Hi guys, going to be ordering a set of new shoes, now I have the age old battle going on in my head, Bias or Radial, still can't come to a decision, in the meantime, my existing tires look very much like Bias to me and are very old and cracked, the size is 225 75 15 which is a Radial.
What do you guys think ?

 

Those are not radials. I prefer the look of non radials on the old cars. It will be cheaper to get the radials and they do ride better.

 

Coker sells radial tires that sort of look like a bias ply. However they are expensive and you have that minor shipping issue. I also prefer the look of bias ply tires on vintage cars.

 

The numbers alone don't tell you if it's a radial. There needs to be an R in the tire size designation.


P225/75R15





A bias ply tire would have either a B or a D in that slot. "D" indicates diagonal bias ply, "B" indicates a bias ply with belt reinforcement.

 

Eightbanger, Do you show your car in strict points judged shows, if not go with the radials, the common man will not notice the difference trust me on this.
Bias ply though correct for your car have a bad habit of following any grove or ridge in the road. They also squeal more going around sharp corners and wear out sooner than radials. All this gets old in a hurry if you are on a longish trip. I have had several sets of both types and will stick with radials and just lose points on serious shows or concourses.

Life is to short to spend trip time staring at your hood ordainment keeping straight as you travel down the road, one needs to enjoy the scenery on both the right and left ..... Tedd

 

Every car show I've ever attended does not deduct points if you have radial tires on a car that didn't originally come with them. It's a safety/handling thing. Just like they don't deduct if you've added other safety items like seat belts.

 

No offence but I have lost points or not lost points on many shows because of the wrong or correct tires safety or not. The Nationals and all of the Old's Reginals will deduct points so will most Concours shows. That is why I added STRICT shows to my post. Your local show and shine the judge will be luckky to know what kind and year of Oldsmobile you have let alone what tires it came with.... Just my experience.... Tedd

 

Thank you Oldsmaniac, that answers that😁 they look like Bias to me, and get caught in the ruts like Bias, but what I found confusing, and was the reason I had to ask is that it's a Radial size that's on the tires 225 75 15 it was the tire shop that said, "that's a Radial tire" when I told them over the phone what was written on them...the size I need if I'm going to buy new Bias is 760 15.

Oldscutlass, there is a supplier of American WW's over here, they stock those Coker Radials that look like Bias that are ridiculously expensive.. £367 each that's about $490 a pop.
http://www.northhantstyres.com/radial-tyre-search/225-75-15.html

 

Your right Jaunty, it does have D between 75 & 15.
Now I know.

 

This is from the OCA website. I would take this to include radial tires (note the "but not limited to" phrase), and I would certainly cite this passage as part of a protest if points were deducted from my car because it had radials.

There is NO PENALTY for updated safety / security equipment which include but is not limited to: car alarms, seat belts, tail/brake lights, directional signals, battery disconnect switch, or any item mandated by state law.


https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.oldsmobile...Show_Rules.pdf

 

😂 Thank you Tedd 😂

 

Ever been to the Nationals? New bias tires are safe if that is your argument.We drove million of miles with them with little or no problems. Radials are better but and less cantankerous, smoother quieter and cheaper but the judges will take points away if they are not correct for your car.... Been there done that as short as last year at a concourse in Chico. It's there game you play by their rules.... Tedd

 

I judged at the 2017 OCA nats . in Albuquerque .
At the judge's meeting the subject of radial tires was brought up .

There was a lot of belly-aching , but in the end the judging committee decided that all cars not equipped with radials from the factory , would have points deducted for having radials .

Personally , I feel it IS a safety issue and I hope they amend the standards this year in Gettysburg .

 

I had Coker reproduction BF Goodrich bias whltewalls on my 54. They were the correct 2 3/4 inch width. They drove like crap. I never had the car judged at the nationals and never will. That nitpicking is not my cup of tea. Last year I changed to Coker radial wide whites (2 3/4 inch). What a world of difference. Coker has three different grades of these tires. They have their own label which are the cheapest and are make in Mexico. Then they have American Classic which I bought and BF Goodrich which are slightly more. The car rides and handles like a different car. With your car I would just go to a local tire store and buy a set of radials. Unless you plan on restoring the car to show condition I would not concern myself with the correct width whitewall.

 

I hear ya Red, I'm not really bothered about correct widths, it's got ribbon whites now, I just love the look of WW's...its about the only thing I'm certain of, which tire on the other hand. 🤔

 

I put white stripe radials on my '68 4-4-2 and lost 8 points at the OCA Nationals in Reno in 2011. I also was questioned somewhat on why I had radials on a "show car" in a Hemmings Muscle Machines article in August 2012. I wasn't particularly bothered by either as I prefer safety and a decent ride & drive (like Tedd said) over being authentic down to the tread that touches the pavement. I now have red stripe radial tires on SSI wheels for the '68 and my '69. Just a matter of personal preference.

Randy C.

 

Been there, done that both as a car owner and as a judge. I say damn the points and go with radials for better handling, safety and personal enjoyment!

 

This is my attitude, but Tedd is actually right. I checked a few car club websites, and the common attitude is that radial tires are not considered enough of a safety feature that their presence is ok as far as point deductions are concerned.

The OCA website, as I noted above, is ambiguous. I checked the AACA website, and they're pretty much in the radial-tires-will-cost-you-points camp. You can get away with them IF you can show that radial tires were an available dealer option when your car was new. You need "documentation" to show this. They talk about how, while radials didn't become generally commonplace or standard equipment on cars until the mid-'70s or so, radials WERE available as options on some models as early as the mid-'60s. And they leave it at that.

As noted, to my mind, safety and handling trump authenticity every day of the week. Of course there was nothing "unsafe" about non-radials, but my cars spend about 0.001% of their time being judged at car shows and the other 99.999% of their existence being driven for enjoyment. It's for the latter that I invest in radials, and if it costs me a few points, so what. My cars are full of warts, so what's one more!