Tire Pressure

[tigersdad]

What do most of you keep your tire pressure at on the 1934 1100 Series cars?  Even pressure in all around?  My tires are 7.00 x 17" and call for 35# but it seems to be a harder ride compared to 30#.  

 

Thanks!

Jay 
Novato, CA

[edinmass]

45 front, 40 rear

[Owen_Dyneto]

I've been driving a '34 1100 for more than 50 years, originally with Lincoln Highway and more recently with Lester 7:00 x 17 tires.  I inflate to 34 psi cold pressure both front and rear.

[tigersdad]

Thanks, Guys -

 

Just got back from a trip abroad or would have thanked you earlier!

Jay

Novato, CA

[tigersdad]

Just a sub-note:  I currently have the tires all around at 35psi.  Wouldn't 45 and 40 be way too high and give the car an extremely hard ride?

On 9/30/2016 at 7:46 PM, edinmass said:

45 front, 40 rear

 

Jay 

Novato, CA

[C Carl]

Try it , Jay. I have pumped the Lesters (700x21) on my '27 Cadillac to 40. Better control and road feel , less steering effort. I will try taking front to 45 as per Ed's recommendation. As you know , he is very experienced , and plays around with many aspects of old car performance. When he speaks , I listen. There seems to be a school of modern thought advocating for higher pressures with radials , with front a bit higher than rear , even on RWD. I agree , as I do a lot of experimentation with radial tire pressures , and am a high pressure guy. FWD NEEDS rather high pressure front , rears can be significantly lower , depending on speed and load. Radials have an enormous range of acceptable/recommended operating pressures , depending on load , speed , road surface , etc. On rough , poorly maintained roads , you should slow down , and if you must suffer those conditions frequently , by all means air down some. In my strong healthy days , I did quite a lot of long distance adventure driving. 4-WD down and into South America. Baja. Off road , no road. Back country hunting. We considered tires to be the tunable part of the suspension. So try tuning. Bias ply does not have the operating pressure range of radials , particularly at lower pressures. But , you might be pleased with a bit more pressure. Air is cheap ! Please let us know what your feelings are after driving on harder tires.  - Carl

[edinmass]

34 sounds very low to me. After driving thousands of miles in big pre war cars, I find 45/40 works best. A properly restored or maintained car will ride fine with these pressures. Anything lower than 40 makes the car wander and feel loose. I would run higher pressures if the tires would wear even, but over inflation will cause the centers to wear much faster. Ed

[1935Packard]

Ed, do you recommend that tire pressure on bias-plys, radials, or both?

[edinmass]

Bias, I am not a fan of radial tires on pre war cars. I know lots of people like them, but they aren't for me.

[alsancle]

12 hours ago, edinmass said:

Bias, I am not a fan of radial tires on pre war cars. I know lots of people like them, but they aren't for me.

 

+1.

 

Radials never look right on a car that was designed for Bias Ply.

[Guest shinyhubcap]

11 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

Radials never look right on a car that was designed for Bias Ply.

 

Have to agree with you - even at the 34-40 lb. psi I run my radials at,  they still have that little bulge that gives them away.   So if your classic's primary use is to go from the trailer to its allocated place on the show-field - yeah - stick with bias.

 

Unlike today's  "repro"  bias-type tires, modern radials are most often of terrific quality.  As I noted elsewhere, modern tire technology has pretty much done away with the out-of-round bias tire - hard to find a tire installer shop that even knows what a "tire knife" is...much less where to find one.

 

I've had more than one high-speed blow-out with repro. bias tires on my collector cars...occasional issues of tread - separation, etc.  No question that there is a much wider range of quality control amongst the various bias/collector tires - I recall one shipment where the BEST of them needed 5/32nd taken off a high spot before we could get em to run smooth.

