FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Guys just wondering if anyone knows of a cheaper white wall in a 13" radial or is around 300 a tyre normal? and must be the reason flappers are used so much i guess.

Thanks guys.

You got that Right  Why so many use Flappers [The Price of White Walls] ......FC427.......

No doubt others are wondering what in the stuff flappers are. I will be the dummy who asks. ::)

What are flappers? ??? ???

Thanks very much for helping learnin me sumfin.


Cheers  M

porta walls(portable white walls)

Flappers are Fake white walls you break the bead on the tyre and put them on then blow the tyre back up and that what holds them they have been known to disintegrate at hi speeds have been around for at least 40 years or longer .......FC427........

Thanks for that, and who said you can't teach a new dog old tricks?  :P

Thin WW tyres here.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/WHITEWALL-TYRES-hard-to-find-185-70x13_W0QQitemZ260205763185QQihZ016QQcategoryZ32057QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ($2)
Regards
Alex

Yep that be them, not really fond of them as a mates girl has them on her beetle and they didnt last that long, but spending as much on tyres as i did getting the car is alittle hard and then been told its a three month wait.. :o

could ya glue them on for longer lasting/higher speeds,been wondering about porta walls myself,starting to love my black beauties,after doing some price queries,someone tellin me kuhmo are making em,if so anyone got a rough price?300 bucks is alot and seems to be standard price with others i've checked.could ya paint em on,surely there is something durable enough these days that may last,

A few comments here.

Firstly 70 series 13" tyres are not dear or hard to get. I suspect the $300/tyre that is being quoted is for a wide whitewall, 2-2 1/2" 185/80/13. I think Diamond Back make these. 185/80 series radials are harder to source.

To retain either nearly the same rolling diameter and maintain nearly the same final drive ratio as the original 6.40/13 crossply (and the correct looking tyre height that fills the wheel arch opening) in a radial you need a 185/80 profile, otherwise the gearing drops quite significantly.

I suggest that to run a 185/70 series and be able to cruise at 100 kph you would need at least a 3.39 diff and your poor old stock grey couldn't pull it around at low speed without syncro on low gear. You'd really need a red motor for this to work.

185/80 narrow whitewall radials (about 1" wide) are available from Antique Tyres at Ingleburn for around $135 each. I run American Coopers on both my EJ and blue FE. You can also get them from a guy in Newcastle who advertises Diamond Back Tyres in Just Cars. I think his come from India and cost around $115 each.

I do not advise running flappers on radials, firstly because they tend to do just that - flap - and secondly because they abrade the tyre sidewall quite badly over time affecting its structural integrity.

So, if you must have wide whitewalls you either pay around $300 per corner or run crossplys with flappers at about $110 per corner all up. Alternatively you can run a narrow whitewall 185/80 at around $120-$130 each, or turn em around if you don't like whitewalls ;D

Hope this helps

John

These are the tyres I was referring to

(http://i26.tinypic.com/nqwghy.jpg)

Cheers
John

check out the GT radials, www.tyres4u.com.au.
Kumho 185/70 whitewalls around $100 ea
Cooper or Trendsetter 185/75/13, 185/80/13,175/75/13 narrow band whitewall around $110

John are you referring to John Cain in Newcastle

john cain's white walls see www.whitewalltyres.com much cheaper than $300
if you put flappers on radial tyres keep a very close eye on them as john mentioned they cut into the side wall of the tyre, a mate had some wear down to the canvas
they are also illegal to fit to radials for that reason

john cains whitewalls,155,165,175,185/80/13s from $240 to $255,the cheapest i've found,does anyone know what is the widest rim a 185 will go on ,i've got 7 inch rims,205s at the moment,would the 185 work/look alright?

Have been running flappers for about 20 years and have never had a problem.   I presently have a set of Dunlop SP41s (I think thats the no.) fabric radials, that have been on the car for over 10 years.  They have a high profile and don't seem to bend the flapper as much as ordinary radials.   Am about to replace them, they are not worn out, just old.  Have checked out a few sites and it seems B.F. Goodrich are bringing out a 185/80R13 wide whitewall radial.    See this site, and on the RHS of the BFG Wide White page. http://www.whitewalltyres.com.au/.  I like the look of the narrow whitewalls on your car, John, but with the spats etc on mine, I like the wide ones a little better, so if I can get onto a set, not too expensive, I will be doing so soon.

John thanks for posting the picture up, looks just like mine...well other then the fact mine has no clear left and a few rusty bits  ;D Im really after a wide whitewall and the price was on the BFG silverstone 2 7/8 radial in a 185/80 13 and that really is the size i want to run but im told three month wait and hefty price but i know how good they will look on fresh black rims no caps chrome nuts..... ;)

I checked out the diamondback white walls but cant find a number on the site??? or am i blind

Mike,

I'm with you, I prefer the wider whitewall, the narrower one is not period correct. The point of my earlier post was to highlight the gearing implications of tyre profile on stock, or nearly stock cars. I stupidly put a set of 175/75 tyres on my EJ and threw away all bar the spare Olympic crossply. They looked too small and the car seemed to be reving its face off on the freeway.

I then used Craig A's calculator (here is a thread which discusses this http://fefcholden.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,4245.0.html) and actually measured both tyres myself. The circumference of the radials was 16% less than the crossplys. Thats when I moved to the 185/80s. They are still a little smaller in circumference than the 6.40x13s but as close as you can get in a radial that will still fit on a stock rim. Even then they are really a bit too wide for stock rims but are ok. Theoretically these shouldn't have wider than a 165 tyre on them but, hey, they are no sports car are they ;D

Things seem to move quickly in the 185/80/13 tyre game, with suppliers coming and going. Sumitomo (Japanese Dunlop) make one but the new distributor no longer imports it, I understand the Coopers are no longer available either. It can be difficult to source these in good quality and I baulked at paying $250+ for an ordinary tyre. The BF Goodrich tyres look interesting MIke, is pricing available?

There is great info in this thread, thanks for the input guys.

John

Hi John.   I went to my local BFG distributer in Toowoomba this morning looking for their whitewall.  The guy had not heard of them.  I referred him to the website which he looked up, then told me that they were through Antique Tyres who import them.   He rang Antique Tyres who had no stock, would take a few months to get/import, and that they would be about $330 each.   He has in stock Kumho with the narrow band whitewall for $125 fitted/balanced.   Look pretty good too, but......like you, still like the wide whitewall.  So, it looks like I'll be going for a 185 radial with my flappers...Has anyone used any particular brand that has a nice soft ride, as the steel radials could give the old girl a bit of a harsh ride.  (bring out a few more dash rattles).

torana/mad is this what you're looking for, 0249466171 or 040283454, fax 0249428605
http://www.classic-usa-cars.com/index1a.html

Thanks mate sometimes im hopeless with a computer