C-3 tire suggestions

[jon79flavette]

Any suggestions both look and performance for my 79. I want to keep the 15x8 rallys. they are mint. It seems now a days the 15'" high performance tire is like an 8 track!!! 17,18 and even 20s are the deal. I want a beefy look, some muscle that matches the side pipes and sound/motor, and preferbly white letter, from experience what manufactuers, and ratios are my best choice?? I really love the fact that the previous owner saw fit to put 0n BRAND NEW 215/70/15 futura (pep boys) white walls. I would have taken 25 cents on the dollar for that expenditure!!

 

[baseballcorvette]

I have the same questions. when i bought my 79 it had three different brands including two futuras everyone has bf goodrich i've seen a couple firestone firehawk that looks pretty good. cooper makes a cobra that looks pretty good to.i believe the largest tire you can put on those rims are a p/225 60r15. goodluck patrick

 

[lrh]

BF Goodrich Radial TA are on my 76 and seem to meet your list. Muscle RWL 225 70 15 on stock rally. I like them!

 

[gooney0]

Tires

I have Dunlop GT Qualifiers on my 72 all the way around. They've been on there for at least 5 years! I like the looks of the RWL, and am pretty happy with the Qualifiers.

The only downside to these tires... when you spin 'em, they don't howl and they don't usually leave black streaks. :-(

they are 245 60 15. I'm told you can go up to 255 60 15 on a '72. Don't know about '79. The main concern was the parking brake sticking out too far and rubbing the tire on hard turns.

I like Firestone Firehawks SS20s the best. They are RWL, about $50 a piece, and they howl and leave black goo when you spin them!

One other thing with the wide tires. I don't know if its the width of the tires, but my car "darts" alot. (When you are in a turn the car steers more than it did at the begining of the turn) Maybe thats just the way the car is... or perhaps something else is wrong which is very possible.

Does anyone elses vette "dart?"


-Gooney0

 

[Zektor]

Hi All,
I have General XP2000's 255/16 15" all round on my 1982 Corvette. They will howl if you mash the pedal and the solid RWL look fantastic. They also have a modern tread pattern.

Check out my profile to see how these tires look.

Cheers
Dazza

 

[Eric]

I'm running Firehawk SS20 tires on the Vette and they are great. I got 5 of them from Tire Rack and loved them so much on the Vette that I put the same SS20s (smaller size though) on my Z24 then put Firehawk SH30s on my Monte. I had the Dunlop GT Qualifiers before and they were too slippery at takeoff with throttle. The Hawks grip like a good set of driving gloves. Even in the rain they grip pretty well. Compare the customer ratings for the Hawks, Dunlops, and the BF G'rich TAs at TIre Rack and you'll see that the Firehawks kick booty.

Like others have said, the Hawks howl where the Dunlops don't. That's all part of the Hawks having better grip from softer rubber. That equals safety in corners and wet pavement.

Oh yeah, they look awesome. The script on the tires leans a little for a much more agressive look - oh yeah! One more thing - they are very inexpensive.

 

[Last Ride]

I am currently running Firestone Firhawk SS10 (new style is SS20 or Indy) 255/60 R15 on factory aluminum rims on my '78. I love the tires, and they fit well. They also come with white letters.

 

[Eric]

I forgot about the new Firehawk Indy 500 tires. The tread pattern on these are a carbon copy of the SS20 according the the picture at Tire Rack. If the Indys had been available back when I got my hawks I would've purchased them instead if for no other reason than a good conversation piece.

- Eric

 

[Imran]

Firestone Indy 500s

Here's what they look like before I cleaned them and took the blue gook off and shined them up... I'll see if I can find another pic with them clean as well

Have fun

Imran - 74 Convt

 

[Imran]

Here's a pic of one a little cleaner

 

[MaineShark]

My '79 came with "Spartan" 235-60R15's. They have plenty of meat left, but I think I will replace them with some 235-65R15's from a better brand, since I'm tired of having to guess my speed (if my speedo says 70, I'm really barely going over 65).

If anyone wants some tires to do a burn show with, I'd be happy to sell these once I replace them

Joe

 

[80convertible]

First, I would like to complement all of you for not going to big chrome 17" wheels. They just don't look right on a classic vette. I too have 15" wheels and like the look. There is one Z rated tire that will fit our beloved vettes. Go to Tirerack.com and look up Pirelli tires. You will find a 255-60-15 that is oem for the Lamborghini(?) sport-ute. Its not terribly expensive and will give you a Z rated tire. I have read other vette owner results on this tire, and they are very happy with it. I have thought of making this switch, but I still have a lot of tread left on my BF Comp TA's.

Jim

 

[huladick]

Speedo

I, too, have 255/60 15s on my 1980. Any of you mathematicians
know what the speedometer correction would be ? I need new tires also and may go back to stock size 225/70 15. Waddayathink ?

 

[80convertible]

Huladick,

Why go back to 225-70-15?

Jim

 

[Chas]

i have original rally wheels with goodyear eagle gt's......they only have 4000 miles on the since 1986! previous owner gave me the reciept ....$129.00 each!
wonder what they cost today?

 

[JHL]

I stuck with the trusty BFG`s on mine, good life and reasonable grip in the dry, scary in the wet !!! I had the chance of some nice 17" billet Centrelines some time ago from a friend who was selling his Vette but they just didn`t look right, to much wheel not enough tyre. I had Futura tyres on a Camaro once and they were scary wet or dry.

I have a set of huge Gotti split rims to go on in the summer and I think this sort of set-up looks great on a C3, more in keeping with the look.

J.



J.

 

[80convertible]

Come to think of it, my brother still has the ORIGINAL tires on his 80. I keep suggesting that he get new tires and save the originals. How many vettes can you buy with the original tires? Plus they are getting pretty old. I can spin them with very little effort. Still, kind of cool to have the original tires on a 40,000 mile vette.

Jim

 

[resto75]

Wow !! 22 year old tires. I would be afraid to drive on them. I hope he dosen't go far without his AAA card.

 

[MaineShark]

Re: Speedo

I, too, have 255/60 15s on my 1980. Any of you mathematicians
know what the speedometer correction would be ? I need new tires also and may go back to stock size 225/70 15. Waddayathink ?

Pretty close, actually. 1.3% difference. So, if your speedometer reads 70 with the 255-60R15 tires, you are actually travelling 69.09 mph. I wouldn't worry about it.

Joe

 

[huladick]

speedo

Thanks Joe. I have been curious about what it corrected out to. Getting new skins on Monday. Going with the BFG 255/60 15 Radial TA. Dick M.