 

On another occasion, I took my entire front suspension completely apart trying to find  "the problem"... twice...damn thing was "hunting" every imperfection in the highway....grooves, expansion-joints, etc.   Nothing wrong with my suspicion  - switching to a radial eliminating the problem, and as a bonus, steers so much easier. 

 

Another benefit  of modern radials   ( I am lucky..by the mid 1930's most mfg's had switched to modern-style welded "drop-center" wheels, so I don't need tubes)  .  Much less internal friction...heat is the enemy of  all tires...my radial tires run cool to the touch even at absurd speeds....

 

Depends on what you use your collector-car for.   If your use is primary lower speed local / car-show type use....I don't see any disadvantage in using repro-bias.  They have the right "look"....and no big deal if they start coming apart on you,  give you poor handling..etc.

 

If you are one of that declining number of  us old car buffs who still like to get out on the open road...go the radial route.  (and ignore the absurdly low tire pressures the pre-war manuals suggest - pump em up to at least   35-40 lbs psi)   Will give your car the "ride" and "feel" it had when new.

 

 

[1935Packard]

I ended up putting bias-plys on my '35 Twelve in part because I couldn't find radials that size that came as whitewalls.  I would be open to putting radials on that car, but preferring whitewall tires made the decision for me.  I have traditionally run my Packard at 35psi, but I'll try the higher pressures (as Ed first suggests) and see how it goes.

[Guest shinyhubcap]

Hi 1935 -  (you lucky devil - from an appearance standpoint, I like the still-vertical grill of the '35 Seniors.)

The RIMS of your wheels should be standard modern-style "drop-center" - only question is whether the wheel is built up with spokes or with a welded stamped center.   If you have the welded stamped center, you wont need tubes - which is great...less "tire friction".  If you have spoked wheels... you are out of luck - have to use tubes.

 

As for size, did you try DIAMONDACK ?   They have the ability to take virtually ANY size tire presently in production and make a white-wall for you in ANY width you like.

 

I personally like white-walls,  but I would bet that at least half of  Packard's "Senior" production went out the door with black-walls.  Remember,  that was the middle of the depression - folks were very conservative.    You may be aware that by the mid-1930's, the width of the white-wall was already starting to narrow - those "super-wide" whites of SOME manufacturers of the EARLY 1930's, to me...are just "too much". 

 

I see no reason to go above 35 lbs psi for normal driving at speeds under, say...80 mph.    At 35 lbs,  your side-walls will be hard enough so you wont get that "tire killer" of a "standing wave" - I'd go up to at least 45 lbs if you are determined to re-do some of the wild speed records Packard did in the 1930's.

 

As a side-note,  pretty silly to me...to see 1950's cars and later with what the kids today call "gangster tires", meaning the super-wide white walls that some suppliers are now providing.   Absolute nonsense - by the early 1950's you simply couldn't buy wide-whites; the tire white-wall width was down to a couple of inches,  and that remained the case clear thru the end of white-wall production by the "majors" about 20 years ago.

 

[C Carl]

Please explain : What is a "tire killer" of a "standing wave" ? I have never heard this term.  -  Thanks , Carl

[Highlander160]

Tire pressure desires are like oil. Everyone has their favorite for their own reasons, but repro Firestone 700 or 750 17s, with tubes, on Packard models from 1101 to 1107 literally for decades, 32 in the front, 30 in the rear on open cars, 32 front and rear on sedans and such. Anything over that and they follow the tar strips in the road. The thing against radials on our old stuff, they grip the road real well and deflect just as well. Turn too fast and some of those old stamped steel wheels may come apart. Not to give the impression that our roads are littered with classics stranded with broken wheels, but it can happen. Believe it or not it's more common on steel disc wheels that are riveted, wheels like the beloved 40 Ford/Mercury style or something found on 120s or Clippers. The engineers who built this stuff had years of testing behind their recommendations. I find most are just right, but we have superior tire tech today and things can be better, or worse. Excess inflation will indeed wear the centers and also reduce contact patch. At speed that contact can get smaller yet due to tire growth. Don't kid yourselves, those tires will grow at anything much over 40 MPH. Be careful, enjoy the ride, but the best results will come from miles of fun testing. Throw a portable air tank in the trunk and go for a ride. Raise em, lower em, do some panic stops, make some "emergency" maneuvers, etc. Who thinks that wouldn't be fun?

