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By geo56 - Last Month
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I tried to buy a new set of whitewall tires locally a while back for the front on my 56 Victoria. I ended having to search on line and bought a set of 3/4 inch whitewalls of an off brand (Tornel Classic). When I went to scrub the whitewalls I noticed one or two divots or lumps on each sidewall. They seemed to ride ok but as of late the front of my car shimmys from side to side noticeably as I drive in town from stop to stop. But when I speed up , like over 40 mph the shimmy smooths out completely and is not noticable at all. I did raise the car off the ground and gave each front wheel a spin and did not notice any sideways wobble on the tread and no noticable bumps in the tread. I hope someone who is knowledgable on radial tires can advise me on if this is a safety issue. By the way, I have been searching on Diamondback and Coker and really like the radial tire with the bias ply look. Very pricey, but what I have now is probably cheap off shore junk. I know the 56 Fairlane had wide whites but I prefer the 1 inch whitewall that was popular in the mid 60's.
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By 55blacktie - Last Month
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I have never heard of "Tornel Classic." Take the car back to the shop that installed the tires. They need to check the balance and make sure that the tires aren't out of round. Point out the bulges as well.Hopefully you didn't buy the tires online. It's also possible that one or more balance weights fell off.
If your vehicle is a driver, not a show car, buy the best tires available in the correct size.
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By geo56 - Last Month
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Yes I did buy the tires on line as whitewalls are no longer available locally. The shimmy is at low speeds going from stoplight to stoplight in town and smooths out to nothing noticeable at highway speeds.
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By Lou - Last Month
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The tire or tires are out of balance (way out). Most likely they were balanced using a spin balancer , see if you can find someone with an old fashioned bubble balancer (good luck). I have a bubble balancer and have fixed this problem for 10 or 12 people in the last 30 years.
PS...Wash the rims front and back before balancing .
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By Joe-JDC - Last Month
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A steel cord belt that has not sealed properly in the manufacturing process will never balance out. The steel will oscillate forever. See if the beads/tread run perfectly straight on spin test. You can see the oscillation/waver if that is the issue. BTDT. Joe-JDC
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By geo56 - Last Month
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Would that explain why the shimmy seems to smooth out at higher speeds. I did mention that I felt divots in the sidewalls when the tires were new and I was scrubbing the whitewalls to get the blue soap off.
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By 55blacktie - Last Month
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An out-of-round tire might not balance. It might be necessary to have tires trued, which involves shaving the tread, thereby reducing tread life.
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By geo56 - Last Month
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Not worth the expense for a cheap set of tires made in Mexico for a company in India. Tormel Classic. I will probably cut my losses and try Diamondback or Coker for a 1 inch radial with the bias ply look. What good is buying cheap off shore junk if you can't even use it safely?
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By 55blacktie - Last Month
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Although I have not purchased either, Diamondback seems to have a better reputation.
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By KULTULZ - Last Month
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Were the tires mounted on 1956 steel wheels?
A radial requires a later style wheel. The earlier steel wheels may/will flex.
But if you felt bulging in the sidewalls, I would shake them, maybe try a warranty claim.
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By tomfiii - Last Month
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Toe-in is slightly different on radials.
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By KULTULZ - Last Month
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... and increased positive camber.
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By 55blacktie - Last Month
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There is something to this, mounting radial tires on the original wheels that were designed to be used with tubeless bias-ply tires. However, a member of my Tbird club drove his 57 Tbird from Sacramento to Washington and back on radial tires on the original 57 wheels without issues. What can happen is that the "flex" can cause full wheel covers to come off.
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By RossL - Last Month
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I had a problem balancing Diamondbacks and original Ford 15" Tbird rims. When I put the new tires on the shop told me they had a problem with two tires and they installed 5 weights on each tire. I brought the two wheels/tires to another shop that fixes modern wheels. They couldn't do much better. They told me the tires AND rims were out a little.
There is a balancing machine called the Hunter Road Force. This machine puts pressure on the tires while they are spinning and measuring the balance. The machine can tell the tech how to "re-orient" the tires on the rims so the imperfections counter balance. After they did this the balance was much better. Went from 5 weights to 3. Not many places have this machine. I went to a Ford dealer and they charged me 1/2 hour labor each @$90. My only other option was to locate "better" rims...... Old perfect rims are hard to find and the prices seem to be $75 and up......
https://www.hunter.com/wheel-balancers/road-force-elite#overview
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