Time for new tires
 

The Goodyear Polyglas F60-15 on my ‘70 need to go. The tires, while low mileage (>6000 miles) are creeping up on 15 yr old. I was just going to pick up some lo-buck Radial T/As for my JW 15x7. I think was going to run the 255/60R15 out back and the 245/R6015 up front. I think I read a post from Norwood some time ago that that was a combo that worked without any kind of rubbing. Am I correct?


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The size mentioned worked great for me for many years. But last time I switched to 245/60 all around. I have no idea how to fix the picture.

Thanks Norwood!
Car looks great!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6e0ceae293.jpg


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I'm a fan of same same-size tires all around on these cars, too. The "drag racer" look doesn't suit them.
Yours looks great, Craig!

I have 245/60s on the front of mine, and can confirm there's no rubbing.

255 rear, 245 front. No rubbing here as well.

https://i.imgur.com/3tCub7fl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uEZKVwll.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yOGLHZel.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tBZG9cil.jpg

Thanks everyone. Kind fo a naive question, but when I went to TireRack, the Radial T/As run about $200 a tire. I also checked Amazon and they are only $172 (same size). Is there a difference? Are the tires on Amazon older, that's why they are chaepaeer? I can't imagine Amazon sells more tires than TireRack, but I could be wrong.

Thanks!

Tire dates, and of course the issue with BFG's white letters going brown are valid concerns especially for the price point..

Ugh. Thanks for that tip. I just did a Google search and it seems that a lot of folks are having trouble keeping the BFG letters white. Does anyone here have any tips/tricks?

Had anyone run the other RWL tires, like the Cooper Cobra?


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you can do a search on here too for the BFG white letter issue, i posted some pics & info in the last couple years about dealing with BFG on this. its a defect or issue with the molding of the tire from what a manager at BFG explained to me, so there are no real tips or tricks to make them stay whit if you own a set of the bad ones. some got lucky & dont have the issue or it may be size or batch related, but for me on 3 sets of 255/60s they all had the problem, the last set they replaced are much better but still not bright white like they should be & after a couple months of just sitting in the gargae or very low mile use they will turn a beige non white color again.

the best value/performance tire now is the M/T radial ST that has the same solid white letters (that are bright white) as the BFG but a better tread pattern with higher speed rating, & they are cheaper than BFG. ive read the cooper cobra are similar to the M/T but ive heard of lots of problems with coopers having slipped belts or being hard to balance so i would go with a better name brand like M/T for the price & speed rating.

ive also seen that the firestone firehawk indy 500 tires are being made again, i have a set of the original ones on a car & they are a very good tire that seem to be better than BFG for handling/traction & the letters stay bright white like they should.

Thanks 78W72
I think i am going to try my luck with the BFGs this time around. If the browning gets that bad, I am going to try the M/T. I didn't realize that even the Goodyear Polyglas F-60 that are on the car don't have the brightest of RWL, and I have tried to keep them clean. Granted, this tires are more than a decade old, so i don't know how long it took for them to brown up.

On a similar note, I was originally going to put the radials on a separate set of 15x7 Rally II wheels I have, and keep the Polyglas on the JW wheels, but I don't really take the car to any 'points' shows, and I much prefer the look of the small inner-face on the JW, so now I'm thinking I'm just going to take the Polyglas tires off the JWs and put the BFG tires on there.

I also noticed that the Firestone Wide-Oval radials I have on my '67 GTO (about two years old now, but only about 500 miles on them, are still super bright white.