[Guest shinyhubcap]

4 hours ago, C Carl said:

Please explain : What is a "tire killer" of a "standing wave" ? I have never heard this term.  -  Thanks , Carl

 

Hi Carl:

Let me refer you to SAE/ASTM tech. papers for an explanation - I am not qualified to discuss the physics of tire technology.  All I can tell you is using layman's language  -   is that depending on the tire rpm and weight of the vehicle,  there is a speed at which the the side-wall of a bias tirel cant keep up - starts severe internal flexing.  That is why they pumped those old tires up so high before trying extreme-speed "runs".

 

Heat is a tire killer - if you have the opportunity,  place your hand on a bias tire after a high speed run - then try that on a radial under similar conditions.    I can tell you from personal experience that even at modest highway speeds, say 65 mph,  the difference in tire sidewall temp. between a bias and a radial is extreme. 

 

Yes, of course there may be SOME modern "repro" bias tires that are of good quality, and thus will work out well even if your "historical interest" car is subject to today's roads and today's driving conditions/speeds.    I personally have had too much trouble with modern "repro" tires on my collector cars - I am done - radials from now on - effectively restored my "collector car's" steering, handling to what I suspect it was like when new.  I can tell you from personal experience, one modern "repro" set of bias tires turned my "collector' car into a tar-strip hunting hard-to-steer bad-handling monster.

 

[Guest shinyhubcap]

2 hours ago, Highlander160 said:

.......... The thing against radials on our old stuff, they grip the road real well and deflect just as well. Turn too fast and some of those old stamped steel wheels may come apart. .........

 

You are correct that radials "grip the road real well".   Not sure what you mean by "deflect just as well".  Discuss for us, please?   

 

Yes, I have heard of wheel failure on the  cheaper cars - and not just on those from the pre-war days.   Old story that you "get what you pay for".    If there has EVER been a "stamped steel wheel" failure on a "Senior"  pre-war Packard I am not aware of it.   Packard's insistence on quality in the old days was legendary & well-deserved - not just on what it made itself, but from what it insisted that its suppliers provided.

 

I am unclear how the idea got started  " that a radial tire is more likely to cause wheel failure than a bias tire ".    Be suspicious;  just might be some "sales puff" by those who sell repro "bias" tires.....!

 

Given basic laws of physics and tire technology, the reverse is more likely.  For the simple reason... the side-walls on a "bias" tire are more rigid, less "yielding" than a radial .   More energy from road-shock situations are conducted  & concentrated thru the side-wall to the rim than is possible with the much-more-flexible side-wall of a radial.  Again, the much-more-flexible side-wall of the radial disperses shock waves more widely; less concentration at any one point on the wheel.

 

As for the difference in bias -vs- radial tires...."they don't build em like that anymore"  is quite true of tire manufacturing!

 

As I noted elsewhere,  tire failure with bias tires was much more common in the old days than today with modern radials.    Tire quality "out-of-the-box" was far worse in the old "bias" days than it is now - again, as I noted elsewhere,  it was not uncommon to get new tires that were terribly out-of-round.   So far out of round that even if they could be balanced in that condition, they'd vibrate the front end terribly.

 

A good example of how modern radial tires are of much better quality is the disappearance of the "tire knife".  That was a power driven device most every tire shop had.  It would "true" an out of round tire.  Try and find one now in a modern tire shop!  Heck..try and find a tire shop where they even know what a tire knife is !  ( a few big truck tire shops still have them ).

 

Another example - those of us who have operated professional-grade wheel balancing equipment down thru the years, know how much less in balancing weights modern tires require.

