[Chrysler300] 8.00 x 15 Goodyears & radial tires on old rims.

["Rich Barber" <c300@xxxxxxx>]

Below is a series of communications with John Kelsey of Kelsey Tires
regarding 8.00x15 Goodyears (not available) and the issue of radial tires
mounted on old rims.  I found his comments to be credible and enlightening.

C-300'ly,
Rich Barber
Brentwood, CA
1955 Chrysler C-300 (still running on those good old Remington L-78's.)

________________________________________
From: John Kelsey [mailto:kelsey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 6:46 AM
To: 'Rich Barber'
Subject: RE: 8.00 x 15 Goodyears

Mr. Barber,

      Please feel free to post to the site.  I will be happy to answer any
questions which will, or may, arise.

Regards,

Kelsey


________________________________________
From: Rich Barber [mailto:c300@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:33 PM
To: 'John Kelsey'
Subject: RE: 8.00 x 15 Goodyears

John:

Thank you for your thoughtful and candid response.  May I have your
permission to post your response on the Chrysler 300 Club, Int?l website? 
These issues come up about annually.

Rich Barber
Brentwood, CA

________________________________________
From: John Kelsey [mailto:kelsey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 2:10 PM
To: 'Rich Barber'
Subject: RE: 8.00 x 15 Goodyears

Mr. Barber,

      The molds you have mentioned are unfortunately destroyed.  Wish the
news were better on that point.  The radial in the 225/75 ? R15 would be
quite useable on your car.  The radial and non ? radial rim debate does
exist.  Perhaps a look at a different context will set that aside.  When
radials first came along for installation on American cars, especially in
the aftermarket, the average age of the American vehicle fleet was 8.2
years.  Consequently many people wanted to try the new tire technology but
certainly did not want to change rims as well.  In retail operations at the
time, across the country, we made these installations by the thousands on a
daily basis. 

     Rim failure was not a problem.  Did I ever see a rim fail.  Certainly,
especially on contractor pickups fitted with some of the new aftermarket
white spoke wheels which were not engineered correctly and allowed too much
center spoke flex relative to the rim.  At that time the spokes were not
welded in such a manner that a full 360 degree contact was made with the
rim.  The loaded capacity of the vehicle was causing the center flex
failure.  This I might add was happening whether the tire was radial or
bias.  I did not experience a radial failure on a conventional steel wheel
or wire wheel.  Especially if you know the history of your wheels, i. e. not
being exposed to fire etc., you will do just fine with the radial
application.  Just be sure and use an appropriate radial tube and cover the
heads of your spokes with a  material which does not have any fabric or
filament as part of it?s composition. A simple material is the old plastic
electricians? tape which we have used for many years.  I have wire wheel and
tire assemblies which have had this combination for 20 or more years.  
Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.  Thank you for
thinking Goodyear.

Regards,

Kelsey


________________________________________
From: Rich Barber [mailto:c300@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: Sunday, February 04, 2007 4:33 PM
To: kelsey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: 8.00 x 15 Goodyears

I realize it is an old, and probably dead issue.  But, here goes anyway.

Early Chrysler 300?s and New Yorkers came with 8.00 X 15 Goodyears?the 300?s
with belted/bias BlueStreak nylon high-speed racing tires.  I see you have
resurrected Goodyear Deluxe Super Cushion molds up through 7.60 X 15.  Is
there any chance you also have access to the 8.00 x 15 Goodyear molds in the
Deluxe Super Cushion or Super Cushion design?  I believe they had 3? WSW.

I also realize your 225/75R15 with 3? WSW is a reasonable replacement,
size-wise.  There is some concern over putting radials on the old 5-inch
wide x 15? steel dish or wire wheels.  Do you have an opinion on this?

Rich Barber




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