Here’s a shot if my browning Polyglas
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6d85fce95c.jpg

And here’s the Firestone Wide-Oval (car is up on lift under a cover so not as good a photo)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1187f263b7.jpg


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best of luck on the BFGs, personally i would go with a better tire even if BFG didnt have the white letter issue. for the price, the M/T, indy 500 or even coopers are cheaper & a better tire all around.

also keep in mind its not a cleaning issue on the BFGs that have the problems, its a issue with the mold release agents & the UV inhibitors that cause the letters to have the beige look from day one, they never clean up to bright white like other brands & even if you get them decent looking, they go back to the beige/brown look just sitting.

i have older tires on my other cars as well & none of them have this issue, they are as bright of white as paper & stay that way for years... i dont wash my cars regularly at all, maybe once a year or every other year, then they stay under a cover or i use a detail spray to wipe dust off as needed. just saying its not a keeping them clean issue, its a major problem with BFG's white letters from the factory. & a defect in the mold itself, the surface of the white letters is not smooth like it should be, it was textured almost like a cats tongue.

i will say that BFG was good about replacing them if under the 6 year timeframe, but 3 sets & still the letters look like crap is enough for me to never buy BFG tires again for any vehicle, your paying for a name & getting less quality & performance than other brands offer... & a tread pattern that hasnt changed since the late 80's. they look nice though :rolleyes:

Do you have a direct tire comparison of the T/A tire to the others mentioned? I’m wondering if your statement is opinion based or data based? If it’s your opinion then ok it’s your opinion but if it’s data based could you please post the source so we all can read it and be informed. Thanks

what type of comparison would you like? anything i mentioned above is definitely not opinion based, its factual data that anyone can see or compare looking at the published specs of the tires.

the cosmetic issues with the white letters is also not opinion based, i can post pics if youd like but theres plenty of pics showing the issues doing a google search & i posted some pics on the threads i started or commented on here in the recent past. ive owned a lot of BFG tires over the last 3 decades as well as many other brands & none of them had the issues with the white letters like the recent BFGs ive bought new from authorized retailers, these werent blems or B stock or old... this started in about 2015 & had 2 sets replaced over the next 4 or 5 years & they all still had the issues as of the last set replaced in 2019.

I've had 4 sets of the BFG's in the last 20 years. Every set had the yellowing issue to some degree and while I can aggressively clean them to white again, they always return back to some stage of yellow. I'm going to replace my '72 Formulas tires soon and I will be getting some of the vintage repro tires for it. Here is BFG's 2020 product bulletin they had to put out due to many complaints over the last 10-20 years.
https://dcadprod.azureedge.net/b2c-e...3-bfg-only.pdf

Well that was a waste of time. All I asked for was a source of data that you used for your comparison. None given. The published specs? Speed rating ? Treadwear? But no actual performance comparison ? My previous tires were Goodyear and I replaced them due to age. I’m not racing and only need basic street performance for driving to my local cruse night. My T/A radials even with the browning letters discounting reproduction Polyglas ( that I’ve also had on the car ) are simply the best looking replacement tires for muscle cars. This of course is only my opinion I have no actual data that states this.

sorry if my reply was a waste of time for you. i asked a question as to what comparison or data you wanted since no details were provided.

if you were asking for the specs of the tire that i based the comment of a better tire on, yes they are available online to compare as well as reviews from owners in specific categories.

if you were asking about the cosmetic issues i offered pics. however, if you are asking for data on how the tires perform in different driving situations then no, i dont have published data on corner g forces or braking distance etc etc for each tire.

edit: i agree BFG look good, but so do other solid white letter tires like the M/T or cooper if you dont mind that name. but the higher speed rating does make for a better handling tire on the street in my experience, especially for any spirited driving or taking corners fast on curvy back roads or take an off ramp you know well faster than the posted speed limit. for that i can say there is a noticeable improvement over the BFG vs the indy 500s of about the same age... BFG are hard, firestone still feel soft & grip the road better for whatever thats worth.

Of the Cobras, the BFG's, MT's, and the Firehawks, thew MT's always seem to balance with less weights. Just an observation over the years, and I currently am running Firehawks.
Lots are made in China these days.
On my wifes Pontiac we only run Michelin Pilot sport 4S so that can can't roll below 40 degrees, even if its nice out.

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?