I would not make a decision solely based on that story - while the tire technology of that day was not what it is today, the tires were no doubt fresh and possibly even the special high speed tires designed for the competition. I know from personal experience we could generally get a set of freebees for car show and display purposes from Goodyear as they wanted to show off their latest and best at any publicity opportunity. But I digress - my point is this - the low production nature of the bias wide whitewalls makes them more likely to be older stock and older production methods using hand labor rather than automated technology used for higher production bias ply in their day or the current high precision methods used in radials. This combined with age can lead them to be more problematic at speed. Even radials with significant age (defined by various groups as "anywhere over 5" to "10 or more" years old) have issues. And tires parked for long periods of time typical of antique cars left can develop memory type flat spots. If you are going to drive the car at speed - defined by me as 60 mph +/- or sustained trips, make sure the tires are up to it - and the tread left is probably the least significant factor for most of us. And I choose 60 +/- MPH because that is speed where harmonics come into play with respect to any imperfections of balance or roundness and tire problems tend to be aggravated. Its also a speed where a blown tire can do a lot of damage to you, the car, and potentially others around you. Trailering or lower speed short distances to car shows may be another matter where old tires are less of an issue. On 5/18/2012 9:30 AM, LabLoverDC@xxxxxxx wrote: > > That's a very interesting story in its own right, but it also relates > to an > interesting decision for me. > > Like most 300 owners, I would like to enjoy the handling and safety > benefits of radial tire construction. However, my 300 F had an almost > brand new > set of wide white bias plys put on it just before I bought it. I've been > agonizing over whether it is worth the expense to replace them. Part > of my > theory on not replacing them is that they were good enough back when the > car was in production, so even though I'm sure radials would be an > improvement (and probably a significant one), it might be something I > can hold off on > until the current tires need replacement. Hearing about someone tearing > around at 135 MPH on country roads with bias plys "back in the day" helps > convince me that I can probably do without the radials for a while. > > Thanks for the story--fascinating history. > > Shannon > > > > > In a message dated 5/18/2012 10:09:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bob%40simplexco.com> writes: > > lifter motor. > > Hindsight is a terrible thing and it causes great moments of anguish. > As in > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join and select the "Leave Group" button For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/search.htm#querylangYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Chrysler300-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chrysler300-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Chrysler300-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/