GOOD quality WSW (white wall) tires for your classic station wagon

a few people made a side comment in one of my posts about a country squire in the for sale forums, about it neeeding good WSW (white side wall) tires and thier complaints about cheap crapola WSW tires they have purchased.

i had the same problem as i wanted new white walls for towanda when i first got her. originally when i got her she had 3 different branded WSW tires, and 2 were SNOW tires! took me a week or so researching to find what i have now. the tires i have for my country squire towanda, are 70k mile firestone affinity touring series with road hazard coverage. these are common size tires are very popular, most people just dont do the WW side out much anymore. i got mine 3 tires for $100 each and the 4th free with a semi annual tire sale at firestone last october. great ride, great wet traction and not chinese crapola tires. cooper also makes WSW tires. there are good brands with whitewalls left. just gotta know where to look.

Will

 

If I ever get my '72 wagon on the road, I would like to find some "original" style tires... which I think were "bias-ply" tread style on this car.

 

72, about the only place you will get the original type of tire for your wagon is to go with Diamond Back or one of the classic tires companies. They are very expensive to start with, and also, those bias tires are not up to much when it comes to grip or comfort. Stick with radials. You will not regret it.

 

I had biased plied tires on a car when I first bought it and they were absolutely terrible. They tracked today's modern roads so bad that sometimes, particularly when pulling up to a red light, you had to make sure the wheel didn't dart out of your hands.

 

Funny thing about biased tread tires. I never paid any attention on older cars. They just all handled like the steering had control of the car, I didn't. All normal.
We planned a trip from near Peoria, Ill around Lake Michigan in my other 55 Chevy 2-dr. Car had a 350 SBC with BW 4-speed so wasn't really an old car. I'd replaced front wheel bearings from the old ball bearings to roller bearings. A big help. But the brakes and manual streering were original type.
I discovered that even though all tires had "new looking" tread on the bias tires there were some nasty cracks in the side walls. I think I saw air on a few! Not great for a long trip!
My wife had bought me a set of nearly new take off S-10 Ralley wheels with radial tires at a yard sale. Had her trained well! She also found that 55 Chevy at another yard sale.
Swapped to the radials and never looked back. The 55 Chevy used to wander, ride rough, weave on pot holes and RR tracks. It was as if I was now driving a late model car. Drove around Lake Michigan and home with a smile on my face.
Ended up buying Camaro Iroc wheels and new tires later for the 55 wagon so the 55 sedan kept those radials.
I'd never ever run bias tires on anything.

By the way those Firesone WW look like what we just got for the 55 wagon. $430 out the door.

 

Same thing with me, Cat. I bought my 60 cadillac convertible when I was 19 and it had bias ply tires on it. I didn't know very much about the mechanicals of an automobile at the time and I thought the entire steering system would need to be rebuilt. When I had to get new tires for it I got radial tires and just like you mentioned all those problems went away. I was shocked at the time that bias tires could cause all those issues.

Brandon

 

The difference is amazing. But many years ago all cars rode rough and steered loosely. I put new bias tires on my 1939 Ford street rod years ago. I'll bet it would be like a different car with radials. It already has tube shocks with stock front end but i always thought those shocks were bad. Hasn't been driven since the 70's............... Hard to believe!

 

Is it possible that radials are too "stiff" for an older wheel?

I heard somewhere that putting radials on the older cars would cause the wheel to flex and thus, causing the hubcaps to pop off.

Old wives tale?

 

RWilly: On the Fords, at least, old wives' tale. The same rim was used from the early 60s through to the mid 90s, from bias ply through bias belted and into radial tires. The only time you lose wheel covers is if they are not installed correctly or the spring tabs have become weakened or loose.

Our 72 Dodge Dart came with bias ply tires, the cheapest of the cheap. When they wore out, a set of Goodyear PolySteel radials were installed, and the difference was huge, even though the manual said that only cars with a front anti-sway bar should have radials installed.

 

I do remember reading where some rims should not have radials installed. Of course I don't remember how old those cars are or what rims that would be.
I was also told you can NOT use a tube in a radial tire. I had a few put in tires that looked new on my 1941 Ford and drove for years highway speeds---- PLus!
Hubcaps fall off because the clips are not adjusted tightly enough or the little nubs on the rims are worn. A ittle silicone sometimes helps glue them on.
As the kids today say "what's a hubcap?"

Storm coming. loosing satillite

 

Thanks, well the car would be an occasional driver and not driven far, but I want it to drive the best it can. lol. I was thinking they made a radial tire that had the retro look of a bias-ply, but I may be mistaken.

I actually have an almost new set of radials on my wagon right now... it is the tires I had just installed on my '69 Caprice sedan before I sold it. I am sure they will last the car awhile... I am sure they will get too old before the tread wears out. lol.

Thanks for the info however!

 

I think the perception by some that the new fangled ray de all tires won't work on a car mfr'd with bias ply comes from when the ray de alls were new back in the 70's. Those ray de alls did not work well on bias ply designed cars, I'm sure things are different with today's tires.

 

Also about radials or ray de alls, there are companies who make a bias look radial tire. Coker may be one of them. Like anything special they ain't cheap!
Usually people with older street rods and customs like those to look more traditional.

 

If I can't get one or two good used whitewalls for my car, I will be looking into a new set of Firestone whitewalls, I think there is a dealer in my town.

 

In P215/70R15 there are no less than 7 whitewall tire options, maybe more. I have used Toyo Extensa A/S whitewalls on my Colony Park and just about every other vehicle I could get them for. I have several customers that are riding on the Toyos. The options are out there, you just have to know where to look.