1930 Tire Problem?

[Guest sndtubes]

Hi Folks

Well, yet another problem with my bomb. In 2005 I bought new tires which were Firestone 475/500 X 19's. I just noticed that around ther perimeter of the sidewall above the white wall (mostly) some horizontal cracks. At least 3 or the 4 tires are doing this. I have called the dealer and sent them pictures, but I was wondering if any of you have experienced this or known of this to happen. Coincidentally (or maybe not so), the worst tire is on the wheel that I suspect is squeaking. I have not determined the cause, although the spokes seem tight to me. I have not observed any "shiny spots" on the wheel, so I'm really stumped (as usual).

[Guest sndtubes]

A little postscript to my original post. I changed out the tire with the spare. No more wheel squeak. However the spare rim is a bit bent so I have some vibration at 50 mph. There's a guy in Dayton that makes new rims (300 bucks AAaaaahhhh!), but it seems that making new ones is the only way to have STRAIGHT rims. I'm wondering if ALL of my problems are stemming from crummy, bent, rims?

[Fred Rawling]

Michael,

I would be real worried about a tread separation if you are driving at 50 mph.

A tread separation could really mess up a fender.

[Guest sndtubes]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Michael,

I would be real worried about a tread separation if you are driving at 50 mph.

A tread separation could really mess up a fender. </div></div>

Fred,

Well, I'm not driving on the bad tire and I'm not gonna drive much until I get them all replaced. Have you seen this before?

[Mark Shaw]

Michael,

I have the same tires on my 31 Buick for over five years (except they are 18"), and they all look OK. I also have two older spares in the shop that have a different tread pattern and they look OK too. I'd say you found a defect.

What tire pressure have you been running? Maybe too much or too little pressure could cause the separation?

[jscheib]

Well, for sure I am going to take a good close look as soon as the winter cover comes off here in the northeast. Thanks to all of you for sharing these thoughts. Mine are about the same age. I will let you know what I find.

John

[Guest sndtubes]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Michael,

I have the same tires on my 31 Buick for over five years (except they are 18"), and they all look OK. I also have two older spares in the shop that have a different tread pattern and they look OK too. I'd say you found a defect.

What tire pressure have you been running? Maybe too much or too little pressure could cause the separation? </div></div>

Mark, well, I run the recommended pressure which, I think, is about 32 pounds. They've always held air just fine. I have discovered that there is also some cupping on the outside of the worst tire. . I have replaced all of the front end components except for the shocks which I will turn my attention to next. However, ALL of the tires are doing this to some extent, including the rear tires, so it isn't solely a front end problem. They do seem to be defective tires.

I really need to try to get some better rims. There's a guy in Dayton that makes rims (Jim Steck) and I may go ahead and bite bullet to have some rims made since I am not having much luck getting straight, decent rims.

The tire company (Universal) is going to replace them, but I'm wondering if I should switch to another tire. Lester makes a 5.50 X 19 which is what is called for. The first set I bought were Firestone 5.50 - 6.00 X 19 which were way too big. I then switched to the current set which are 4.75 - 5.00 X 19 Firestone which were only a bit larger than the tires that were on the car when I got it.

Does anyone know how much the 30 model 40 business coupe is supposed to weigh? The guys at Universal told me these were rated at a maximum of 3600 pounds. I wonder if these tires I have are too light of a duty tire for this car. Well I guess I've rambled enough. thanks for the help, guys. BTW, sure wish I could go on the Pre War tour after the Buick National. Just too far for me. I don't have a trailer, so I would have to leave by the end of this month to make it up there in time if I drove the Buick!

[Guest imported_Thriller]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does anyone know how much the 30 model 40 business coupe is supposed to weigh? The guys at Universal told me these were rated at a maximum of 3600 pounds. </div></div>

According to <span style="font-style: italic">The Standard Catalog of Buick</span>, 3600 lbs is the weight of the car.

[Guest sndtubes]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does anyone know how much the 30 model 40 business coupe is supposed to weigh? The guys at Universal told me these were rated at a maximum of 3600 pounds. </div></div>

According to <span style="font-style: italic">The Standard Catalog of Buick</span>, 3600 lbs is the weight of the car. </div></div>

Woah. Gee, thanks. These tires are rated at exactly 3600 pounds total car weight. Given there is no saftey margin, I'd say these tires are waaaayyyyy undersized for this car. I'll for sure change to a different tire.

I showed the tires to a guy tonight and he claims that my tires are "retreads". Is that possible? I can't believe they'd cap these type of tires. The cracks and teltale line are where the cap ends and the old tire begins, he says. If thats the case, then I'm really pi**ed off. These were supposed to be NEW tires.

[Mark Shaw]

Michael,

I suggest you check to see if your spoke wheels are round. If the car was just sitting on it's tires for a long time and not put on jack stands, the wheels may be out of round. You may not need new rims....

[Guest sndtubes]

Mark,

You know I was wondering about that. My car may have been sitting for a long time before I got it, but in the last 5 years it has not sat in one place for more than a few weeks at a time. How in the world can I fix out of round wheels? Do I need a whole new wheel, felloe and spokes, too? How do I determine if it is out of round?

thanks

Mike

[Mark Shaw]

Mike,

To check for out of round, remove the tire and rim & put something stationary next to the wheel while you spin it. You will soon know if you have a problem.

If you do have an out of round wheel, you might try loosening the hub bolts and knock it back into round with a block and large hammer (while is is off the car). When it is round again, just re-tighten the hub bolts and punch the threads to lock the nuts.

[Fred Rawling]

Michael,

What made you think that the 5:50 x 19 tires were too big?

Fred

[Guest sndtubes]

Fred,

Well, it wasn't the 5.50 X 19's that were too big. It was 5.50 - 6.00 X 19's that were too big. A mechanic friend of mine who was mounting them told me they were bulging out too much at the rim. They really didn't even look right mounted on the car. They were waaaaayyy taller than the tires I was replacing. I thought that they should fit as the car calls for 5.50 X 19.

I have found some Lester 5.50 X 19 and also some BF Goodrich 5.50 X 19's. I'm going to try to get the Goodrichs if I can. It will depend upon what Universal will do.

Interestingly enough, I was at a friend's place this past weekend. He had just bought a 30 model 44 roadster (boy do I want it!). At any rate, the guy he had bought it from had put on new tires before selling the car. They were the EXACT tires that I have now (Firestone 4.75-5.00 X 19). So, I'm not the only one putting those tires on these wheels. However, I still think I'm going to go for the 5.50's if I can. I really don't want to go back to these tires. I'm still sure the tires I have are also defective. They simply look like they're old and are dry rotting. Universal is going to replace them.

I found a guy in Dayton who makes NEW rims. I've decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and get some brand new rims for the car as this car is a driver and gets driven a lot. They are VERY expensive ($295 ea). It is just too hard to find original rims that aren't bent. My wheel squeak was apparently coming from a bent rim squeaking on the felloe. It wasn't a loose spoke after all.

Once I get this tire/wheel ordeal behind me, I've gotta fix the shocks. The Lovejoy shocks on car leak like crazy and probably don't work much at all. This stupid car is going to end up costing as much as a big fancy Packard or Cadillac. Live and learn.....