[Staowners] Radial Tyres on Sunbeam / Sunbeam Talbot 90's/ alpines

[joy & paul rundell]

Oh dear, my reply to the request about availability of radial tyres seems to have stirred up some controversy!!

Since I owned my first Sunbeam, a 90 Mk3 saloon, back in the 1950s, I have some views on the matter.

First, when the cars were relatively new, there were no alternatives to cross-plys; Rootes had no real choice over what they fitted - the radial, in the shape of the Michelin X, had a controversial start, in that, although it provided far superior road-holding, when the breakaway point came there was , unlike the cross-ply, no warning - one moment you were fine, the next liable to be in the ditch! It took a little education for we drivers, and a little modification from Michelin to gain acceptance. However, even before the Michelin X, the main problem with the cross-ply was, and is, that it tends to follow linear road distortion, sometimes quite alarmingly. In the 1950s, 60s & 70s, road surfaces in the UK were far superior to the present day, and, apart from a tendency to follow the white line road markings (which were much less extensive), the cross-ply gave good service.

However, especially in my home county of Hampshire UK, road maintenance now seems to have ceased, and there are long stretches where poor linear road-repair and the increased weight of commercial vehicles has led to  diabolical changes in road surface and  camber. It has in places reached the stage of being so bad as to cause grave concern to me as a driver, and the change to radial tyres has significantly reduced the problems - I use my car quite frequently, and safety has to come before originality. It also seems to me to be sensible to take advantage of 50 years advance in tyre technology. I also have to confess that, since I am slightly past my prime, I have fitted Jim Wilkinson's power steering conversion, which helps to overcome the slightly heavier steering with radials.

Apologies to the purists,

Regards to all,

Paul Rundell.
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