C2 radial tire recommendations

[Mark P.]

I am looking for a set of Service Replacement 205/75/R15 radials with a 1" whitewall made by one of the OEM suppliers (Goodyear, Firestone, U.S. Royal, B.F. Goodrich or General) so I can get some of the tire points.

Does anyone have a recommendation ?

This will be going on a 1965 with stock 5.5" wide steel wheels.

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

I don't think any of the OEM vendors make a 1" white wall tire in this size. I have checked extensively.

I am going to start looking at a black wall 215/70R/15 tire with a H speed rating as Duke mentioned. If I get my car judged I'll just take the full deduct on tires. Having a safe and decent performing tire is more important to me.

All the 1" whitewall tires seem to be S rated tires made for minivans.

[Michael A.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Mark - you'll see plenty of info on tires in the archives. I followed Duke's and others recommendation of the Pirelli P4000 Supertouring and could not be happier. I went with the 215/70R/15 and the fit is excellent. It's got the biggest footprint you can get without rubbing. Check with TireRack to see what they say about mounting them on your 5.5" steel wheels. Good luck.

[Gerard F.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Mark,

I'm using the Coker 205/75/R15 radials with thin redline on my 67. They also make the thin white wall. I take an 80% deduct on orginality (24 points).

I've heard some bad stories about them, but mine seem to drive just fine and I like the looks.

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Check with TireRack to see what they say about mounting them on your 5.5" steel wheels. Good luck.

I hope you don't mean "ask one of their salesmen".

You don't have to. If you look up any tire on The Tire Rack Web site and click "specs" you will see the recommended wheel width, which is 5.5" to 7.5" for 215/70R-15s.

All should be the same for a given size because this is a Tire and Rim Association standard.

The 215/70ZR-15 97W Pirelli P4000 Super Touring is the best/safest modern tire you can put on a C2. It's only available in blackwall, but I understand that Diamondback Tire can apply virtually any sidewall treatment you want - at a price.

The service description indicates a speed rating (W) of 168 MPH.

It was originally designed for Jaguar sedans about 15 years ago, but I don't know how much longer it's going to be around.

Duke

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Duke - thanks for the recommmendation. Tomorrow I am getting them installed and balanced for $700 from a trusted tire shop. This price includes $30 a tire to remove the old tire, dispose of it, install, balance, etc. They will balance with a Hunter GSP Road Force balancer. They think the Pirellis should be pretty round and not need a lot of wieghts if my wheels are in good shape which they are. Not many shops I trust to work on my tires so it is worth it to pay a bit more with a place I know.

Mark

[Mark W.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Wow, $120 to mount and balance 4 tires! Sounds pretty high to me.

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

I know I can get it done for probably $15 a wheel but the cheaper guys like using pneumatic tools and sometimes scratch the rims, etc.

[Joe C.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Mark - you'll see plenty of info on tires in the archives. I followed Duke's and others recommendation of the Pirelli P4000 Supertouring and could not be happier. I went with the 215/70R/15 and the fit is excellent. It's got the biggest footprint you can get without rubbing. Check with TireRack to see what they say about mounting them on your 5.5" steel wheels. Good luck.

Michael,

I'm going with a set of Pirelli P4000s mounted to a set of chrome American Racing Torq Thrust D model VN6055761. These wheels are 15 x 7, with -5mm offset, and 3.80" backspacing.
Here is something very interesting about the Pirelli P4000s:
"Standard" P4000 Super Touring 215/70 ZR-15 are 129.00 ea at Tire Rack, but look at this:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?width=225%2F&ratio=65&diameter=15&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=67&y=8&RunFlat=All

Not sure why the large price difference, or whether or not the 225/65s will clear the fender lips. More likely I'll go with the P4000.

[Joe C.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Wow, $120 to mount and balance 4 tires! Sounds pretty high to me.

Ten bucks per wheel of that thirty is a "tire disposal fee"!!!!!!!
I just got a set of 4 for my Honda mounted/balanced/disposal using a ten year old Hunter balance machine for 15 bucks/tire.

[John D.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Anyone know how the radials would affect points in a survivor category? I need to replace the 1973 Michelins on my 65 and wondering whether to go with original bias ply. I like the radials.

Thanks

[Mark P.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Just got my P4000's installed. What a difference from my old 1990 radials. Feels much safer.

They were $149 each which is about $20 a tire more than Tire Rack but I would have had to pay about $70 to ship so there wasn't much difference. The mount/balance/tire disposal and tire tax was $61, not the $120 I thought.

Thanks for the recommendation Duke !

[Dale S.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Mark, How do the new radials work in a hard corner? I put Michelin's on my 67 back in the early 1970's and they went into a corner and they kind of shifted the rear end a little and then caught. We figured it was the side walls and after realigning the rear end for radials, it still did it. It felt like the rear end just started to beak lose and then caught. I did not like it and went back to I dont remember what. I have Firestone red lines now. Just courious how they behave now. Dale

[John H.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

Anyone know how the radials would affect points in a survivor category? I need to replace the 1973 Michelins on my 65 and wondering whether to go with original bias ply. I like the radials.

Thanks

John -

"Survivor" is a Bloomington Gold category; doesn't matter which tire you choose, as anything other than the original tires constitute a failure for that line item.

[John D.]

Re: C2 radial tire recommendations

mark,
The tire rack website shows a Goodyear Integrity 205-75-15 with a 0.5 to 1.0 whitewall reasonably priced at $70 each. Did your search show that tire ? Other sites show it in a blackwall only.

john