[keith k]

Originally Posted by njsteve

And here is that 65 GTO that won first place:

.... a nice looking car, no doubt. But I think some extra credit should have been given for the fact that a '72 T/A with A/C is about TWICE as complex of a car to restore as that GTO

[njsteve]

Spent last night at my buddy's garage dismounting all eight honeycomb rims from the four radials and four Polyglasses. We found the best, non-wobbliest rims and mounted the radials on them. Those honeycomb rims are extrememly hard to balance since a normal balancer that centers a rim with a steel cone, won't work with urethane face honeycombs. The problem is that the center portion of the urethane face of the honeycomb is molded around a steel cone-shaped, support that is not set in any particular spot on the rim. As a result, the center opening on a honeycomb is not concentrically aligned with the steel portion of the rim.

We used his balancer to check each rim for lateral curb damage but when you tried to set the mounted rim on the balancer to balance the wheel assembly for out-of-round, it was like watching a merry-go-round horse. Luckily he had a friend at a muffler shop who had a different wheel balancer that had a retaining hub with the five centering posts that mounted the wheel by the lug holes, instead of the center hole. We did a static and dynamic balance that used the regular hammer-on weights on the inside edge of the rim and then mini, stick-on weights on the internal area near the center of the rim, on the back side.

Here's a version of the balancer contraption for lug-centric wheels that don't have a concentric center hub.



Worked like a charm. The car cruises up to 80 mph with no jiggles, vibrations, or rumbles. It rides like a Mercedes now. Kinda scary compared to the teeth chattering Polyglasses.

BTW, those heavy, repro Polyglasses were pretty much unbalance-able on the other four rims, so we just mounted them on the rims for show use only. When a balancing machine says you have to add the equivilent of a Porterhouse steak (16 oz) to the outside of the wheel to get it to balance, that's a little too much for me.

[RicksGTO]

good info Steve, I like the way those BFG's fill up the wheel wells better anyway and there is no comparison in the handling and ride at speed.

[tommie69]

What size BFG's did you buy Steve?255/60/15's?

[njsteve]

They are 235/60x15 all around. I have a pair of the 255s but I looked at the date codes and they are from 1997.

Never run a tire older than 7 years regardless of the amount of tread remaining, or things like this can happen:





These tires were 10 years old and had around 100 miles on them.

To check a tire date code go to the DOT imprinted number on the side. If it is newer than the year 2000, it will say the year code as the last number:

For example: BHVENX71 3 7 04 = week 37 of 2004

If your tire was produced before 1999, it will say something like BEVENX71 3 9 8 = week 39 of 1998.

[x-bird2]

Those radial t/As seem to have an issue with the belts coming apart inside them. Here's what happened to my fronts, while driving ....

[70RAlll]

Originally Posted by x-bird2

Those radial t/As seem to have an issue with the belts coming apart inside them. Here's what happened to my fronts, while driving ....

The 1st guys pictures look bad as the tire look's new, BUT..any 10 year old tire is playing with fire, easpecially at high speeds/fast breaking around corners(easpecially on front tires) ..But the 2nd guys tires, well these just look like a well worn out tire. Look at the tread difference in these two pictures, sort of obvious the age in the 2nd tires pictures. I have used Comp T/A's for years and never had a problem. As all manufactured items are, a slight percentage will be bad.. But saying Comp T/A's are subject to belts comming apart with a 10 yr old tire and a well worn tread tire as examples... Just doesn't get it for me.. I may be in the minority and that is fine.. But just sounds like a bunch of wining to me.. What do you expect from tires with little tread and/or 10 year old tires?? A 10 yr old tire, if holding the weight of a car for 10 yrs,in one spot, will cause a flat spot and memory in the steel belts.They never were designed to sit for 10 yrs and then drive as a new tire.. This is why manufacturers suggest long term storage solutions,such as keeping the tires off the ground with jacks- we have all heard of this, right??...... just my 2c..

