70s!

 

[Weggie]

I just finished driving a few hundred miles on the Goodyear bias redlines as I was taking several pictures of my car and wanted the look. Well, they do look awesome! But drive like crap. They pick up the cracks in road and that feels harsher than a radial, the don’t balance very well and seem to shake more, and they LOVE to climb out of every road crown and rut, with force! The second I put my mags and radials back on I could drive the car with ease, it ran smooth and straight, no vibrations.
= bias redlines are for the look and or shows really, or if you never get your car above 30 miles an hour and just take it to the grocery store and back. Maybe the originals were better quality than the newer re-pop ones, I don’t know. All around my vote is for radials.

Just for show!
View attachment 1184589

I ran some Mickey Thompson bias tires for a while for looks on my 65 Coronet but the handling and the cold set of flat spotting was terrible. Went to Goodrich T/A’s and what a difference in handling and traction.