evensteven
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- Last seen
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2017
- Thunderbird Year
- 1958
I have been told that I should have not put radial tires on this car. It tends to wander at about 55 mph. Will a heavier stabilizer bar correct this?
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The car has new roadster wheels with new tires from Diamond Tire, I put new wheel bearings in when restoring the car. The car steers very well under 50mph and corners very well also. Maybe it is just the way they were designed, we are all used to rack and pinion these days.It's my opinion that radials are an inherently better design for handling, stopping, managing road imperfections vs bias ply tires. Your wandering issue is likely unrelated to type of tires on your car. Stabilizer bars help with turning not with going straight. Unfortunately diagnosing your specific problem is impossible without examining the car's steering gear, suspension, tires, rims, wheel bearings, etc. I'd suggest looking on youtube for any videos mentioning wandering or loose steering. You probably won't find anything specific to your car but there's a lot of information on how to diagnose steering issues or bring the car in to a reliable mechanic.
It said this site can no longer be reached.I would expect greater stability at higher speeds all things being equal of course. Questions you might ask yourself does the car drift (wander) only to one side or another; is it effected by the crown of the road, i.e. does it drift downhill; does she react unexpectantly to cross winds; what specs were used when aligning the front end, was this a four wheel alignment or two? I'll assume you've already verified equal tire pressures. Any unusual wear on one or more tires? Is there a large temperature differential between tires, left vs right, not front to back (verified with infrared thermometer).
Also here's an article you might find useful... http://fordthunderbirdforum.com.net/Tech Articles/tires.htm
Thanks, Guy, another question is the Steering wheel, I have filled the cracks with eastwoods epoxy twice, spent probably 30 hours sanding, paint with enamel. Cracks come right back out after 2 weeks. Is the only other option to just buy a new wheel?Wierd the address changed after I posted...
Let's see what happens this time...
Ahhh all links are automatically changed to this address.
Try manually switching fordthunderbird.... to "vintagethunderbirdclubDOTnet"