steelies

Okay, so it's not really science. Big and little tires are your preference and it's a method of customization that hot rodders have been using for decades. It originated from racing, as most forms of racers (dirt track, Indy and drag racing) would fit racecars with smaller front tires and wheels and larger rear tires and wheels. The smaller fronts reduced rolling resistance and weight, while the larger rear tires provided more traction and a modification to the final drive ratio. The look translated well to street-driven hot rods, and it is a timeless design that is still be utilized to this day. Hot rodders have experimented with various combinations, and continue to do so, while holding a measuring tape and their trusty Coker Tire catalog for reference. Whether you choose the traditional look of bias ply tires, or the upgraded handling of a

Hot rods are an exercise in personal preference--there isn't a rule book, or a penalty for "getting it wrong". However, there are iconic hot rods that provide plenty of guidance, and most of them have one thing in common--Firestone tires. The brand is legendary, and it's often remembered as the tire of choice for Indy racing, NASCAR racing, dirt track racing and drag racing. There is little doubt that Firestone tires offer the right amount of vintage style for a traditional hot rod. We offer a great example of the Firestone affect with a 1932 Ford three-window coupe that stopped by our Chattanooga, Tennessee facility this week. The owners had recently bought the car, and their very first modification involved swapping tires and wheels to something more traditional. Although it took a bit of measuring and studying to determine the right size, we whipped up a killer combination with Firestone tires and

Center caps are often used on collector vehicle wheels, whether it's a restored stocker or a highly customized hot rod. Some folks prefer the looks of a full wheel cover, but the small "dog dish" center cap is quite popular on our Smoothie, Hot Rod Steel, O.E. wheels and more. It's also a growing trend in the muscle car market, as the plain jane looks of a car with regular steel wheels and dog dish caps draws more attention than a car with more stylish wheel designs. Think about the cool appearance of the COPO Camaro, A12-code Road Runners, and other muscle cars that came with big time horsepower, but skipped on the decorative items, like chrome wheels and other accessories. Car enthusiasts are replicating the timeless look, and we have many original and alternative wheel sizes for many hot rod, custom and muscle car applications. In addition to wheels, we offer center caps in many different designs and sizes

The Goodguys Nashville Nationals is gaining a lot of notoriety in the hot rod and custom world. It's in a central location, and it's hard to beat Nashville, Tennessee as a host city--tons of cool stuff to see, and there is plenty of room at Nissan Stadium. We jumped at the chance to get an inside look at the event, even though we were not set up as a vendor. Coker Tire sponsors the "Best Wide Whites" award, and we've been involved with Goodguys as sponsors for many years, so it's always good to see the event first hand and see how many folks are using our products. We certainly got our answer, regarding the amount of Coker Tire users, and we're going to share a small sampling of them here. There were high end show cars wearing our tires, including the winner of the Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year award. [products] By the way, the association changed its Hot Rod of the Year competition to the Goodguys

[caption id="attachment_6365" align="alignleft" width="720"] The classic hot rod profile of a '32 Ford three-window coupe is accentuated by a big-n-little whitewall tire combination with steelies painted to match the red accents.[/caption] The '32 Ford is an iconic hot rod platform, and boy did we see some good ones at the 2015 NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky! Folks have often said that it's tough to make a '32 Ford stand out because there are so many out there, but we picked out 11 (because we just couldn't narrow it down to 10) of our favorites. Of course, all 11 Deuces are rolling on Coker Tire products, and we'll give you some more details in each photo caption. Continue reading to see 11 awesome '32 Ford hot rods, and find out why they're cool.

Steve Coonan, owner and editor of The Rodder's Journal magazine is a tried and true hot rodder. His magazine is the premier publication for hot rodders, and his photography is top-notch. Every issue (it comes out quarterly) is a keeper, and every issue is packed with excellent hot rods that roll on Coker Tire products. With that said, Steve Coonan's personal car, a black '32 Ford roadster, has our tires on it. Steve is a stickler for small details, as evidenced by his photography skills, but he admits that something as simple as a tire and wheel swap can provide a whole new look for a hot rod. He proved it by swapping tires and wheels multiple times at The Rodder's Journal booth at the Grand National Roadster Show this year. We loved the idea, because we offer such a broad scope of tires and wheels. He called us up and ordered three sets of tires to go along with the tires that were already on the car. Keep reading to see all of the combinations in use on his beautiful highboy roadster!

Since the NSRA Street Rod Nationals is so huge, we figured it would be best to split it up into a few recaps of our favorite cars and trucks on hand. "The Nats" has been held at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville for quite some time and it's an excellent venue for such a huge event. We walked the aisles of one portion of the car show today, and picked a few of our favorites to share with you guys. It's an awesome show, and you can look forward to more good stuff tomorrow. Be sure to watch our Instagram and Facebook feeds, as we'll be blasting photos on there as well.

We've said it over and over again--the right tires and wheels can take a somewhat questionable car and turn it into a real attention getter! It's a simple fact of sizing, style and stance that makes a car look great, especially in the hot rodding world. We recently had a car come in the shop that didn't quite have the right look. With about 30 minutes of work, we helped transform it into a cool, old school hot rod! [caption id="attachment_2554" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="This Model A sedan looks awesome with its new Firestones!"][/caption]