MTFCA Forum

Hi, I need to replace four tires on a 1918 Scripps Booth. This car came standard with five Houk wire wheels, 30 x 3 1/2 tires, etc...so, it has a set of Firestones that should be replaced.

I am seeing prices of $200 for a standard tread Firestone vs. $300 for a Non-Skid tread. Of course, the Non-skid tread *looks* interesting, but could someone with some experience talk about the driving characteristics? The Scripps will stay on the road, not heading through mud roads, I hope, etc...so a standard tread might be the best option.

Thanks

I haven't used NON SKID because of reading on the forum that they wear faster than a normal tread. They sure do look neat, though.

Jay-
I have Non-Skid tires on my 1911. 30x3 in the front and 30x3-1/2 in the rear. They run and drive just fine. However, they DO wear rather quickly. Consequently, I have a new set of Excelsiors that I will be putting on soon. From what I understand, the only tires that wear out faster than NON-Skids and all white tires.

The Excelsior tires were not the most cost effective, but from the research I did have shown to have the smallest tire profile, and do not appear as an "ex-size" tire. Many other tires are quite oversized and, especially the 30x3 tires, look like "clown shoes" on the skinny 30x3" wheels.

Good luck with the Scripps Booth.

: ^ )

Keith

I non skids on the front wheels of my car for almost 20 years before they wore out. I replaced them with the non skids available today and they didn't last a year! They might be good for a looker but they stink for a driver!

Thanks for that, Val. Good to know. It seems the tires made are not holding up as well as those made in years past. That's too bad.

Just speculating, but I can't help wondering if the "non-skid" design didn't prove to give less mileage on pavement than other tread patterns back in the day. They seemed to have been discontinued about the time paved roads were becoming more and more common.

That is a good point you make about the non skid design. The high relief of the lettering puts less rubber on the road and probably causes accelerated wear as opposed to a full profile tread design but the new ones still wore very fast compared to the old ones. I attribute the difference to the material being used to make the tires we are getting today. I notice faster tire wear on all the new tires regardless of the tread pattern. The only exception I have seen is with the Excaelsior tires I have on one of my cars. They seem to hold up much better for some reason.

Jay
I would not be offended of you post a photo of that SB.
A friend has on and its something you dont see often. His car is untouched.

I have "NON SKID"s on my '13 Touring. It does not matter how fast they wear, my experience is that women really find them very 'sexy'. I always get lustful looks, wanton gazes, and proposals for me to come 'back to their places', when they see me with my car & white non-skids.

Unfortunately, their 'place', happen to be retirement homes...

Run Forrest, Run...

Mike

I agree with all other comments re longevity. The new Non-Skids are way to soft and wear very quickly. Nice for a display car but poor for a driver.
_

I had NON SKID on the CDO. They lasted the decade I owned the car but probably on did a few thousand miles during my ownership. They look good.

The old non skids seem to keep up good as on this very original 1915 touring that is going up for sale, Bob

thanks v. much for all the non-skid info....I think I will have to stay with a more normal tire, and just look with envy at the cars at Greenfield Village with their fancy tires...

Here is a link to the car I purchased :

http://www.scrippsboothregister.com/Scr ... Index.html

Its the yellow one at the bottom of the photos. I will try and take some better photos and post them.

It does have the distinction of being a Barney Pollard restoration, which delights me. The colors are not correct, but, its still pleasant looking. I would like to show it at the Old Car Festival this year, if I can get it trailered up...the last time it was shown there was 1973....

I do not know if the other cars are still for sale, but one could inquire, if interested. I will point out, my car is a Model G, meaning it has a Chevy four in it, and that has to be a blessing, simply by default, as the original Sterling four engine was something of a lemon, according to James Scripps Booth himself. Parts are v. difficult for the Sterling engine.

If you wish to see his grandson's car, with Sterling engine, look here : https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/wp- ... 50x300.jpg

I saw this car in 2016, with the grandson driving it. great looking car.

Jay, I remember that car at OCF in 2016. Looking forward to seeing your SB there. A very small number of these cars exist. My buddy's 21 touring is on of two known.