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by njsteve

To check a tire date code go to the DOT imprinted number on the side. If it is newer than the year 2000, it will say the year code as the last number:

For example: BHVENX71 3 7 04 = week 37 of 2004

If your tire was produced before 1999, it will say something like BEVENX71 3 9 8 = week 39 of 1998.

Steve:
Where on the tire does this imprint normally appear? I just looked at my BFG Radial T/As and did not see a sequence of numbers similar. I didn't check the inside of the tires just the outside.

BJ

[Pepi]

I have always seen the info in the inner side of the tire.

[njsteve]

The blackwall side of the TAs is where the date code is. I definitely keep an eye on my tires. The worst offenders are trailer tires, which have a lifespan of four years regardless of tread wear. Throw them away after four years or you will have a blow out, usually at the most inconvenient moment.

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by njsteve

The worst offenders are trailer tires, which have a lifespan of four years regardless of tread wear. Throw them away after four years or you will have a blow out, usually at the most inconvenient moment.

Yeah - kinda like this? 13 hours waiting on the side of the Interstate waiting for U-Haul!






BJ

[njsteve]

Yeah, that's why I always bring the "expired" tires as extra spares in the trailer in the event one of the fresher tires goes out and I have to go through the fresh spare. One year going to Carlisle I went through three trailer tires out of the four on the trailer.

The big problem is when the front trailer tire fails and it sprays the steel cord splinters into the rear tire. That one then goes a few miles later. Always replace both trailer tires on that side if you have a front fail, even if the rear looks fine at the moment.

[72Formula]

That trailer should have an armed guard! IMO

[x-bird2]

Those were actually stored along with all my other tires (off the vehicles and in a humidity controlled basement. (along with my spare truck tires, drag radials and the 1985 goodyear eagle GTs you see in the pic--which are now on the car. While yes, the BFG had about 4 year's worth of use on them--not ten, they definitely were not worn out nor abused. The other tire shows an identical bulge as steve's. My wife's subaru also bulged out a set of BFG traction T/As with only 6 months use on them--same belt separation--those were covered/replaced under warranty (STS) and a set of Toyo Proxes was installed in their place. Car manufacturers get first dibs on the best of the lot, the rest that don't past their muster or aren't needed for production volume goes to the aftermarket.

[njsteve]

Tuning question today. What's your opinion on how the plugs are burning. Too lean or just right? Slight tan on the electrode, pure white on the insulators. Currently running a tank of Shell premium after using up last week's tank of Sunoco plus four gallons of unleaded Cam2 100 octane.

[OVERULD]

I'd be happy with that!

[Transamric]

It isn't just BFG's. I've seen a marked increase in tire failures this last year, year & a half. In my shop, perhaps 14-15 cars have has similar bulges or outer cording splits & cracks, regardless of miles/usage & regardless of their age. Just last week, my '08 Vibe parts chaser developed a tennis ball sized bulge on the right front tire. These are Goodyear Eagle RS-A's dated early '08, with about 28K miles. Once we got the tire dismounted, you couldn't see any defect internally, but the tire was history anyway.
And FWIW, these were the factory installed tires that Pontiac used, made right here in the USA. I used to shudder at some of my customers tires, when I'd see they were made in China or India or Turkey. But in hindsight, it's always been the American or Canadian tires that I've seen screwed up like this.

I've wondered if the reason for increasing failures is the governments requirement that tire manufacturers use a percentage of recyled tire material in their new tires.

[Transamric]

Originally Posted by njsteve

Tuning question today. What's your opinion on how the plugs are burning. Too lean or just right? Slight tan on the electrode, pure white on the insulators. Currently running a tank of Shell premium after using up last week's tank of Sunoco plus four gallons of unleaded Cam2 100 octane.

Looks fairly decent. Modern fuels don't color the plugs as obviously as they did back in the "good 'ole days".
What brand are those? Hopefully not Bosch Platinums.

[njsteve]

They are NGKs. I've switched to them on my old 426 hemi as well. They really tend to make a difference with the smoothness of the engine as compared to the AC Delcos, Autolites, Champions, etc., that I have tried over the decades.

[Transamric]

Cool. I'm a big fan of NGK's too. Usually use them in all my customers rigs too.