Radial or diagonal?
01/16/2024
This picture of a Toyota Corona Deluxeillustrates very well the dilemma of the modern classic car enthusiast. Do you opt for a historically correct appearance or better handling? Both characteristics cannot always be combined. Diagonal tires like those on the front axle of the Toyota make the car look like it once did in the brochure. Radial tires such as those fitted at the rear do not lose grip so quickly.
However, if you replace a cross-ply tire in the original format with a modern radial tire with the same rolling circumference, the tires are inevitably too wide for a contemporary appearance. This is due to the tire cross-section. This is because the sidewall height of bias-ply tires usually corresponded to between 85 and 90 percent of the tread width, whereas the figure for radial tires is only around 80 percent.
Of course, safety always comes first in road traffic. And as long as you're behind the wheel, you can't see the tires - until you get out of the car at a classic car rally. When you look at them, appearance always comes first. And as long as you're not driving, you don't notice the poor directional stability. Perhaps you should always have two sets of wheels with you. One to look at and one to drive...
