No traction

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SoulSurvivor

SoulSurvivor

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Hello folks..I need some advice. I scored(or so I thought) a pair of vintage G60-15 Biased Ply tires. They were never mounted and still had that waxy blue stuff on them. They were stored inside and you could tell they were still soft. Not rot whatsoever. And they balanced out real nice.They are probably 25 years old. I paid $100 for both. I figured I'd go with the retro look while getting some much needed grip. Well..I can't even go half throttle at a rolling start without these things just spinning wildly. Do they need to be broken in? Lower tire pressure? Do they need to be heated up? Or am I looking at purchasing a set of those 1/2 street 1/2 strip tires. The engine is a 391hp 340 dyno'd at the flywheel;3:91 sure grip and a 904 with the TransGo Stage II kit/Hughes 2500 torque converter. I want to go the Mopars at the Strip and blast down the 1/4 mile and don't want to sit at the starting line spinning away. What do you guys think? Here is a picture of the tires on my car.
 

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Biased ply tires have always had traction problems. If your looking for better traction go with a set Nitto street legal drag radials. Also I would take the Bais ply tires off and use them only when I take the car to a car show
 
They used to run 14's in the 1/4 with Hemi cars,throw a set of modern compound tires on the same car and go low 13's high 12's. Not sure why you would think an old pair of tires would help traction?
 
Grinder said:
They used to run 14's in the 1/4 with Hemi cars,throw a set of modern compound tires on the same car and go low 13's high 12's. Not sure why you would think an old pair of tires would help traction?
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I remember my 70 Cuda having those Goodyear Polyglas GT tires but I don't remember losing so much grip. I was in the process of switching my front tires to the same type of tires so they weren't mis-matched. Looks like a set new tires is on the horizon.
 
Hmmm.... Well the DOT gives tires a 6 year shelf life,so maybe the rubber deteriorated after sitting so long?
 
they will work at track better just look at the F.A.S.T. mopars. dudes 69 roadrunner has run high 9s on them
 
Keep them for shows any radial will give better traction I have a similiar set up on a 67 notchback cheap radials now decent traction and handling with ride.
 
SoulSurvivor said:
I remember my 70 Cuda having those Goodyear Polyglas GT tires but I don't remember losing so much grip. I was in the process of switching my front tires to the same type of tires so they weren't mis-matched. Looks like a set new tires is on the horizon.
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I never thought much of those. Were OEM on my 70 RR 440 sixpack.
 
MurkOff said:
Just curious, why not??
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I have a 67 Ply FB cuda, I have 275/60/15 BF Goodrich on the rear (radial) and on the front I have 26x7.5x15 on the front (bias). Im have the big tire in the rear and skinnys on the front look. I don't really have a major problem with this set up BUT the car will "wonder" some.

OK it feels like the back end wants to go one way and front wants to go another. I really can't tell it at higher speeds but it is still there.

Im thinking about going the black, hardcore, stock looking, steel, dog dish, wide in the wheels on my cuda... what do yall think?
 

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Even if they look new and fine, the rubber degrades. They are actually pretty dangerous to drive on. Old tires actually have a bad habit of losing structural integrity and basically disintegrating. The tires that the F.A.S.T. racers use are brand new reproductions with fresh rubber.
 
As pointed out, even if they appear and feel ok, they have an old school compound that has gotten old. They have deteriorated even if you don't see it. I put a never used 8 year old spare 16" trailer tire on my 26' Pace. I used the brand previously with no problems. It looked fine and was stored inside at all times. The rubber peeled off of it after less than 2,000 miles! Use yours for show or sell them to someone who needs them for that.

PS: After getting better tires, do some suspension upgrades if you haven't yet. I.E.: pinion snubber, clamp the front leafs, keep weight in the trunk (secured), etc.
 
MurkOff said:
Just curious, why not??
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The tire construction is totally different, the radial has more flexible sidewalls than the bias ply and mixing them will cause the car to wonder. Get stuck driving on snow or rain and she'll swap ends in a heart beat.
 
Locomotion said:
As pointed out, even if they appear and feel ok, they have an old school compound that has gotten old. They have deteriorated even if you don't see it. I put a never used 8 year old spare 16" trailer tire on my 26' Pace. I used the brand previously with no problems. It looked fine and was stored inside at all times. The rubber peeled off of it after less than 2,000 miles! Use yours for show or sell them to someone who needs them for that.

PS: After getting better tires, do some suspension upgrades if you haven't yet. I.E.: pinion snubber, clamp the front leafs, keep weight in the trunk (secured), etc.
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This is such good feedback. I don't know what I was thinking. I can do the mechanicals. I did the the engine, trans, driveshaft,rear 8-3/4, and springs but am just dumb when it comes to tires. The springs are the MP super stock springs and I moved the battery to the trunk. The 742 has an adjustable pinion snubber. It's too bad. Because the tires 'look' cool. I don't consider my car a show car. So I'll be looking for a set Nitto, BFG or Mt drag radials. Once the bank account recovers from this Christmas season. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Sure isn't 1976 anymore. Thanks everyone.
 
For safety I would replace them, like the others mentioned.

But…

They look cool so I would have mounted them on the car like you did.

Bias Ply tires require less air so if you put like 35lbs in them that could be part of the problem. Try 25lbs and see what it does.

A radial/bias ply mix, as mentioned, can cause weird or unexpected behavior.

All in all….. Bias ply tires suck. I should know because I have 4, E70-14s on my car.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
For safety I would replace them, like the others mentioned.

But…

They look cool so I would have mounted them on the car like you did.

Bias Ply tires require less air so if you put like 35lbs in them that could be part of the problem. Try 25lbs and see what it does.

A radial/bias ply mix, as mentioned, can cause weird or unexpected behavior.

All in all….. Bias ply tires suck. I should know because I have 4, E70-14s on my car.
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You know..I am running 35lbs pressure in those tires. Maybe I'll air them down like you said.
 
SoulSurvivor said:
You know..I am running 35lbs pressure in those tires. Maybe I'll air them down like you said.
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A wide tire like that can run less air radial or bias anyways. I have BF Goodwrench on the back that I run 25psi in all the time. The trick is basically look at where the tire meets the pavement. You want that patch of tread of tire to be totally on the ground.
 
mullinax95 said:
A wide tire like that can run less air radial or bias anyways. I have BF Goodwrench on the back that I run 25psi in all the time. The trick is basically look at where the tire meets the pavement. You want that patch of tread of tire to be totally on the ground.
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Totally agree.

I have 275/60/15 on 8.5 rim and run 18psi in them always.
 
radials and bias ply tires can be used on the same vehicle, but they can NEVER be used together on the same axle, it used to be common to run radial tires in the front and bias ply snow tires in the back, that said 4 all season radials are a much better choice
 
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