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Posted By Discussion Topic: Diamondback Radial Tires -- page: 1 2 3     Drbrown 05-19-2017 @ 9:06 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 563 Joined: Nov 2013 There certainly appears to be consensus that radials ride and handle better than bias ply, notably in the upper speed range. Regarding upper speed ranges, and with a BW overdrive, my 15 inch Coker Classic bias-plies roll along nicely at say 65 mph .... this of course with well-tuned front end over smooth interstate highway pavement. And yes, they insist on following a good pavement rut or raised pavement edge. len47merc 05-20-2017 @ 7:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 I'm with Drbrown in that a GOOD set of bias plys will run well at 65-70 mph (or faster) on a, as he says, well-tuned suspension. I just fear the inevitable emergency maneuver that the car is incapable of handling at those speeds, hence 55 MAX on the speedo for my personal peace-of-mind and comfort (equates to 60 mph GPS - running 710s on the '47). I have every reason to believe any of the bias plys - Cokers, Firestones, etc., do not have adequate quality control in the current manufacturing processes to ensure consistent density of the rubber compound and roundness of the tires for them to consistently meet road-force testing on a Hunter machine and hence run smoothly without minor to unbearable wheel hop as one moves above 55 mph. JayChicago's comment about having to rotate one of the Auburns 180 degrees to avoid excessive weight, combined with an earlier quote from another Forum member that Diamondback representatives would not state unequivocally that the Auburns were manufactured to standards guaranteeing the ride and safety at interstate speeds, suggest to me the same exists for the original look radials. Not to say I wouldn't consider the Auburns for my next set on the '47 after the Firestones expire - I actually am after seeing the posted pic above - just that I will never again go through multiple tires/sets to get 4 tires that are at minimum reasonably round, pass road force testing on a Hunter machine (consistent compound density and roundness) and require NO MORE than 2 ozs of weight to balance. Just keep it at 55 on the speedo and roll on. For comparison purposes, I just put a new set of performance BF Goodrich g-Force Comp 2 tires on an '03 Infiniti my son and I use for grins and giggles around town and at Virginia International Raceway. Like the '47 when they installed the bias plys I was there to watch the tires mounted and balanced - perfectly round, registered zero road-force concerns (barely moved the 'needle') and 2 of the 4 tires required no weight at all, 1 tire 0.25 oz and the 4th .5 oz. Conversely, ALL of the bias plys I have witnessed on the same machine during balancing exhibited very high to unacceptable levels - some off the chart and were completely rejected - of road-force issues and took significant effort to balance the best ones (rotating 180 degrees, etc.) without heavy weights. And consistent, tire-to-tire roundness on the bias plys during balancing - 'forgettt abooouuut it'! Accordingly, while they will run smooth at interstate speeds if you get a GOOD set and your suspension is 'right', I personally have no faith any of these tires - bias plys or bias ply-look radials - are consistently manufactured to the technical and quality levels necessary to run safely at those higher speeds. As for me and the '47 - we'll stay below 60 GPS and enjoy the ride. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 5-20-17 @ 8:09 AM TomO 05-20-2017 @ 9:29 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7243 Joined: Oct 2009 Has anyone looked at the DOT label on these tires? What does it say? It will give you tread wear, traction temperature, DOT number, max pressure, max load, speed rating. Here is how to interpret the DOT codes http://www.autoguide.com/buyers-guide/how-to-read-a-tire-sidewall-1060.html Tom trjford8 05-20-2017 @ 10:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4202 Joined: Oct 2009 Great article TomO. I've printed it out for my garage library. 39Fordfan 05-25-2017 @ 11:55 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 191 Joined: Oct 2009 I just had the Diamondback "Piecrust" Radials installed yesterday. I love them! I'll qualify that a bit by saying my experience is a relative thing. My feedback is similar to Jay's, they probably aren't as smooth and good handling as the rounded shoulder (Rod Look) radials. But they are a huge upgrade from the old Firestones the car had on it. The old Bias-ply Firestones were a safety hazard, they weren't cracked but were deformed enough from sitting they couldn't even be balanced. So at certain slow speeds the car would shimmy after hitting a bump until the tires were warmed enough. These radials allow you to take your hands off the wheel and the car won't track the grooves or ruts and they have a softer feel. My car has a 95 HP Mercury engine in it and within the confines of this tire discussion, they definitely feel just fine at 70MPH. Diamondback is the only one who makes these Piecrust radials in this size, 6.00 x 16. This is the only size Diamondback makes them in. Coker makes the Piecrust radials in other the other sizes. You can get the rounded Rod Look radials from other manufacturers for cheaper too. What I just said could could change at anytime, I guess. I think these Diamondbacks strike a nice balance between modern performance and period correct looks. I'm glad I bought them. We'll see if I feel this way in 3 to 5 years. I posted a picture of my car, before and after installation. Interested in what you think? len47merc 05-25-2017 @ 2:17 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 To answer TomO's question - the Diamondback Auburn Deluxe's (piecrust, WWW) are 'P' speed rated (93 mph), 400 Treadwear rating, AA Temperature rated, max pressure ~60 psi, 98 load rating = 1653 lbs. These figures are for 710 15" tires but I was informed this should be relatively close for all sizes. Recommended running pressure was stated by Diamondback sales/tech as 40-44 psi. Tires are guaranteed to pass road force testing. Steve 53mike 05-25-2017 @ 9:22 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 27 Joined: Nov 2016 I have always been a "no way I'll buy bias ply tires" type of guy. My 53 Sunliner has (had) 205/75/15 Coker classic radials. The ride was ok. The stock 53 suspension is nothing to get excited about, I suspect some what better then the earlier 30's-40's cars. I decided a couple weeks ago that I wanted wider whites then the 2 3/8" of the Coker radial. The only tire I could find with 3 7/8" ww was a bias ply BFG. I wanted a radial but the sizes were too far off and the BFG 710-15 fit the bill exactly for me. I thought about it and decided that the car, even with radials wasn't a "good handling" one by design and I don't drive any significant distances. So I bought the bias ply BFG's and was surprised when they felt no different then the radials I replaced. There is a very slight difference at 70 mph but if I didn't know the tires were replaced I wouldn't have thought any difference. They also feel smoother, less road feel I guess. Personnaly now I think that if going from bias to radial and you notice a great difference you probably had very bad bias tires. I have had bias ply tires that would run out of balance until they warmed up but that was years ago and these BFG's have none of that.

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