Best radial tires for traction?

[Bob B.]

Hi all,

Since I drive my '60, I inevitably get caught in the rain once in a while. Coming back from the '08 St. Charles Regional, it was wet and I hit the brakes and began to skid. Fortunately, I had given the car in front plenty of room, but it's still something I want to address as well as I can. I am going to use 6.5 x 15 wheels, so I can use a wider tire and I have a couple of questions:

(1) What brand/type of radials should I get for the best traction, especially on wet roads?

(2) What aspect ratio do I need to keep the height the same as stock?

Thanks,

Bob

[Duke W.]

Re: Best radial tires for traction?

Hi all,


(1) What brand/type of radials should I get for the best traction, especially on wet roads?

(2) What aspect ratio do I need to keep the height the same as stock?

Thanks,

Bob

Nobody knows unless someone has recently done wet traction tests on the scores of available tires.

Look at UTQG ratings. The traction rating is based on wet braking. AA is best, but there probably aren't any tires in appropriate sizes that meet this requirement. The next best is A, so that's what you want.

Suitable sizes are 205/70R-15, 215/70R-15, and 225/70R-15. The latter two are available in higher speed ratings. Search the those sizes for a recent thread on the issue.

Duke

[Bob B.]

Re: Best radial tires for traction?

Thanks, Duke!

[Don W.]

Re: Best radial tires for traction?

Bob,

Tire Rack has test reports, survey reports and user reviews and most discuss wet traction.

The Test Reports are here:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testSearch.jsp

note that 5 displayed test reports are recent reports and you can use the drop down menu to find a variety of tire reports.

The user reviews are here:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/index.jsp

and here

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/MenuServlet?search=surveyComments

Don