New tire woes

[rbruner]

Finally broke down & ordered a set of BFG's for the truck. The old Chinese bias plys just don't give me confidence on the hwy. They were shipped to a very reputable installer directly from a reputable supplier. [Coker] Then came the phone call from the installer. The new tires were so compressed on the pallet that they cannot be mounted because of the distortion. They tried everything. Their solution was to install tubes to force the tires into shape and onto the wheels. Fine,dandy & swell or is it? Sure I can complain to Coker but they're installed now. Total bill was $719.00 with shipping & mounting. Those tires aren't the only thing that got mounted, I believe. [:0]

[Gunslinger]

Coker should hear about it. It's their name and reputation on the line and it's to everyone's interest to know how they respond to customer satisfaction issues. Let everyone know what kind of response you get.




Poet...Mystic...Soldier of Fortune. As always...self-absorbed, adversarial, cocky and in general a malcontent.

[Tennessee hillbilly]

I HAD A PROBLEM WITH A SET OF COKER RADIALS A FEW YEARS AGO AND THEY REPLACED THE WHOLE SET AND EVEN PAID SHIPPING BOTH WAYS.

Tennessee Hillbilly

[PackardV8]

FWIW, assuming these were tubeless tires, the installer didn't know or didn't care to take the time to do some of the old school tricks. Back in the bad old days, I was a tire shop manager. When the tire beads wouldn't pull out on to the rim on the machine, the way we did it was to put a ratcheting tie down strap around the circumference of the tire and pull it down tight. This forces the tire beads outward onto the rim. Then, remove the Schrader valve from the valve stem. This passes more air more quickly. When the beads seat, replace the valve. Never had one which wouldn't seal up using this method. Your results may vary.

thnx, jack vines

PackardV8

[Guest]

quote:Originally posted by PackardV8

FWIW, assuming these were tubeless tires, the installer didn't know or didn't care to take the time to do some of the old school tricks. Back in the bad old days, I was a tire shop manager. When the tire beads wouldn't pull out on to the rim on the machine, the way we did it was to put a ratcheting tie down strap around the circumference of the tire and pull it down tight. This forces the tire beads outward onto the rim. Then, remove the Schrader valve from the valve stem. This passes more air more quickly. When the beads seat, replace the valve. Never had one which wouldn't seal up using this method. Your results may vary.

thnx, jack vines

PackardV8

I do that at home with the smaller rachet straps, works like a charm.

Coker will fix any problem you have with any of their products, they just need to know about it.....

Bill, Many Fords and one great Stude!

[stall]

I HAD A PROBLEM WITH A SET OF COKER RADIALS A FEW YEARS AGO AND THEY REPLACED THE WHOLE SET AND EVEN PAID SHIPPING BOTH WAYS.

Tennessee Hillbilly
======================================================================

Amen, my last set of Cokers went to h--L in about a year. In
my case the whitewall portion of the radials had little cracks
that widened in a year. They looked like they were 15 years old
in a year and the sidewall scared me. I have Diamond-backs on the Speedster now for the last 3 years and I'm very happy.

Happy Trails

http://sites.google.com/site/intriguingautomotivehistories/

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html

[StudeMichael]

Good luck with Coker tires. They are worthless and do not support the garbage they sell.

1957 Packard Clipper
1957 President Broadmoor
1963 Daytona Convertible
1963 R2 Daytona
1963 R1 Wagonaire
1963 R4 Avanti
1964 Champ
1966 Cruiser

[64V-K7]

Coker radials on my 55 Pres were purchased in 2002, now have 18,000 miles with no issues..


Bob Johnstone

https://www.studebaker-info.org

64 GT Hawk
55 President State Sedan
70 Avanti (R3)

[Lark Hunter]

I personally haven't had a problem with Coker, or their tires. Am I the only one that lucked out?

LH

[Dick Steinkamp]

No problem here with several sets of Coker tires.

If the new ones are radials, you don't want tubes in them. They generate too much heat.

Jack is right on with the method to seat tires. In fact, most good shops have an adjustable tube to fit around the circumference that can be inflated to force the bead against the rim.



Dick Steinkamp
Bellingham, WA

[Invalid User Name]

I never had one that couldn't be mounted with the strap. I mounted thousands of tires and some were a pain, but they all came around with a little persuasion. That garage should be whipped as well as Coker. $700+ to mount tires??? I would call the BBB.

1950 Champion 9G F1

[Thomas63R2]

Coker BFG tubeless bias plys here. No issues, and they have done a great job of holding air pressure.

Thomas

Long time hot rodder
Packrat junk collector
'63 Avanti R2 4 speed

[bams50]

Your tire shop is the problem. Any decent tire shop has the inflatable bands. If that doesn't work there are plenty of other methods. One of the best is an "air cannon". This is a high-pressure, hand-held tank a bit smaller than a propane tank. It has a trigger-type valve and a wide, flat, curved nozzle about 1" high by 6" wide. The tank is inflated to a high pressure. The air valve is clipped to the valve stem, then the tank nozzle is positioned at the tire bead. The valve is then triggered shooting a high-pressure, high-volume blast of air into the tire. The shock of it pops both beads on instantly. Another trick with difficult tires is to lay them out in the sun for an hour or two before you attempt mounting them.

I've been involved in the business literally all my life and have never seen one new tire that HAD to have tubes to seat them, let alone a whole set[B)]

Robert (Bob) Andrews- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys)
Parish, central NY 13131

[BobPalma]

Agree with Bams, Dick, Jack, etc; the tire shop is the problem.

If they know all the tricks, one of them will work.

It's OK to leave the tubes in them if they are radial-specific tubes and have little vent slots around the valve stem to vent air and pressure from inside the tubeless wheel.

But they shouldn't have been needed or used in the first place. BP

[Roscomacaw]

55Pres,

In '01 I put fresh tires on my Transtar. I actually was forced to because one of a 9-year old set of radials had blown out and ruined a fender.
Last fall, one of those '01 vintage (Armstrong) tires (with relatively low miles on them) blew out and took out another rear fender. '02 to '09 is seven years old. I speak from harsh experience.[xx(]

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1963 Cruiser
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President two door