 

Bottom line - my recommendation is that if your use for your "collector car" extends beyond rolling it off a trailer onto a show field,  forget about bias tires.

 

 

 

 

[C Carl]

Esteemed Shiny' : I am afraid I am not capable of understanding tech journals in any subject. However I do quite a lot of experimenting with high pressure , low slip angle radials. This includes light truck tires which you see here. The next iteration will be a pair of  the new Nokian directional radial light truck tires. I will keep the Michelins for the rear. This is a big '76 Eldo with gas shocks , urethane bushings for the anti-sway bar , and low pressure (6-8 psi) individually plumbed urethane air bags in the rear coils. In my strong healthy days , I recon I could drive one of these stockers as fast as anyone. These mods with the front tires at almost 50 p.s.i. is faster than I am capable of driving it. Handles BEAUTIFULLY. My smaller FWD Cadillacs enjoy the most expensive , highest pressure directional or asymmetrical performance tires on the front. An ENORMOUS difference from ordinary 36 p.s..i. run-of-the-mill radials. Rears don't matter much. Bias ply tires are just for show. I wish I could get radials in 7.00 X 21 for the '27, or 33 X 5 for the '24. But I drive them very slowly on old Lesters. Several thousands of miles , 40 p.s.i. , no problems. I am very skeptical concerning driving fast in ancient cars. Yes , there are times and places where it may be great fun , but those times and places do not include emergency situations. I have moved my old Cads a bit on slow winding roads. Shiny' , I gather you are a So Cal old timer. Ask Roy Lassen in Santa Barbara about our descent of Old San Marcos road from Cold Spring Tavern in the '27 in top gear last Easter. Fun stuff ! But I know the old things limits. PARTICULARLY with dual rear spares. (High polar moment of inertia). They handle better with side mounts. And I do want to try Ed's suggestion of 45 p.s.i. front. But then again , these are not 7.00 X 17. Maybe another kick at the Old San Marcos can for a test ! I enjoy your postings and road reminiscences.  - Carl

[tigersdad]

Great stories and information from all.  Thank you for all the clarification, all sides, both pro and con, and information on the tires, speed and associated cars.  Carl, having spent many a summer in Santa Barbara at the family home is San Roque Park, I can visualize your car coming down San Marcos Pass.  Thanks for sharing this part in your response!

 

Jay

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by tigersdad
spelling (see edit history)

[Highlander160]

As asked for clarification. No tire salesman provided the info I mentioned about wheel failure. It has happened with my hot rodding associates though, and like I stated above more on the smaller cheaper wheels. "...grip the road better..." as in the cases we've seen and discussed, the grip is enough to add considerable side load on the rims. In the worst of some situations a wheel of the slightest questionable wear or erosion can also split the outside of the rim away from the drop center section. Why not a bias tire? It will slide on pavement well before a radial will, especially with even the slightest performance rated radial as found on select imports that use 16" tires. In order to dissect a measure of logic in my observations note that I mentioned HOT RODS. Hot rods are typically not built for low speed touring. "Enthusiastic" operation is much more common which is indeed a logical assumption. Please note that I said above that I didn't mean to give the impression of highways littered with vintage cars suffering broken wheels. Be aware that it can and has indeed happened. Surely given enough traction and the "perfect storm" of conditions, side loads and speed it could happen with any tire, but the odds are pretty high against it happening with a bias tire that would slide well before being able to impart such loads of traction and sidewall deflection. As always your results may vary, tax n title extra, no purchase necessary, void where prohibited, see your retailer for...

[Guest shinyhubcap]

Hi again Carl, Highlander & Tiger: 

 

Carl - the name Roy Lassen dosnt ring a bell - that name dosnt show up on our CCCA roster. 

 

Tiger - photo of your car brings back memories - I owned a 1103   ( yours is a 1100 Standard Eight or an 1103 Super Eight.? ..big difference in performance...!     )   for many years - tore up the roads of So. Calif. - so yes, I know the Santa Barbara - Gaviota, San Marcos roads well...

