[78w72]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Appreciate the pics with the 245/60/15 and the 255/60/15 tires. What a tough size to find any quality tires in. I need a set of 4 tires in that size and another set of 4 in a tall 70 series 15" size. Really tough. After a bad experience with Coker on a set of redline radials, I am hesitant to spend $2000.00 on 8 more tires from them. In the 245/60/15 size from the normal tire sellers, the Cooper Cobras, Mickey Thompson ST's and Radial TA's are the only choices in a raised white letter tire? Is that correct? I see the Firestone Indy 500's are discontinued in the 245 and 255 size? I like the look of the Radial TA's the best, but they are lousy tires. To add insult to injury, if the only thing they have going for them, (looks), result in raised BROWN letter tires after a couple months, spending $800.00 on a set of BROWN WALL tires is a tough pill to swallow. Any other suggestions?

245/60 are harder to find, looks like only the M/T, BFG or cooper are available in that size, im sure theres some other off brands in that size too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18432538336...MAAOSwhl1e4ph3

but the indy 500 are available in the 255/60 size from a few retailers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352572245641

[tdavidl]

225/70s M/Ts...all around

[Formulabruce]

Here is 225/70 15's on 100% stock springs/suspension. Rear is down about 3/4 inch, just like the assy manual dictates.
This size was stock in later 70's on T/A's

[mgarblik]

Those Firehawk Indy tires look good on that car. I would go that route but I think the entire Firehawk series with the raised white letter sides is being discontinued
Some are still floating around out there, but I bet the DOT codes are a year or more old. Going to have to check into this a little more. I have had excellent luck with Firestone tires the last 10 years or so. The Destination series tires are very nice. They compare well with similar tread pattern Michelins for about 40% less up front. They also don't crack in the tread areas and turn brown like the Michelins.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Those Firehawk Indy tires look good on that car. I would go that route but I think the entire Firehawk series with the raised white letter sides is being discontinued
Some are still floating around out there, but I bet the DOT codes are a year or more old. Going to have to check into this a little more. I have had excellent luck with Firestone tires the last 10 years or so. The Destination series tires are very nice. They compare well with similar tread pattern Michelins for about 40% less up front. They also don't crack in the tread areas and turn brown like the Michelins.

the indy 500 tires have been re-released in a few common sizes from a few different retailers, they are new when i asked for dates last summer. but 1 year old DOT dates is not an issue, many new tires you buy will be up to 1 year old sitting in inventory.

heres an ebay seller & walmart & other tire places carry them too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352572245641

[bird72]

Originally Posted by 78w72

many new tires you buy will be up to 1 year old sitting in inventory.

That is a sad, very true, almost count on it fact that I have noticed also.

[SD455DJ]

I replaced the ‘Brown White Letter’ 255/60R15’s BFG Radial TA’s with like sized Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T’s on the ’71 Formula a couple years ago. I thought the ride and handling was very similar to each other on the street, maybe a little firmer from the S/T’s, but that may be due to the 5-year age difference between them. I do prefer the Radial TA look over the S/T’s, but I wanted to try something different and there were a lot of ‘blow-out’ stories concerning the TA’s (hype maybe?). I don’t care for the heavy rib look that wraps onto the sidewall from the tread...looks like you going mudding…but, overall, I like the tires. The treat pattern is great and seems about 1/2 " taller as well. Neither tire rubbed anywhere, front or back, and factory offset wheels.

Dennis

[Brewster]

No better ride then a radial ta even though they dont look period correct. It all depends on what your doing with the car trailing or driving. Either way more then one set has become the norm for my garage.

[71GP76TA]

I just put a set of 245/60R15 Mastercraft Avengers on my SD. $108/each shipped to my door from Walmart.

I put a set of the new FR-70x14 Firestone Wide Oval radials on my Chevelle. $300/each for a low grade tire that'll probably end up rotting off the car before they wear out.

[racerboy]

I went with 245/60R15 Radial T/A tires on my JW wheels. Car rides so much better! To be fair, the Goodyears were pushing 15 years old.

Appreciate all the feedback from the forum.




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[400 4spd.]

Frank, that's a very nice looking T/A.

[Brentco]

+2 for the Cooper Cobras. They’ve been a great tire for running hard on the street.

[bird72]

Originally Posted by racerboy

I went with 245/60R15 Radial T/A tires on my JW wheels. Car rides so much better! To be fair, the Goodyears were pushing 15 years old.

What I run and happy. As an FYI, my white letters had browned and SOS hard scrub helped a lot, last night.

[guideplate]

Hercules Hp 4000 are raised white letter tires to consider. Also made by cooper tire.

Grand Prix Performance GT tires are another OWL option

[keith k]

Dusting off a couple year old thread...
I finally couldn't take the brown letters on my Radial T/As any longer. The letters looked terrible, even though the car has been indoors since the tires were installed, and they had less than a thousand miles. BFG claims they have fixed this issue, and they have a warranty program on them, but because the date codes on mine were 2019 and 2021, they offered me basically nothing in credit for them. So I'm not doing BFGs again for awhile.

I'd love to put the repro Goodyear Polyglas GTs on, since to my eye they are the only truly "right look" for a '70 T/A, but I've had them before, and they just drive horribly (harsh, tramlining, poor steering feel). And they're expensive. So the next best option seemed to be the Firestone Radial Wide Ovals, which offer the benefit of being radials, and they look reasonably period correct. When these first came out several years ago I recall they were a little over $300 / tire. Now they retail for over $500. After agonizing over spending that much money on what I sort of knew would be mediocre overall tires, I decided to just do it. Coker tire offered a $50/tire discount for a "first time purchase" or something like that, so they ended up being about $450/tire.

