I'm going to buy a set of tires for my 55 this fall I'm looking for input from guys that have  done this and if they would buy the same brand againI

As far as I'm concerned no question if you really drive your car. I have had the Cokers (lousy) and currently have the diamond backs which are really good. I also liked the Goodyears from Kelsey tire (expensive) and the whitewall was a little to ornate for me, but the latter 2 balanced well, ran true, and lasted.... Which is a lot more than I can say about the Cokers! Good luck. MIKE

Mike, still lovin his 57 t'bird after 53 years!

We drive it  alot  Cruisin'the coast which is a 2k trip for us and St Paul back to the 50s is a 1k trip I have hankooks on it right now run great but not the right look

I have diamondbacks , great no probs.



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

port-a-walls on my black wall Firestone redials.not a show car by any means but affordably done; works for me!Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

I bought the Cokers from a distributor, not direct from Coker for a bit less because of reduced shipping.  Had them a year, plus.  So far no complaints, but immediately after I ordered them I read some bad reviews on here.  Hoping they last me a while.  Had bias ply tires from the 70's on when I bought it, so the upgrade to radials really improved the drive-ability.

I would be fine with port-walls but I have been told that they don't work well on rad tires / is this just bad info put out by coker ,etc tire builders?

I drove Coker's on my 'bird for years, and had no complaint. They got old and hard. I've got Diamond Backs on it now, and on another OT car. BFG T/A's on the bird, Nitto's on the other. I feel the more modern design of the carcass and tread is the important point. With carefull measuring you can fit OEM centers to wider rims, with the required offset, and get a little more rubber on the road. Wheelsmith did the rims. Some hard core types complain the "look" of the DB's isn't quite right, but I was willing to give that up for the performance.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

The sidewall flex is what you have to watch for on radials when you have portawalls they can cut in.. If you do any sort of high speed driving , freeways etc it would pay not to use them, if they separate from the wheel they do a hell of a damage to panels when they let go!.



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

I'm on my second set of Diamond Backs and am  very happy with them. The whitwalls stay white and they balance easily. The first set was on the car for (i think 8 years, time got away from me) but had to replace because of  a broken belt and the time factor. Second sets great. All wide white are expensive but Diamond Back would be my vote, they are great people to deal with.
Jim

Location:Washington,Ia