The bias ply tires are fine, after all that is what the car came with
originally.
Some of us personally prefer radials,because we drove a lot of miles on old
style tires and have come to appreciate the longevity and handling of the
modern style, possibly at the expense of some ride-hardness and cost.
These days, I don't think you can find a good tire to put on your car that
would be cheap. It is a big heavy car that needs good tires. Back in 1973 I
bought a set of Mohawk Meteors for my '65 Imperial at the local Standard gas
station. They were 4 ply polyester cord tires, and they had a dual band white
wall to die for. The inner band was about two inches wide with a very thin 3/8
inch band around the outside of it. They were beautiful! The tires were $35.00
each which was cheap even then. I got 8,000 miles on them before all four of
them were bald! There was nothing wrong with the car, or the tire inflation. I
had even driven used tires from junk yards for $10.00 each that lasted longer
then that. Ever since then, that car has had radials.
Regardless of what kind of tires you buy, be sure to buy good quality tires.
Settling for less would be like "playing catch with an ice cube to save on the
cost of air conditioning", as our friend Uncle Tom would say.
Paul
In a message dated 5/7/2004 10:36:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Bobby_Wicker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>
>I know this topic was just recently done to death but I'm afraid I didn't
>realize at the time I would need to pay more attention. My 64 Crown had
>been in the shop for a month having the front end rebuilt and the steering
>sector rebuilt. While it was in the shop, the mechanics told me that they
>came in one Monday morning and found the tread pealed back off of one of
>the front tires. Well, when I picked up the car, I thought they had really
>screwed the car up because the front end was vibrating so much I was
>getting ready to turn around to take it back (I hadn't even gone three
>blocks) and I had the tread separate on the other tire that had been on the
>front. They are 235/75 R 15s and I have been looking all over town for
>replacements. The best price on a brand I've heard of was Uniroyal, which
>have a 3/4 inch whitewall at about $34.00 each as a 50,000 mile tire. I
>have been trying to find someone with at least an 1 to 1 1/2 inch whitewall
>but they start at $100.00 and climb from there, such as the Firestone 721s.
>I even considered trying to find a 9.50-15 bias ply but have heard bad
>things about handling for the mid-60's Imperials on them. After having
>spent so much lately on real things like the front end, the steering
>(complete disaster with the first machine shop), a new power booster
>etc..., I don't have an extra $500 for 721s. My questions are this, has
>anyone used bias ply on a 64-66 and had good luck with them? Can anyone
>direct me to a mid-priced brand that had more than a 3/4 inch whitewall?
>Anyone with experience with Uniroyals on an Imperial? I apologize for
>bringing this topic back up so soon. Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.
>
>Bobby
>64 Crown
>65 New Yorker (14 inch rims)
>67 Sedan De Ville
>79 New Yorker
>80 242
>
>
>
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