Radial Tires for 67 Vette

[Jim L.]

Currently have bias ply tires and wish to switch to radials for better handling and safety. Would 205/75 R15 be the correct size? Any recommendations as to what brand (s) have had good success etc. would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jim Leonard

[Doug F.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

thats the size i run, i have a set of bf goodrich premiers on my 63 now that i bought at costco, they have been a great set, the only problem with radials is after they get 5 to 6 years old or so they tend to throw the tread, especially here in the desert, and it can cause alot of damage so keep an eye on em, cary

[Stuart F.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Jim;

There is a lot of discussion in the archieves about radials on C-2's. I had to change mine in a hurry before I shipped my car to our new home in Florida, so I went to my local Goodyear dealer where I knew a Corvette specialist worked part time (Chevy Mechanic). I was interested in his recommendations, as well as his expertise in realignment of the car (front and rear) for radials. I got their P205/75R-15 Reghatta white walls. They are nice looking, provide a good ride, and are good for an occasional run over the century mark. They clear both front and rear with room to spare for that occasional steep driveway. There are a lot more out there, including speed rated, black and white walls, and the gold and red lines as well. It's up to you to pick and choose to fit your needs, budget, etc. Bottom line, most any radial will be a big improvement over the bias ply tires, and you'll wonder why you didn't change them sooner. You'll enjoy your car a whole lot more. I do.

Stu Fox

[Jack C.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

I am currently using 2 sets: Uniroyal Tiger Paws P205-75-R15 which fit great and give a great ride.
Also have Pirelli P4000 215-70-ZR15 which fit fine, look good and are stiff as a board. They give a very harsh ride and I can feel every crack in the road. Either size will work but I would stay away from the Z rated tire for everyday driving. They may be great for racing but not for everyday.
Jack

[Chris E.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Jim, the Regatta's that Stu recommends in his post are no longer made.

I just went through the same exercise you're going through on my 67.

I went with Firestone FR380. I don't have them on the car yet, so I can't tell you how they ride, but the whitewall appears to be the correct size for getting a couple more judging points (5/8" I think).

[Stuart F.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Chris;

Thanks for bringing that up. Actually, when I gave them the go ahead to get the tires and make the change, I was in such a hurry I thought I was getting black walls. The whites are ok except my originals were blacks. Whites look nice with the Dark Blue body. My only problem is with one white wall always wants to turn yellow on me in a short period of time which makes for frequent cleaning. Perhaps the white walls are not made as well these days - a point to consider.

Stu Fox

[Duke W.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

I am currently using 2 sets: Uniroyal Tiger Paws P205-75-R15 which fit great and give a great ride.
Also have Pirelli P4000 215-70-ZR15 which fit fine, look good and are stiff as a board. They give a very harsh ride and I can feel every crack in the road. Either size will work but I would stay away from the Z rated tire for everyday driving. They may be great for racing but not for everyday.
Jack

A high speed rated tire has considerable safety margin relative to cheap 205/75R-15s that lack the sprial wound nylon cap belts that are a usual feature on any tire with an "H" or above speed rating.

Most users report excellent ride and handling with the W-rated Pirelli. Since this tire was originally designed for a Jaguar sedan, it was engineered for minimum harshness. They are NOT "race tires".

Old Corvettes usually exhibit more harshness than modern cars, and much of this is due to hardened bushings. In particular, old rear spring link cushions will considerably increase ride harshness. Replacing old, hardened, and compressed rear spring link bushings makes for an amazing improvement in ride quality.

To the OP: Tires have been discussed on the Board almost as much as engine oil. If you want the benefit of this knowledge, spend some time researching the archives.

Duke

[Randy R.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Thank you for sharing the information. I have been looking for a modern off the shelf tire with the correct width white wall. I visited many web sites and local tire dealers trying to determine the white wall widths of different tires without success. Apparantly, this information is not available in any of the literature.

Randy

[Edward S.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

One thing I would like to share is my horror story with Firestone radial whitewalls. I had been using bias ply Goldlines on my car ( car came out of the factory with them ) until I knew I was finished with judging anymore. I wanted to get radial whitewalls and purchased 5 Firestone tires with correct width whitewalls. Within 2 weeks the tires got many light to dark brown spots-took them back only to have the mgr. say it must have been something I did. Long story short we tried 2 additional deliveries of 5, some had the spots on delivery and others developed the spots. Out of the 15 tires I could not come up with 5 good ones - Firestone ordered the last 5 from a differant part of the country to make sure they could not be from the same lot. During this time I saw an article which detailed how you had to be real careful in handling many brands of new radial whitewalls - it said when putting them on your car to take care that the black part of 1 tire did not rub up against the whitewall of another, if it did in many cases it would lead to brown spots on the whitewall. I made a copy of the article and gave it to the Firestone Mgr., who gave me a full refund. I was so tired of looking at tires I went out an bought a set of Kelly whitewall radials - I have them on now about a year they look great and my 65 handles like new.