 

Tell us more about yours - confirm it is a 1103?   - as for your white-wall width - seems to my eye  perfect for your year!

 

Yes - of course you'd get a smoother ride at 30 lbs psi than 35....cant imagine that hurting anything so long as you keep your speed down.  Fastest way to tell if you have the right pressure for your tire and weight..just paint an area of the tread and drive it for a few miles...see how it wears!

 

How is your particular car geared?  What's the situation with the connecting rod bearings?     Hopefully, someone converted your connecting rods over to modern inserts.  Your "stock" rear axle ratio is either 4.41 or 4:69 - to put that in perspective, that 5" stroke is thrashing about at 60 mph harder, faster, and more brutal on that crankshaft than a modern short-stroke car at 120 mph.  Basic law of physics.

 

If you are still stock-geared, I would not recommend a cruising speed of much over 45 mph.  Any faster and you ARE going to "pound out" your connecting rod bearings eventually.  

 

Any of the modern "bolt in" overdrives would give you the ability to enjoy the car far more on the roads of today.   Hopefully, your brakes are set up the way Packard intended - with your power brake control set at the #4 position,  you should be able to stop not as well, but resasonably close to a modern disc brake car, assuming your tires are reasonably fresh - tread not yet hard.

 

Highlander - your concern about hard side-loads aggravated by radials  - I agree - again...if we are talking about the  cheaper "cars built to a price" that folks turn into hot-rods.

 

The big pre-war Packards hardly fall into that category - be assured Packard deserved its reputation for superb quality and over-built engineering.   You want to talk "side-loads"...?  Do a little research on the Internet - bet you will eventually come up with films showing what they did to these cars at the Packard Proving Ground when new. 

 

I  personally have been a "squirrel" with big pre-war Packards since I bought my first one  as a teen-ager in 1955 - roughed them up going to high school....got married in one....roughed mine up just the other day showing off to someone who made the mistake of thinking I am an "old duffer" who can be passed....!       Have had radials on that thing for the past 30 + years.  If I had a lower priced car..... I sure as heck wouldn't subject a  lower-priced car to the abuse I love putting my Packard thru.....wheels would have fallen off years ago.!

 

[Highlander160]

I'm currently enjoying a 47 Super Clipper, model 2103. It has new Silvertown radial WW tires that I have inflated to 36 in the front and 34 in the rear. So far so good, but I remain mindful of what's happened to some of out hot rod brethren and behave accordingly. It's very stable in normal driving, the ride is as cozy as can be, yet I won't be found on freeway ramps or sharp turns looking for the car's limits.Why? When I drive these old things i want the ride to last as long as possible. 55 instead of 65, take the long way over smooth roads vs a gravel road shortcut, and even past the tire thoughts I don't wind the engine real high between gears. It gets up to speed fast enough without making it sing a high RPM tune. Like an elder beautiful woman, these cars like some romance, attention, respect. Their performance-minded descendants like action, like to play harder, need much less attention than in times past, like a young beautiful woman. If that means my perspective on fine vintage cars borders on objectifying, I guess i agree. Nice topic, thanks for the coversation folks.

[edinmass]

I think it may be possible that the western roads are in better condition and maybe the lower pressures work ok out west. Up in the northeast our roads are falling apart, have a bigger crown, and anytime I got in my car after a long winter and drove the car before adding air the car was all over the roads and loose as a goose. I would think running the tire at 34 would cause it to heat up quite a bit. Ever check your hot and cold temp after a long speed run?

[tigersdad]

Ed, our roads out here in the West are as beat up as the rest of the country.  God forbid that CA invest in her infrastructure when we have Social Programs that come first.  Recently, on the news, it was estimated that Californians spend an additional $1200/year on repairs to their cars due to road conditions....pot holes, debris, etc....We may not have the snow, but we sure have the crummy roads!

