Red line radial versus bias ply

[camarojoe]

I personally hate radials on old cars. I think the negative comments of bias ply tires must have something to do with the proper alignment and condition of the suspension bushings and hardware, because I always hear horror stories about using them on older cars for street driving. I do it all summer (remember summer?) and haven't really had any problems. Last year I put over 5000 miles on a '32 highboy with skinny bias plys and it always tracked down the road straight as an arrow and smooth as silk.

A few years ago I had G70-14 redline Firestones on a '69 El Camino and experienced a little of the "tracking/wandering" issues mentioned above, but never enough that I'd have swapped to radials. I drove it alot too.

I've actually found that driving in heavy rain at highway speeds to be the only time bias ply tires ever make me a little nervous. The drive home from Columbus last year was in the rain the entire way, and my bias plies did seem to like to hydroplane a bit easier than my buddies' radials...but if you're aware of this and don't drive like an idiot, it's not really a big deal.