I have driven old sports cars on orginal style bias plies, radials of
approximately orginal size, and lower profile fatter radials.
For me the best compromise is the miiddle ground, the appropropriately sized
radials, steering stays light, but the car is still chucckable.
As far as safety, you can certainly adjust driving habits to bias ply or
whatever your tires limits are, but...in the old day everybody was on bias
plies or bias ply recaps even.
These days if you are tooling along in your healey and some bozo cuts you
off then realizes traffic isn't moving any faster in your lane, or traffic
in your lane abrubtly stops, the "bozo" will probably have more stopping
power than you and you can figure out the rest of the story.
Greg Lemon
54 BN1
----- Original Message -----
From: <RAHosmer@aol.com>
To: <whammie@iopener.net>; <healey.nut@gmail.com>; <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: Tires
> WOW!! - HOW on earth did we EVER survive without radial tires - especially
> the Brits with their weather! For racing/track use, I certainly agree
with you
> - radials grip better - so much better that they have collapsed wheels!
>
> I drove my BT7 (I bought it new in 1962) for 20 years on RS5s (including
some
> competition) with NO problems. What do you mean by "today's highway
speeds"?
> 70 then - 70 now - what's the big deal? I'm not going to flog my antique
car
> down the road at some ridiculously excessive speed, OR corner hard in the
wet -
> that is just plain stupid - even maintained in good shape, it's still not
a
> good idea - some of the cars are 50 years old. We are talking about
VINTAGE
> cars here, and the whole LBC "experience". They weren't designed for the
added
> grip of radials. I'd sooner slide a bit, than explode a wheel.
>
> And, lest you think I am just some toothless old fart/geezer - I exceed
the
> limit at least 90% of the time I'm on the freeway - My Honda Accord is so
> smooth, it easily gets up to 90 before I realize it, and have to pull it
back to a
> "reasonable" 75-80. But that is a modern car, and I am NOT exceeding it's
> capabilities. The Healey is for FUN, and I have a ball, just cruising at
> reasonable speeds!
>
> Dick Hosmer
> BT718556
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