[Grimy]

Agree wholeheartedly.  Traffic is terrible.  WHY?  Because the population of California has DOUBLED from 20M to 40M since 1980--only 36 years, and everyone has a car (no, make that "a transportation appliance").  There have been virtually no new arterials constructed in that period.

[Guest shinyhubcap]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 4:10 PM, edinmass said:

.................. I would think running the tire at 34 would cause it to heat up quite a bit. Ever check your hot and cold temp after a long speed run ?

 

Excellent question - gives me an excuse to repeat my raving as to my personal prejudice -  the advantage of radial tires over bias  (again, for those of us who actually use and enjoy our Packards on the open road !  ).

 

Yes, I most certainly did watch my tire temps.  Even at 35 lbs psi bias tires got hot enough to scare me if I drove my nearly three ton Packard at anything much over 55 mph.    I had THREE high speed blow-outs  over the years before I finally decided the bias "re-pros"   (  avail. in my size)  were not for me.

 

Again - when these cars were in service, as well as today, of course there were and  are wide variances in quality control, durability, etc. in bias tires.  Again, using modern radials from reputable manufacturers,  good quality is much more predictable.

 

I know fellow car nuts who ARE getting good service out of "repro" bias tires  (however,  they know how I drive mine;  having more brains than I, they admit they choose NOT drive their collector cars as hard or as fast as I drive mine).

 

Which gets us back to your question - at 35 lbs psi. my radials, even at modern highway speeds ( meaning 70+) even on the hottest days get only warm to the touch. 

 

Yes, I frequently ( and RECOMMEND TO ANY COLLECTOR CAR OWNER)  inspect tires for any signs of failure.

 

WARNING - no question we need to be observant...ESPECIALLY using radials - that's the one BAD thing about radials compared to bias tires.  You get a high-speed blow-out, either front or rear  with bias.....( go ahead and ask me how I know)....no big deal...big Packards remain stable and controllable -  just don't try a hard panic stop...!...... pull over and wrestle off that side-mount cover,  and you are back in business.

 

On those rare occasions when there have been blow-outs with a radial.....not pretty...without the strong side-wall of a bias,  you may have wheel damage.   There have been instances where the disintegrating radial took a fender clean off the car...!

 

Again - the radials I personally like are the ones I get from Diamond - they take a modern off-the-shelf "D" rated truck tire and simply add a white-wall to that.   This is not to serve as a criticism or indictment of other suppliers using non-name brand manufacturers... - again,  there are plenty of examples of success with their products.

 

 

[tigersdad]

Shiny -

 

You had asked about the 1934 Packard.  It is a Standard Eight and has had the rear ratio changed for modern speed, though I have yet to bring the car up to modern day speeds.  I like to take it low and slow on all my vintage cars.  That's what I enjoy about them.  Taking my time and enjoying the ride.  As far as the White Walls, the width that I measure from the rim to the outside of the WW is 4-1/2".  This has been an extremely informative thread from all the drivers with experience.  Ed and Shiny, thank you for the invaluable knowledge on the tires!

 

Jay

Novato, CA

Edited October 25, 2016 by tigersdad (see edit history)

[tigersdad]

So...........................

 

I put 40#psi in the front and left the back at 35# psi as suggested by Ed in Mass and Carl, though they said 45/40, and it seems to have helped out.  I'm still hesitant on going to 45 pounds in the front and 40 in the back, but might just give it a shot when the rain stops out here in the SF Bay Area.  It helped out quite a bit on the steering aspect and seems to give the driver of the car more control and less wobble.  Stay tuned.