[Michael A.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Jim,
I followed Duke's recommendation last year for the Pirelli P4000 Super Touring in the 215/70R15 size. What a difference they made. I replaced 10 year old, 30,000 mile WalMart special radials and couldn't believe the difference. My key buying criteria was traction - the old tires were like hockey pucks in the rain. The Pirelli's stick like glue. What I was surprised at was the improvement in ride and handling. I couldn't be happier with the tires. In a year I've put over 6000 miles on them and they have been great. You can get them through Tire Rack at a pretty reasonable price. They only come as blackwalls so if you want whitewalls you're out of luck. I like the bw look teamed up with the American Torque Thrust wheels. It may not be original but it's period correct

Good luck with your decision!

[Duke W.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Nice car! I like the period look, too.

I think Diamondback Tire can procure the P4000s and put any sidewall treatment one wants on them, but it adds significantly to the total package cost.

Me, I prefer the look of blackwalls on a serious sports car.

I was surprised at a previous comment that said they "ride hard" and were "racing tires". I recall you having good things to say about them before, and you know that with the "W" speed rating, they are good for 168 MPH before they explode and your car crashes and burns.

With luck this summer I should be able to meet a '65 owner from South Dakota who's driving his P4000 shod '65 with a "327 LT-1" engine and 3.36 axle to Arizona. It should be good for 7000 revs in fourth - about 160 MPH. I don't think he's done a top speed test yet, so...

Duke

[Stuart F.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Yes Michael, that is indeed a nice looking machine. I guess I too would go for the speed rated tires if I had the guts and space to use them. My only real top speed run with my 63 L-76 occurred in Nevada in 1963. I saw 6300 rpm with a 3.36 gear on (Oh my God!) original U.S. Royal 6.70x15's. The old C-2 chassis was doing a real "let me take off" dance. It was a real handfull. What was I thinking? Also, while cruising along at about 120 (doing the dance), it started to look like rain so I popped the headlights open and learned a little about aero. The front end pulled down and became much more stable. Ironically, about 6 months before this, I witnessed a 59 Impala blow out 2 of these same U.S. Royal tires just by dropping it off onto a gravel shoulder while drag racing. Guess it didn't register in my foolish youth how vulnerable they were.

Thanks for indulging this old man and his war stories.

Stu Fox

[Michael A.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Stu - Indulging old man war stories is just one more reason for following the TDB. Why do you think Bill Ogden's "When We Were Young" series is so popular? I know I don't miss an installment.

The thought of 120+mph on bias plies scares the poop out of me. You guys who did that were either crazy or ....... You know what I mean. Duke is right about the speed rated Pirellis. They are definitely NOT harsh riding. But no speed rated tires can overcome the aerodynamics of Larry Shinoda's classic style. I seem to recall a comment (attributed to Zora) that if the C2 were put in a wind tunnel, you could make it fly with 150mph winds.

Thanks for the tip on opening the headlamps at speed. I'll be sure to remember that if I'm tempted to break the century mark anytime in the near future.

Keep smiling, keep waving,

[Stuart F.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Michael;

"Crazy", perhaps, I like "fearless", or I suppose "stupid" could apply. Can't say we didn't know any better as there was a lot of written material about racing available. I think it was just a matter that the performance of the Corvette in the hands of the average layman far surpassed the tire technology of the time. Sounds good, but why then did the engineers design a car that could only fit Model "A" tires in it's wheel wells?

Well, whatever, I'm still alive. Neither fast cars, the V.C. or heart disease have gotten the better of me yet. I still have the car and the heart disease, but I think our new government is trying to do a good standin for the V.C., and they may just get me.

Stu Fox

[Michael A.]

Re: Radial Tires for 67 Vette

Where would this world be without crazy, fearless and stupid people? The dividing line between any of them is at best thin, most probably indistinguishable from those called creative, heroes and genius.

Stu, as for you vs. the current administration, my money is on you. Keep blowing the carbon out of that '63.

Cheers,