As promised in a couple of threads, I’m reporting back on having the new Diamondback Auburn “bias-ply look†radials installed on my ‘61. Because I was replacing relatively new U.S. Royal bias ply tires, I’m in a good position to compare the two. I will give my impressions and respond to the questions some had raised.
The question several people had concerned appearance. The dimensions of the tires are nearly identical, and I measured the height of the bumpers at each corner before and after, under conditions as identical as I could make them (same location, trunk empty etc.). At two corners, I got identical measurements. One corner was about 1/8†lower and one was 1/4†lower with the Diamondbacks. This seems within the margin of error, particularly since I doubt my garage floor is perfectly level. So the tires give the same ride height and appearance as bias plies. They will certainly pass muster at Cars & Coffee. But you are not going to fool any judges with the DB’s. First, as you can see from the pictures, the “pie crusts†are rectangular. This is not really noticeable to me, but it is the biggest appearance difference. Second, the tires say “Auburn†and “Radial†right on the sidewall. Only noticeable to people who read sidewall fine print, but that includes most judges.
How do they drive? Let me start by stating that I am not nor have I ever been an employee of Tire Rack or a car magazine, so I’m not going to give a professional review. Fortunately, when I picked up the car, the tech who mounted the tires said he had inflated them “pretty high, around 36,†because the ride home from the shop was jarring and the car felt skittish. When I went this morning and checked, the pressures were all well over that, ranging from 38.5 to 37 psi. I reset them at 35 before heading out for the day. This made a vast improvement, although I think the sweet spot may be more like 33 or 34. The ride is certainly firmer and a bit harsher than the bias plies. But the handling is greatly improved. This car forces you to drive like an old man, but now I feel like a much younger old man. The car corners securely, and tracks perfectly. Even when driving sedately, the bias plies could squeal accelerating out of a turn. I took the car on a wide but twisty stretch of road that is one of my favorites for test driving any car, and the Diamondbacks definitely were a big step up.
For me the improved handling and resulting security is worth any denigration in the ride. It seems comparable to what happens when you put performance tires on a modern car; the handling improves at the expense of ride softness. I will say that at least at this pressure, the ride feels slightly stiffer than my ‘60, which has conventional 235-75 radials that I run at 32 psi. I will update once I’ve had a chance to do further experimentation with the tire pressure.
David. They sure do look the part in photos. The pie crust edge is also in keeping with other manufacturers of the time.
Like the license plate too ;)
Dan- Just to be clear about the pie crusts, the distinction is that the DB’s are squared off at the top, whereas the US Royals are curved. It may be that the curves were unique to US Royal, and other mfrs. had a rectangle shape, so the rectangle is period correct. But in the interest of being as unbiased as possible (pun intended) I wanted to point out the distinction.
When I get comments about the plate, I give you credit. Also helps CLC people recognize it!
How is it Black plate? I thought those were issued in the 50’s and 60’s
David. I must say I'm flattered by the plate. When the day comes that we meet in person I owe you a beverage of your choice.
An update; I did find time to lower the tire pressure to 33, and am finally happy with the ride. It does not feel as “sporty†(relatively speaking) as my ‘60, but I think that is a result of the taller, narrower tire profile, and also that the coupe is lower, with a lower center of gravity.
Caddyholic- California has started reissuing black plates (they call ‘em Legacy Platesâ€) as part of their specialty plate series. Targeted at old car fans, although also popular with drivers of black modern cars. Anyone who wants to pay the extra fee and wait a few months can get them. They were also considering reissuing the yellow with black letter plates, which would have actually been correct for a ‘61 car sold new here, but they didn’t get enough committed preorders to justify it.
Dan- We can fight about who pays for whose beverage when that happens. I get a lot of mileage out of the New Brunswick portion of the car’s story, and have left the NB inspection sticker on it, which often gets raised eyebrows. “It’s from where?†“New Brunswick? You mean New Jersey?â€
Canada --- wherezat?
To my eye, they look very good. What size tire do you have? Also, what size white wall?
Please keep us updated as to your experience with them.
I am looking for a set for my 60 Coupe DeVille.
They look great !!!!
I have the Bias ply from Universal on my 61. I'll definitely look into a set of these when mine need replacing.
Jon - They are 8.20x15, with a 2.25†whitewall, which would also be correct for your ‘60.
An update on the Auburn radials. This past weekend I participated in a driving tour sponsored by the local Hudson club that our Region was invited to participate in. The route consisted largely of two-lane “twisties†in western Marin County north of San Francisco (beautiful driving, BTW), and I was very impressed with how the tires performed. I was much more aware of the car’s size and body roll, rather than the tires, as limiting factors in taking the turns (I was driving “spritely†but not doing anything extreme). I was comfortably able to keep up with traffic, although I did pull over at one point to allow a late model Ferrari to pass (the driver pulled up to make sure I was OK). Bottom line - I think these are great tires if you want to keep the bias ply look and right height and still have the benefits of a modern tire.
Did the tire shop have any comments on the quality? Did they seem to take a lot of weight to get the balance?
The one and only set of 'classic' tires I bought were terrible to get balance which I was really unhappy with considering what they cost. The vendor said they were within spec so did nothing for me. No idea what or where that spec was published. I ended up selling them at a significant loss locally to someone that never did highway driving. It was on my 73 Eldo and those cars seem especially sensitive to balance issues so it may not have been as big a deal on a more typical car. In my case I know it wasn't the rims or the shop because they were fine with the previous big brand normal production tires and fine with the store branded ones I replaced them with. I did tell the shop that sold me on their store brand that I would reject anything that took too much weight to balance so I think they ordered a couple extras and picked the best ones which I thought was really good service on their part.
Thank you David for your informative review.
They look great. Now if diamond back only made that style in the wider 9.00-15 which is what the 1968's used... Instead I'm stuck with the auburn "premium" which doesn't have the piecrust edging.
I note that the latest self starter indicates that " the
requirement for tires to carry the name
of an OEM manufacturer has been
eliminated" for judging at the grand national.
Do you think that these tires (Diamondback Auburns) would have a deduction? Seems to me that they are the proper size, and now that the name does not have to be an OEM mfg., the would not warrant a deduction?