 

Jay

Novato, CA

[Dynaflash8]

I had a set of Diamondbacks on a 53 Oldsmobile.  They recommended very high psi and the hubcaps would stay on.  It worked.  I can't remember for sure, but I think it was 40 or 45 pounds.  I couldn't believe it, but they make the tires.  One caution is my experience with radials on a modern vehicle.  Over six years and they are dangerous.  If they blow they tear the fender up.  One blew on my Suburban tow vehicle, on the rear with trailer attached...............scarry!!.  Obviously I survived it, remembering what my Dad told me when he taught me to drive.  "Whatever you do, don't touch the brake, hang onto the steering wheel and ride it down."  Those were his exact words and it worked.  But, the rear fender on the Suburban was still torn up as was the wheel because the tire came off and the wheel hit the ground.  Add to that dozens of blowouts on the trailer.  They sure have beat up the trailer.

[tigersdad]

OK..........................

 

I went ahead and put 45psi in the front and 40psi in the back and drove the car around town.  The car steered a lot easier, more control, but definitely a harder ride.  I wanted to bring her up to speed a bit, but my normal driving routes are either washed out, now full of potholes or still closed after a week due to flood waters which have yet to recede.  Any thoughts at leaving the PSI at this poundage or lowering it back down to the 40/35 where I had it?

 

Jay

Novato, CA

[C Carl]

Hi , Jay , very glad to see you are accumulating data at varying pressures. Also glad to see accumulating water for thirsty Californians ! Therefore , I just went back and read every word in this interesting thread. As I mentioned earlier, tires are the TUNEABLE part of your suspension. Variable according to circumstances. Velocity is the other variable under your control. Potholes , rough road : slow down , low down pressure. Higher  velocity : high pressure. If you NEED to reduce steering effort , you now realize to what degree tire pressure can help. Just make sure to drive more slowly on rough roads while driving with high pressure. Obviously the high pressure will transmit more shock to you and your car. Interesting to re-read Highlander's comments. He certainly is correct that the significantly lower slip angle of radials allows them to safely perform , with control , at much higher speeds and loads. As I have noted , not all radials are created equal. I have done speed trials with very expensive high pressure , low slip angle , directional , performance radials. '93 FWD Cadillac with standard (not touring) , suspension. Total directional control with my right foot on the firewall , the rear end flung out like those thrilling action movies of early FWD rally cars (Cooper , Peugeot, Renault , etc.) , you may have seen. Yup. Long as you keep Un-flinching max power on , you just aim and enjoy the adrenaline! No , you can't do that with runof the mill rubber. Not on 1/4 century old technology beneath a bone stock 200 hp. Cad sedan. But I do also have much more powerful/modern fast cars. If you use some of their capabilities , you must pay attention to what meets the road. My old cars ? My slow cars ? I really enjoy the privilege of being allowed to drive slowly without making other drivers angry. The ancient iron loves scenic , slow , low density traffic situations. At speed , in an emergency situation, it would take more than tires to do the handling needed to save lives. Slow the oldies down. - Carl

 

P.S. : Having now experimented over a range of tire pressures , you may enjoy re-reading all the above as I did.

[tigersdad]

Carl -

 

I did go back and re-read each post as you suggested.  Quite interesting dissecting each post and collecting the information.  Good idea of yours!  Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it, the style of tire I have, and prefer, on my classics, is bias and tube. For me, the radials just don't fit the part as I like to keep my cars original, down to the last nut and bolt.  When I mentioned about bringing the car up to speed, well, that would be no more than 40 MPH for me unless I'm on the freeway going to or coming from a show, which are few and far between these days in the Bay Area.  At that point, I may be doing 50 as I have had a pace car follow me and give me the lights and horn when I do reach that speed to make sure that I can sync my speedometers at 50 MPH.  My Buick is off by 12 MPH, so I when it reads 40, I know I'm going 28 MPH.  For the Packard, pretty much right on, though It may be off by a mile or 2. Maybe, one day, I will try radials, but for the time being, having owned classics since I was in my 20's and am now 54, I'm content with the original style that the car was intended to have when built.  I guess it's just a matter of preference any way you look at it!

 

Jay