I finally took them out for a drive this past weekend, and wanted to provide an assessment in case anyone else might be thinking about them in the future. Overall, they are quiet, and they ride nicely. And there's no tramlining/rut wander issues. But the steering feel on initial turn-in is noticeably worse than it was with the BFG Radial T/As. The Firestones feel less responsive, with a lot more lateral compliance. It sort of reminds me of when I used to swap out the summer performance tires on my cars for snow tires in the winter - big drop in steering feel. But they are nice cruising tires, which is pretty much all I'll be doing with the car, so I'm good with them. Too early to comment on acceleration traction. They broke loose and fish tailed for a bit on a WOT 1-2 upshift, but I don't think I've got enough miles on them that there isn't still some mold release oil affecting traction.

And I'm happy with the way they look. I just hope the letters stay white.

[kingbuzzo]

Certainly look like they should.

[fairwayhit]

I like the look of those. They just look right at home on that beautiful car.


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[78w72]

Originally Posted by keith k

Dusting off a couple year old thread...
I finally couldn't take the brown letters on my Radial T/As any longer. The letters looked terrible, even though the car has been indoors since the tires were installed, and they had less than a thousand miles. BFG claims they have fixed this issue, and they have a warranty program on them, but because the date codes on mine were 2019 and 2021, they offered me basically nothing in credit for them. So I'm not doing BFGs again for awhile.

Just an FYI for you on the BFG warranty, it is for 6 years so your dates should qualify under their warranty as cosmetic defects. Its worth a call if you still have the tires, if the frontline reps dont offer a credit or full replacement then escalate to a supervisor or manager. I had to get a manager this last time but they offered a full replacement just last year for my ~4 year old tires.

I didnt bother to update other threads but I just had BFG replace a 4th sets of these tires last summer & I have had 3 other sets replaced in the last ~10 years. All of the replacements were based from the initial set I bought in 2014 or so. I would clean them the best I could for the first year or 2 then after not being able to get them fully white I decided to call or email them again which opened a new claim #, all of them were within 3 years & qualified for full replacement.. they even paid for mount & balance the first 3 times but this last time I had to escalate to a manager to get a full replacement but they wouldnt cover m&b. So for about $100 to install they replaced all 4 tires due to the defect.

Anyone that has this issues with BFG tires & doesnt want to accept cosmetically defective tires with brown letters, its worth a call or email to BFG to ask for replacement, if they are within 6 years old they will usually offer a partial credit based on miles, in my case the tires had very low miles, within 2 millimeters of new, they did a full replacement. I am happy to say the 4th time was a charm... knock on wood, the letters are very bright white, before they were a tan or beige color at the first cleaning to wash off the blue coating.

Those firestones look great, too expensive for my taste/needs, but they look great, wish they rode better for that price.

Heres a pic showing the brown letters on ~3 year old tires replaced by BFG in early 2020, compared to 15-20 year old BFG tires that havent been washed in 10+ years & sat out in a field on a parts car for 5-8 years. No excuse for this & BFG should not have been selling these defective tires!

[Tellyshavilli]

Originally Posted by keith k

Dusting off a couple year old thread...
I finally couldn't take the brown letters on my Radial T/As any longer. The letters looked terrible, even though the car has been indoors since the tires were installed, and they had less than a thousand miles. BFG claims they have fixed this issue, and they have a warranty program on them, but because the date codes on mine were 2019 and 2021, they offered me basically nothing in credit for them. So I'm not doing BFGs again for awhile.

I'd love to put the repro Goodyear Polyglas GTs on, since to my eye they are the only truly "right look" for a '70 T/A, but I've had them before, and they just drive horribly (harsh, tramlining, poor steering feel). And they're expensive. So the next best option seemed to be the Firestone Radial Wide Ovals, which offer the benefit of being radials, and they look reasonably period correct. When these first came out several years ago I recall they were a little over $300 / tire. Now they retail for over $500. After agonizing over spending that much money on what I sort of knew would be mediocre overall tires, I decided to just do it. Coker tire offered a $50/tire discount for a "first time purchase" or something like that, so they ended up being about $450/tire.

I finally took them out for a drive this past weekend, and wanted to provide an assessment in case anyone else might be thinking about them in the future. Overall, they are quiet, and they ride nicely. And there's no tramlining/rut wander issues. But the steering feel on initial turn-in is noticeably worse than it was with the BFG Radial T/As. The Firestones feel less responsive, with a lot more lateral compliance. It sort of reminds me of when I used to swap out the summer performance tires on my cars for snow tires in the winter - big drop in steering feel. But they are nice cruising tires, which is pretty much all I'll be doing with the car, so I'm good with them. Too early to comment on acceleration traction. They broke loose and fish tailed for a bit on a WOT 1-2 upshift, but I don't think I've got enough miles on them that there isn't still some mold release oil affecting traction.

And I'm happy with the way they look. I just hope the letters stay white.

I have the same situation here for the 70 TA we’re just working on and I decided to go with the BFGoodrich radials for now, but the firestones that you purchased look great.

[71GP76TA]

I have been avoiding BFG's due to the browning of the letters and they seem to separate more than other brands as they age. I was going to put Firestone Wide Oval radials on my '72 as I have a set on my Chevelle SS454 and a set of the redline versions on the GTO. $509 per tire kinda detoured me... the Chevelles were a lot cheaper.

I have a wholesale tire account... and ended up getting (4) 245/60R15 Mastercraft Avengers for less that the cost of (1) Wide Oval. I now have 2 sets of Avengers... one set on the '72 and a set on the '73. They seem like good tires. They ride and handle good. Tread design is a little on the aggressive which results in a little road noise. Radial T/A is a better looking tire IMO.. for the price and pearly white letters.. The Avengers are a good alternative.